Use Of Biofuels For Transport Research Articles

Production and use of biofuels for transport in Poland and Brazil – The case of bioethanol

The objective of this paper was to compare the markets and methods of production of ethanol to be used in transport in Poland and Brazil. Differences in terminology associated with its use for transport purposes in both countries have been discussed, as well as the market-related aspects of such use, comparing, among other things, the scale of production and use in years 2010–2016 and presenting the results of research on attractiveness (value) of the market of transport biofuels (especially bioethanol) in Poland, which were compared to the perspectives of market development in Brazil.In Brazil, the share of renewable energy in total energy consumption is at the level of 42%, making it a world leader in use of energy from RES (renewable energy sources). 18% of the energy used is sugarcane bioenergy (bioethanol). At present, most of this production is being consumed by the domestic market, where ethyl alcohol is being sold as a pure ethanol fuel or mixed with gasoline.In Poland, the share of energy from renewable sources in end use of energy is 11.8%, and energy from liquid biofuels, including bioethanol, constitutes only 10.8% of this value. Although addition of bioethanol to gasoline available on the Polish market is acceptable, vehicles fueled with pure ethanol (like in Brazil) are not popular in Poland. The quantitative data presented indicates that the market of bioethanol in Poland, in relation to the Brazilian market of ethanol fuel, is very small. Production of this biofuel in Poland in year 2016 was almost 26 billion liters lower in comparison with Brazil. In 2007 the conventional biofuel sectors in Poland were considered to be relatively attractive components of the economy. In the case of methyl esters, the value of their production sector achieved the level of almost 68%, and of ethanol – almost 62%. The current results of research on the value of biofuel sectors in Poland are not encouraging in terms of investing in biofuels of this generation (conventional biofuels). Brazil has the longest history of success in terms of biofuels, in particular, bioethanol, however without a favorable taxation system, bioethanol is still more expensive than gasoline. According to forecasts, biodiesel production and consumption in Brazil are evolving in a linear manner, mainly due to the growing demand for fuel and the associated growth in the fleet of Brazilian vehicles and the perspective of increase of the biodiesel/diesel oil mix in the coming years.

The possibilities of using biodiesel in service of reducing the urban air pollution

Using renewable energy is in line with the global strategy of sustainable development. The use of biofuels in transport contributes to increasing security of supply and reducing dependence of the transport sector on oil, reducing the share of greenhouse gas emissions from road transport and sustainable development of urban areas. The advantage of biodiesel in comparison to other alternative fuels can be seen in use in existing vehicles without or with minor modification of existing motors, depending on the concentration of biofuels in combination with fossil fuels. This paper discusses the possibilities of reducing the air pollution by using biodiesel, pollutants arising as a result of combustion of fuel in internal combustion engines, as well as the possibility of using waste cooking oil to produce biodiesel. The presented results show the reduction of air pollution using biodiesel as an alternative fuel, as well as the possibilities of solving the problem of wasting edible oil by using it for biodiesel production

IDENTIFICATION OF THE CSTATE OF THE ART AND ATTRACTIVENESS OF TRANSPORT BIOFUELS SECTORS IN POLAND

The current state of transport biofuels sectors in Poland was analysed - as well as the results of the research of their attractiveness in the years 2007-2016 was showed. The national use of biofuels in transport is based on the mixtures of conventional fuels and biocomponents. Therefore, the scope of the analysis included the entities producing bioethanol and methyl esters. The production of these biocomponents takes place in 23 entities in Poland. The production of biocomponents and declared capacity of producers were increasing until 2016. The food raw materials are mainly used in production of the biocomponents in Poland. The EU policy striving to limit of that materials, it is a significant challenge in coming years. The attractiveness of currently existing national transport biofuels sectors systematically decreasing, as the test results showed.

Biofuels in Croatia

European Commission has adopted a series of documents in order to achieve energy policy targets. One of them is Directive 2009/28/EC which promotes the use of renewable energy in transportation. The Directive sets targets for Member States. According to the provisions of Article 11 of the Law on Biofuels for Transport, each county of the Republic of Croatia is obliged to develop a program to encourage the production and use of biofuels in transport and establish the policy of increased production and use of biofuels in transport in the county in accordance with the National Action Plan. The program is a three-year planning document that is being proposed by the county executive authority and adopted by the representative body of the county. The paper is result of study of the implementation of biofuels in Republic of Croatia.

