Download or read book Are Biofuels Economically Competitive with Their Petroleum Counterparts written by Thomson Sinkala and published by . This book was released on 2013 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: With increased global interest in biofuels, Zambia, a Sub-Saharan African country that entirely depends on imports for its petroleum supply, is planning to implement blending mandates for biofuels. But, a large number of issues-including production costs of biofuels, land requirements to meet the mandates, and environmental benefits-have not yet been explored. This study aims to contribute in filling this gap. It finds that depending on feedstock type, costs of ethanol production range from US$.360 a liter to US$.680 a liter while the costs for biodiesel production range from US$.612 a liter to US$.952 a liter. Even if lower energy contents of biofuels are taken into account, the analysis shows that biofuels are cheaper than their petroleum counterparts. Considering the cost advantage of these biofuels over petroleum products and the availability of surplus agricultural land, Zambia is likely to benefit from the development of a biofuel industry. Biofuels is expected to reduce Zambia's petroleum import bill, which currently stands at more than US$700 million, enhance food security by providing incentives to increase yields, and increase affordability and accessibility to modern energy in the country where 77 percent of the population still lacks access to modern energy. It could also stimulate rural employment and development.

Download or read book Are Biofuels Economically Competitive with Their Petroleum Counterparts Production Cost Analysis for Zambia written by Thomson Sinkala and published by . This book was released on 2017 with total page 28 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: With increased global interest in biofuels, Zambia, a Sub-Saharan African country that entirely depends on imports for its petroleum supply, is planning to implement blending mandates for biofuels. But, a large number of issues -- including production costs of biofuels, land requirements to meet the mandates, and environmental benefits -- have not yet been explored. This study aims to contribute in filling this gap. It finds that depending on feedstock type, costs of ethanol production range from US$0.360 a liter to US$0.680 a liter while the costs for biodiesel production range from US$0.612 a liter to US$0.952 a liter. Even if lower energy contents of biofuels are taken into account, the analysis shows that biofuels are cheaper than their petroleum counterparts. Considering the cost advantage of these biofuels over petroleum products and the availability of surplus agricultural land, Zambia is likely to benefit from the development of a biofuel industry. Biofuels is expected to reduce Zambia's petroleum import bill, which currently stands at more than US$700 million, enhance food security by providing incentives to increase yields, and increase affordability and accessibility to modern energy in the country where 77 percent of the population still lacks access to modern energy. It could also stimulate rural employment and development.

Download or read book Review of Enviromental Economic and Policy Aspects of Biofuels written by Deepak Rajagopal and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 2007 with total page 109 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Environmental Economic and Policy Aspects of Biofuels written by Deepak Rajagopal and published by Now Publishers Inc. This book was released on 2008 with total page 131 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Environmental, Economic and Policy Aspects of Biofuels provides a timely summary of the current issues contributing to the policy debates on this emerging and important topic. The authors make several key conclusions: - Biofuels are diverse and evolving. The next generation of biofuels has the potential to provide improved net benefits but requires significant technological breakthroughs. - Greenhouse gas (GHG) benefits vary significantly across various types of biofuels and are dependent on market conditions and policy situation. - While biofuel improves the welfare of gasoline consumers and food producers, it has a significant negative affect on food consumers, especially the poor. - A diverse set of policies, which have been introduced or proposed, impact biofuels directly including subsidies, mandates, and regulation of carbon content of fuels. However, current policies do not provide incentives that align private and social welfare. - Much of the impact assessments of biofuels thus far are ex-ante estimates based on either optimization or equilibrium models. There is a lack of ex-post econometric analysis of the marginal impact of biofuels and biofuel policies on the economy. And the structural relationships between agriculture, the energy sector, and the environment in the context of biofuels have hardly been studied. The biofuel policy debate is likely to be an ongoing one in the near future and Environmental, Economic and Policy Aspects of Biofuels should be required reading for anyone interested in understanding this diverse and growing literature.

