Abstract
The greatest challenge in accelerating the realisation of a sustainable and competitive bioeconomy is to demonstrate that enshrining sustainability principles at the very heart of a production line can generate value and improve its overall system. Strategies for reducing emissions, pollutants, indirect land use change or soil depreciation are all perceived as costs or necessary inconveniences to comply with stringent, climate change-focused policy frameworks. System dynamics modelling and competitive priorities are tools that can accurately and intelligently expand on the cross-value chain approach, which integrates both technical and environmental performances, to address the issue of harmonising sustainability and technical operations as one overall dimension of performance. A stock-and-flow model is developed to map a full biofuel value chain and quantitatively and coherently integrate factors of emissions, carbon, land, production, and technology. As such, environmental and operational impacts of innovative practices are measured, and subsequently linked to a qualitative framework of competitive priorities, as defined by transparency, quality, innovation and flexibility. Sustainability and productivity functions are found to reinforce each other when all competitive priorities are optimised. Equally, the framework provides a clear understanding of trade-offs engendered by value chain interventions. Advantages and limitations in the accessibility, scope and transferability of the multi-pronged analytical approach are discussed.
Highlights
Sustainable advanced biofuels can provide a continuous and steady flow of energy services and high-grade renewable heat [1], and as such have the potential to make way for a resource-efficient, competitive and low-carbon market [2]
The use of marginal lands combined with a certain crop type, such as a lignocellulosic crop, use of marginal lands combined with a certain crop type, such as a lignocellulosic crop, can lead to GHG emissions savings thanks to soil remediation processes and mitigation can lead to GHG emissions savings thanks to soil remediation processes and mitigation of emission‐causing land use change [54]
The basis of the analytical framework employed in this paper is a bottom-up system dynamics model, which structurally links value chain performance and environmental components to simulate the impact of innovative practices on competitive priorities
Summary
Sustainable advanced biofuels can provide a continuous and steady flow of energy services and high-grade renewable heat [1], and as such have the potential to make way for a resource-efficient, competitive and low-carbon market [2]. Certain biomass streams, such as food/feed crops with low yields and not cultivated as part of carbon farming practices generate high indirect land use change emissions [3,4]. Advanced biofuel value chains that avoid direct or indirect land use change are being developed both as a viable alternative to traditional fossil-based streams, as well as to mitigate climate and preserve natural resources. With a continuously growing stock of global atmospheric carbon [5] and renewed political commitments for net zero carbon solutions by 2050, there is an urgent need to foster novel biofuel value chains that can deliver on environmental sustainability, resource efficiency and economic competitiveness. The approach this paper takes includes full value chain analysis of advanced biofuel production as well as a combination of metrics reflecting both technical and environmental performance
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