Water footprint analysis of second-generation bioethanol in Taiwan

In this study, we calculated the water footprint (WF) of second-generation bioethanol and hypothesized that second-generation bioethanol feedstock in response to the gradual depletion of fossil fuels has contributed to exorbitant international oil prices. To resolve these problems, countries worldwide have actively engaged in developing alternative energy plans to reduce their dependence on petroleum. Bioethanol is a critical choose items of biofuels, and increased use of biofuels for transportation is expected to substantially raise the level of competition for freshwater resources. In this paper, Taiwan's second-generation bioethanol demonstration plant is used as an example to calculate the WF of second-generation bioethanol. Using bagasse and rice straw as raw materials, the water footprint are 268.8 L H2O/L EtOH and 4674.9 L H2O/L EtOH, respectively, which is considerably lower than that of first-generation bioethanol. In this study, we proposed two sources of feedstock that are suitable for future second-generation bioethanol: (1) nonfood crop materials; and (2) domestic waste (e.g., food waste). The results of this study can be used by countries interested in using biofuels to formulate and implement energy policies that will enable them to develop renewable energy sources and simultaneously consider the management and application of water resources.

Influence of Fuel Injection System and Engine-Timing Adjustments on Regulated Emissions from Four Biodiesel Fuels

The use of biofuels for transportation has grown substantially in the past decade in response to federal mandates and increased concern about the use of petroleum fuels. As biofuels become more common, it is imperative to assess their influence on mobile source emissions of regulated and hazardous pollutants. This assessment cannot be done without first obtaining a basic understanding of how biofuels affect the relationship between fuel properties, engine design, and combustion conditions. Combustion studies were conducted on biodiesel fuels from four feedstocks (palm oil, soybean oil, canola oil, and coconut oil) with two injection systems, mechanical and electronic. For the electronic system, fuel injection timing was adjusted to compensate for physical changes caused by different fuels. The emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx) and partial combustion products were compared across both engine injection systems. The analysis showed differences in NOx emissions based on hydrocarbon chain length and degree of fuel unsaturation, with little to no NOx increase compared with ultra-low sulfur diesel fuel for most conditions. Adjusting the fuel injection timing provided some improvement in biodiesel emissions for NOx and particulate matter, particularly at lower engine loads. The results indicated that the introduction of biodiesel and biodiesel blends could have widely dissimilar effects in different types of vehicle fleets, depending on typical engine design, age, and the feedstock used for biofuel production.

A comprehensive analysis of the current and future role of biofuels for transport in the European Union (EU)

The production of biofuels is strongly supported all over the world as a renewable energy source for reducing dependence on the unstable oil market. Bioethanol, the main biofuel produced in the world, is widely used to power vehicles in both the USA and Brazil, but concerns exist in both places regarding its sustainability. In Brazil, it is produced from a by-product of the sugar cane industry, while in the USA it is manufactured from food crops. The production of biogas and biodiesel is growing rapidly, but neither has outpaced the production of bioethanol. The European Union (EU) is greatly interested in this issue, and in 2011 adopted an extensive strategy to reduce carbon dioxide emissions related to transport by 60% by the year 2050. In order to achieve this result, the current European transportation system must be transformed. This ambitious goal will require the implementation of complex measures including the reduction of fossil fuels in favor of renewable fuels. This program has various options regarding the development of biofuels (e. g., biogas, bioethanol and biodiesel) and their related technologies, which are still on trial (mainly regarding the bioethanol production), and must also analyze their sustainability from a social and economic standpoint. The paper discusses the use of biofuels for transport in the European setting, and shows that their sustainability may result in relevant negative social effects due mainly to the use of land for energy crops (e.g., change of food price and world food shortage).

Cultivation of Nannochloropsis salina in municipal wastewater or digester centrate

Meaningful use of biofuels for transportation depends on utilization of water from non-traditional, non-potable resources. Here it is hypothesized that (i) reclaimed wastewater or nutrient-rich side streams derived from municipal wastewater treatment are suitable for that purpose and (ii) use of those waters for algal growth can promote water quality through nutrient management. Experiments showed that metals levels in municipal wastewaters are unlikely to inhibit algal growth and lipid production, at least by metals tolerant microalgae like Nannochloropsis salina. Cells grew without inhibition in treated municipal wastewater or centrate derived from wastewater treatment at additions up to 75 percent v/v in their normal growth medium minus nitrogen and phosphorus. Although wastewater provides a suitable nutrient source for algal growth, not enough municipal wastewater is available to support a meaningful biofuels industry without efficient water recycling and nutrient recovery/reuse from spent algae.