Download or read book Effects of Increased Biofuels on the U S Economy in 2022 written by Mark Gehlhar and published by DIANE Publishing. This book was released on 2011-04 with total page 36 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Achieving greater energy security by reducing dependence on foreign petroleum is a goal of U.S. energy policy. The Energy Independence and Security Act calls for a Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS-2), which mandates that the U.S. increase the volume of biofuel that is blended into transportation fuel from 9 to 36 billion gallons from 2008 to 2022. This report examines how meeting the RFS-2 would affect various components of the U.S. economy. If biofuel production advances with cost-reducing technology, and petroleum prices continue to rise as projected, the RFS-2 could provide economywide benefits. However, the actual level of benefits depends on future oil prices and whether tax credits are retained. Illus. A print on demand publication.

Download or read book Renewable Fuel Standard written by National Research Council and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2012-01-29 with total page 416 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the United States, we have come to depend on plentiful and inexpensive energy to support our economy and lifestyles. In recent years, many questions have been raised regarding the sustainability of our current pattern of high consumption of nonrenewable energy and its environmental consequences. Further, because the United States imports about 55 percent of the nation's consumption of crude oil, there are additional concerns about the security of supply. Hence, efforts are being made to find alternatives to our current pathway, including greater energy efficiency and use of energy sources that could lower greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions such as nuclear and renewable sources, including solar, wind, geothermal, and biofuels. The United States has a long history with biofuels and the nation is on a course charted to achieve a substantial increase in biofuels. Renewable Fuel Standard evaluates the economic and environmental consequences of increasing biofuels production as a result of Renewable Fuels Standard, as amended by EISA (RFS2). The report describes biofuels produced in 2010 and those projected to be produced and consumed by 2022, reviews model projections and other estimates of the relative impact on the prices of land, and discusses the potential environmental harm and benefits of biofuels production and the barriers to achieving the RFS2 consumption mandate. Policy makers, investors, leaders in the transportation sector, and others with concerns for the environment, economy, and energy security can rely on the recommendations provided in this report.

Download or read book The Impacts of Biofuels on the Economy Environment and Poverty written by Govinda R. Timilsina and published by Springer. This book was released on 2014-05-20 with total page 159 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Interest in biofuels began with oil shocks in the 1970’s, but the more rapid development and consumption of biofuel industry in recent years has been primarily driven by mandates, subsidies, climate change concerns, emissions targets and energy security. From 2004 to 2006, fuel ethanol grew by 26% and biodiesel grew by 172%. As biofuel production continues to expand, investments in capacity expansion and research and development have been made. The 2008 food crisis emphasized the need to re-examine biofuel consequences. Biofuels remain an important renewable energy resource to substitute for fossil fuels, particularly in the transportation sector, yet biofuels’ success is still uncertain. The future of biofuels in the energy supply mix relies on mitigating potential and improving the environmental gains. This book brings together leading authorities on biofuel from the World Bank to examine all of the impacts of biofuel (economic, social, environmental) within a unified framework and in a global perspective, making it of interest to academics in agricultural and environmental economics as well as industry and policy-makers.

Download or read book The Biobased Economy written by Hans Langeveld and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2012 with total page 406 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Providing an illuminating framework as to how policy and market players could and should drive the development of a biobased economy that is effective, sustainable, fair and cost efficient. The result is an essential resource for all those working in or concerned with biobased industries, their policy or research.

Download or read book Handbook of Bioenergy Economics and Policy written by Madhu Khanna and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2009-12-02 with total page 435 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Concerns about energy security, uncertainty about oil prices, declining oil reserves, and global climate change are fueling a shift towards bioenergy as a renewable alternative to fossil fuels. Public policies and private investments around the globe are aiming to increase local capacity to produce biofuels. A key constraint to the expansion of biofuel production is the limited amount of land available to meet the needs for fuel, feed, and food in the coming decades. Large-scale biofuel production raises concerns about food versus fuel tradeoffs, about demands for natural resources such as water, and about potential impacts on environmental quality. The book is organized into five parts. The introductory part provides a context for the emerging economic and policy challenges related to bioenergy and the motivations for biofuels as an energy source. The second part of the handbook includes chapters that examine the implications of expanded production of first generation biofuels for the allocation of land between food and fuel and for food/feed prices and trade in biofuels as well as the potential for technology improvements to mitigate the food vs. fuel competition for land. Chapters in the third part examine the infrastructural and logistical challenges posed by large scale biofuel production and the factors that will influence the location of biorefineries and the mix of feedstocks they use. The fourth part includes chapters that examine the environmental implications of biofuels, their implications for the design of policies and the unintended environmental consequences of existing biofuel policies. The final part presents economic analysis of the market, social welfare, and distributional effects of biofuel policies.

Download or read book Optimization of Biomass to Liquid Plant Setups and Capacity Using Nonlinear Programming written by Lars-Peter Lauven and published by Cuvillier Verlag. This book was released on 2011-10-12 with total page 194 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Potentially rising oil prices caused by an increasing relative scarcity of mineral oil have farreaching consequences for the transportation sector, the chemical industry and mineral oil companies in particular. As national laws in Germany require biofuels to be mixed into conventional fuel to an increasing extend (BioKraftQuG 2009), mineral oil companies need to identify economically competitive as well as technically feasible biofuel production processes to meet these requirements. A first generation of biofuels was introduced on a large scale but has been criticized for competing with the agricultural production of food and for yielding relatively modest quantities of fuel per hectare of agricultural land. For this reason, 2nd generation biofuel production pathways such as Biomass-to-Liquid (BtL), which convert lignocellulosic material into liquid hydrocarbons using Fischer-Tropsch synthesis, have been developed. While 2nd generation biofuels are superior to their 1st generation counterparts from a yield-per-hectare-perspective and cause less competition for agricultural soils, a significant disadvantage is the considerable investment required for the construction of Biomass-to-Liquid plants. The corresponding investment-related costs affect the competitiveness of 2nd generation biofuels negatively, leaving it in doubt whether BtL fuels could become an economically viable option. A frequently discussed way to improve specific investment-related costs is to increase plant sizes to improve economies of scale. While this improvement has been realized in several conventional kinds of plants like mineral oil refineries, power plants and Coal-to-Liquid plants, the application on BtL plants is complicated by the fact that larger plants are associated with higher specific biomass transportation costs. This is because a higher biomass input requires biomass to be transported over larger distances. The unresolved antagonism between economies of scale and specific biomass transportation costs has so far hindered the realization of BtL plants. The aim of this thesis is to develop a methodology to determine optimal BtL plant sizes by taking nonlinear factors into account. The methodology is required to determine a compromise between minimizing investment-related costs by applying economies of scale and minimizing specific biomass transportation costs by keeping the required transportation distances short. The optimal plant size is however influenced by a third influencing factor. Whether it is advantageous to transport biomass over a certain distance also depends on the value of a plant’s products. Biomass-to-Liquid plants can have a variety of product compositions depending on the catalyst and reaction temperature used in the biofuel synthesis reaction. Depending on which substances are produced and which are upgraded for sale, converted into fuels or combusted for electricity generation, both the value of the products and the required investment may differ considerably. While a number of processes, including biomass treatment and gasification, as well as the Fischer-Tropsch synthesis itself, are required for all considered plant setup alternatives, the choice of upgrading equipment may result in very dissimilar plant setups. By making the capacities of the individual upgrading processes the variables of the optimization model, economies of scale, specific biomass transportation costs and the products’ value are considered simultaneously for the first time. The thesis primarily focuses on the implementation of an optimization model and its application on a variety of scenarios. These scenarios are intended to represent different plant setups and logistics concepts. In order to assess the scale of differences in profitability, the essential influencing factors determining the profitability of BtL plants were included into the model calculations. As the problem at hand is neither linear nor quadratic, it cannot be solved reliably using established solvers for these two classes of problems. Instead, several solvers designed to handle non-quadratic nonlinear multidimensional problems were applied to find the most suitable way to approach the solution of the problem. The objective function has been designed to maximize the annual profit resulting from plant construction and operation. Maximizing this annual profit is subject to a number of primarily technical constraints. These result from the mass balances of the plant, its electricity demand and the specific requirements of individual processes. In addition to securing the validity of the mass balances, these constraints also ensure that the entire Fischer-Tropsch product stream undergoes some kind of upgrading, separation or combustion treatment. The sum of all processes producing salable products is used to approximate the required capacity of the plant as a whole. The total plant capacity then serves to calculate the investment required for the other plant processes and the costs for the purchase and transportation of the required input biomass. Biomass transportation distances are approximated by the radius of an assumed circular area from which biomass is supplied to the plant. Using cost functions that divide transportation costs into fixed and variable parts makes it possible to approximate the effect of rising specific biomass transportation costs in case of increasing plant capacities. The investigated scenario calculations suggest that under the assumed circumstances, fuel oriented low-temperature Fischer-Tropsch-based BtL plants are relatively competitive as long as the tax exemptions in Germany are maintained, but become significantly less attractive without them. By contrast, the combined production of both fuels and chemicals using hightemperature Fischer-Tropsch synthesis appears to be a more promising alternative, as chemicals are expected to earn a higher income in scenarios without tax exemptions. A third option, the production of Substitute Natural Gas, appears to be relatively uncompetitive unless methane prices rise significantly. In addition to comparing the economic attractiveness of different potential product distributions, a number of concepts have been investigated which are intended to improve Biomass-to-Liquid economics. Decentralized pretreatment of biomass, e.g. through fastpyrolysis, leads to larger optimal plant capacities, but the additional investment for the pretreatment units appears to overcompensate the improved economies of scale. By contrast, the combined use of train and road transportation was not assumed to be associated with additional investments. If train transportation is indeed feasible for a given plant location and specific biomass transportation costs are lower than for road transportation, combined traffic concepts should be used whenever possible. The construction of BtL plants in conjunction with mineral oil refineries is a way to reduce investment-related costs instead of transportation costs. While the resulting savings are significant for small BtL plants, they diminish if larger plant sizes are investigated. Cogasification of biomass with another input material is another way to reduce the costly transportation of biomass over large distances. Unless technical requirements significantly increase the cost of the gasification equipment, co-gasification concepts can improve the plant’s profitability even at relatively low quantities of a second fuel. The choice of fuels is however restricted by the Renewable Energy Directive that needs to be abided by in order to ensure the eligibility for tax exemptions. In case of lignite and hard coal, fossil CO2 emissions further complicate the application of co-gasification, as Renewable Energy Directive also limits the amount of fossil CO2 that biofuel production is allowed to cause. As savings caused by such concepts depend on the relative inefficiency of the concept that they are applied on, the effect of the implementation of several improvements diminishes if these address the same cost item. In this work, the nonlinear effects of economies of scale and biomass transportation costs for increasing Biomass-to-Liquid plant capacities has been modeled on a product-upgradingprocess basis for the first time. Potential investors and plant operators of Biomass-to-Liquid plants are thus enabled to determine both the optimal plant size and the most promising choice of products in order to maximize the prospective competitiveness of the plant.