Sustainable energy development – Lithuania's way to energy supply security and energetics independence

In this article, the possibility to increase the use of renewable energy for the production of heat, electricity, the use of biofuels for transport and energy policy is analyzed. In Lithuania the energy demand is constantly increasing, the increase in traditional fuels for energy generation continues to increase the impact on environment. The share of production renewable energy for all EU Member States until 2020 is indicated in Directive 2009/28/EC. The target for Lithuania is 23% in gross final energy consumption. In Lithuania the annual gross inland consumption of energy during years 2001 to 2010 varied from 8.22 to 9.22 Mtoe. The share of renewable energy sources increased approximately from 8.3% to 18.1%. In 2011 the gross inland consumption of imported fossil fuel comprises 81.7% and local fuel −18.3%. The Lithuanian government has prepared and legislated acts and programs, both for the promotion of renewable energy use and increase the use of this ones in the country. The most important obstacles for faster growth of renewable energy use are high investment costs, long pay-back periods for projects, a lack of the financial resources necessary to implement governmental policies and a comparatively fast increase in prices for alternative fuels. Recently in Lithuania, renewable energy compromises about 18% of gross inland consumption of energy and about 0.3% local fuel or other fossil fuels are mainly imported from Russia. The increase of use renewable energy will improve the security of energy supply in Lithuania and also enable to reduce above 8% a greenhouse gas emission.

The role of biomass in heat, electricity, and transport markets in the EU27 under different scenarios

AbstractThe National Renewable Energy Action Plans (NREAPs), as submitted to the European Commission by the 27 European Union member states (EU27), show ambitious development paths for the deployment of biomass in the heat, electricity, and transport sectors up to 2020. This study analyzes the distribution of different biomass feedstocks over these sectors for various biomass scenarios, examining the fixed development paths described in the NREAPs, while also presenting a possible change in biomass demand for these scenarios. The analysis also reaches beyond the scope of the NREAPs up to 2030. The allocation of biomass for heating (H), electricity (E) and transport (T) applications in the EU27 has been modeled using the RESolve toolkit. RESolve can work both in a static mode and in a dynamic mode. In the static mode the demand for biomass based energy per sector (H, E, and T) is constrained to a fixed amount, whereas in the dynamic mode this constraint is relaxed: the interaction with other renewable (and partially also fossil) energy sources may result in a change in bioenergy demand. From the analysis it can be concluded that in most EU countries the NREAP figures for bioenergy deployment will not be reached under the present regional and national policy/support schemes and market developments. When applying stricter sustainability criteria, the bioenergy developments in the EU27 decrease even further. These effects are strongest for the use of biofuels in transport and biogas for electricity. © 2013 Society of Chemical Industry and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd

Thermodynamic characterization of bio-fuels: Excess functions for binary mixtures containing ETBE and hydrocarbons

European energy policy is promoting the use of bio-fuels for transportation. Bioethers and bioalcohols are used as blending agents for enhancing the octane number. They make gasoline work harder, help the engine last longer and reduce air pollution. They also cause changes in the fuel properties. Development of renewable fuels needs both knowledge of new thermodynamic data and improvement of clean energy technologies. In this context, the use of ethanol of vegetable origin in its manufacture process, increases the interest of ETBE or bio-ETBE as an oxygenated additive. A complete study of the behaviour of ETBE + hydrocarbons mixtures is presented. Some experimental data concerning vapor-liquid equilibria and heats of mixing were determined in our laboratory. All the techniques have a high accuracy. The data were reduced by well-known models, such as NRTL and used to model the thermodynamic properties.

International experiences of ethanol as transport fuel: Policy implications for India

The need for biofuels, particularly liquid ones like ethanol and biodiesel, for transport has been felt by most of the countries and their governments have been trying to promote these fuels. Compared to petroleum, the use of biofuels for transport is still quite low in nearly every country. By far the largest production and use is of ethanol in the United States and Brazil, where similar volumes are used—many times higher than in any other country. Even then, ethanol represents less than 3% of transport fuel in USA and a little more than 50% of gasoline demand (by volume) in Brazil. However many countries, including the USA, Canada, several European countries (and the European Union), Australia and Japan including India are considering or have adopted a variety of policies that could result in much higher biofuels use over the next decade. This paper makes an attempt to draw upon the cross-country international experiences of ethanol as transport fuel to suggest policy implications for India

Renewable Energy and Nature Conservation

The article refers to the EU targets of increasing the share of renewable energy sources in energy supply. The promotion of renewables for electricity generation, and the expanded use of biofuels for transport, is stipulated by various Directives. While EU member states started implementation, only few are on track to achieve their national targets. A new phenomena is the opposition of environmentalists against renewables, which is exaggerated by the media. The author focusses on an actual controversy over wind power in Germany. The general conflict between the installation and expansion of renewable energy sources and nature conservation is then analysed. The article sketches possible lessons for further policy learning.