Download or read book Global Economic and Environmental Aspects of Biofuels written by David Pimentel and published by CRC Press. This book was released on 2012-04-02 with total page 457 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Biofuels and food are dependent on the same resources for production: land, water, and energy. The conjuncture of food, energy, and climate crises demands a new direction in how to harness agriculture to the joint tasks of energy-saving, emissions reduction, and food security. Global Economic and Environmental Aspects of Biofuels focuses on the all-important question of the efficacy of biofuels as a solution to the global energy problem. Written by a distinguished team from five countries and multiple disciplines including agronomy, petroleum engineering, ecology, and meteorology, the book addresses the use of biofuels produced from crops and various organic materials as alternatives or supplements to petroleum. Key Features Discusses biofuels within the context of the world population problem, food, malnutrition, resource depletion, and climate change Asks the critical question whether the production of ethanol from corn, sugar cane, crop residues, and other organic materials has proven too costly in both economic and environmental terms Analyzes the uses and interdependencies among land, water, and fossil energy resources in food versus biofuel production Includes case studies on the economic and environmental impacts of biofuel production and use from the United States, Europe, Brazil, and tropical environments Explores the future production of biodiesel and ethanol from salt-water algae and tropical palms, while recognizing the technological problems that must be resolved in processing these materials This book examines key environmental and economic issues associated with the production of ethanol as a fuel, from corn, sugar cane, crop residues, and other organic materials. It brings together the opinions of a number of U.S. scientists and experts from Spain, Italy, the United Kingdom, and Brazil, and highlights the remarkable agreement among the contributors on the pros and cons of biofuels as an answer to future petroleum shortages. This mix of contributors and opinions presents a well-rounded view of the subject that puts a spotlight on unresolved concerns and complexities that are often overlooked.

Download or read book Biofuels written by Daniel Black and published by Scientific e-Resources. This book was released on 2019-06-13 with total page 312 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Energy is a fundamental enabler of economy, and revolutionary changes in energy cost and effectiveness, from animal and wood, to coal, whale oil, petroleum and nuclear technologies, have deeply shaped throughout history societal evolution worldwide. The nextwave of changes, as the world economic engine integrates renewable energy technologies such as solar technologies or biofuels, perhaps constitutes a greater challenge since predictably these technologies will be at least transiently less efficient than the conventional energies of today based on fossil and nuclear fuels. Understanding these challenges that lie ahead is an important task to perform in order to design winning industrial strategies for the future. Chapter 1 and 2 discuss about the basics of biofuel and The Global Demand for Biofuels: Technologies, Markets and Policies. If biofuel is one of the expected solutions, we must know where is the beginning of the crisis and its solution. This chapter reviews the background story along with an optimistic outlook for a safe energy resource on our green earth. Chapter 3 is based on the Renewable Energy Resources. Chapter 4 depicts about the biomass and biofuels. Chapter 5, 6, 7 and 8 covers the use of bioethanol, hydrogen, methane and methonal. Chapter 9 describes the use of Ethanol and Methonal as fuel. Chapter 10 is based on the Energy systems, their storage and transmission. Chapter 11 depicts the Institutional and economic factors from renewable. The association of the book is concocted to encourage viable learning encounters The book is organized in a manner to cater to the needs of students, researchers, managerial organizations, and readers at large. It is hoped that this book will help our readers to understand: What are the various biofuels available to us; Why biofuels are required; How to use biofuels. What is the need to Conserve these biofuels.

Download or read book Effects of Increased Biofuels on the U S Economy in 2022 written by Mark J. Gehlhar and published by . This book was released on 2015 with total page 36 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Achieving greater energy security by reducing dependence on foreign petroleum is a goal of U.S. energy policy. The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (EISA) calls for a Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS-2), which mandates that the United States increase the volume of biofuel that is blended into transportation fuel from 9 billion gallons in 2008 to 36 billion gallons by 2022. Long-term technological advances are needed to meet this mandate. This report examines how meeting the RFS-2 would affect various key components of the U.S. economy. If biofuel production advances with cost-reducing technology and petroleum prices continue to rise as projected, the RFS-2 could provide economywide benefits. However, the actual level of benefits (or costs) to the U.S. economy depends importantly on future oil prices and whether tax credits are retained in 2022. If oil prices stabilize or decline from current levels and tax credits are retained, then benefits to the economy would diminish.

Download or read book Advanced Biofuel Technologies written by Deepak K. Tuli and published by Elsevier. This book was released on 2021-12-08 with total page 596 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Advanced Biofuel Technologies: Present Status, Challenges and Future Prospects deals with important issues such as feed stock availability, technology options, greenhouse gas reduction as seen by life cycle assessment studies, regulations and policies. This book provides readers complete information on the current state of developments in both thermochemical and biochemical processes for advanced biofuels production for the purpose of transportation, domestic and industrial applications. Chapters explore technological innovations in advanced biofuels produced from agricultural residues, algae, lipids and waste industrial gases to produce road transport fuels, biojet fuel and biogas. Covers technologies and processes of different types of biofuel production Outlines a selection of different types of renewable feedstocks for biofuel production Summarizes adequate and balanced coverage of thermochemical and biochemical methods of biomass conversion into biofuel Includes regulations, policies and lifecycle and techno-economic assessments

Download or read book Handbook of Biofuels Production written by Rafael Luque and published by Woodhead Publishing. This book was released on 2016-05-19 with total page 772 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Handbook of Biofuels Production, Second Edition, discusses advanced chemical, biochemical, and thermochemical biofuels production routes that are fast being developed to address the global increase in energy usage. Research and development in this field is aimed at improving the quality and environmental impact of biofuels production, as well as the overall efficiency and output of biofuels production plants. The book provides a comprehensive and systematic reference on the range of biomass conversion processes and technology. Key changes for this second edition include increased coverage of emerging feedstocks, including microalgae, more emphasis on by-product valorization for biofuels’ production, additional chapters on emerging biofuel production methods, and discussion of the emissions associated with biofuel use in engines. The editorial team is strengthened by the addition of two extra members, and a number of new contributors have been invited to work with authors from the first edition to revise existing chapters, thus offering fresh perspectives. Provides systematic and detailed coverage of the processes and technologies being used for biofuel production Discusses advanced chemical, biochemical, and thermochemical biofuels production routes that are fast being developed to address the global increase in energy usage Reviews the production of both first and second generation biofuels Addresses integrated biofuel production in biorefineries and the use of waste materials as feedstocks

Download or read book Biofuels in Africa written by Donald Mitchell and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 2010-11-24 with total page 220 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A new economic opportunity for sub-Saharan Africa is looming large: biofuel production. Rapidly rising energy prices are expected to remain high for an extended period of time because of the increasing demand in prospering and populous countries such as China and India, the depletion of easily accessible supplies of crude oil, and concern over global climate change. As a result, there is renewed interest in biofuels as an alternative to fossil fuels. Africa is uniquely positioned to produce these new cash crops for both domestic use and export. The region has abundant land resources and preferential access to protected markets with higher-than-world-market prices. The rapid growth in the demand for transport fuels in Africa and high fuel prices create domestic markets for biofuels. The European Union and the United States have approved legislation that requires large increases in the consumption of biofuels over at least the next decade. Imports are expected to be needed to meet these mandates, thus opening the door to African and other developing countries that can produce biofuels or feedstocks for biofuels competitively. Expanding the production of crops for biofuels will affect the entire rural sector in Africa as resources are shifted away from traditional crops and the prices of all agricultural commodities rise. Even smallholders can participate in producing biofuel crops. To promote the sustainability and significant contribution of this enterprise, Biofuels in Africa provides guidance in formulating suitable policy regimes, which are based on protecting the rights of current land users, developing revenue-sharing schemes with local communities, safeguarding the environment and biodiversity, expanding institutional capacity, formulating new regulations and procedures, and emulating best practices from experienced countries. This volume will be of value to anyone interested in biofuels, including policy makers, development practitioners, private investors, researchers, and the general public. Now that African countries are trying to significantly increase their energy supply systems, biofuels are an attractive option using both dedicated crops and agricultural waste. This book provides guidance for them to develop a suitable policy regime for a significant contribution by biofuels. Professor Ogunlade R. Davidson, Minister of Energy and Water Resources, Sierra Leone Biofuels in Africa is a sorely needed resource for our understanding of the problems of expanding biofuels production in Africa. A high point of the book is a description of the projects that were started in several countries. A very useful book! Professor Jos Goldemberg, University of S o Paulo, Brazil As Africa most likely will play the same role for global biofuels as the Middle East does for oil, this comprehensive book on African biofuels should be compulsory reading for anyone interested in either African development or biofuels. The book captures the essence of long-term drivers and opportunities as well the complex challenges for investors and society of this huge emerging industry. Per Carstedt, Executive Chairman, EcoEnergy Africa

Download or read book Biofuels for a More Sustainable Future written by Jingzheng Ren and published by Elsevier. This book was released on 2019-08-20 with total page 416 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Biofuels for a More Sustainable Future: Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment and Multi-criteria Decision Making provides a comprehensive sustainability analysis of biofuels based on life cycle thinking and develops various multi-dimensional decision-making techniques for prioritizing biofuel production technologies. Taking a transversal approach, the book combines life cycle sustainability assessment, life cycle assessment, life cycle costing analysis, social life cycle assessment, sustainability metrics, triple bottom line, operations research methods, and supply chain design for investigating the critical factors and key enablers that influence the sustainable development of biofuel industry. This book will equip researchers and policymakers in the energy sector with the scientific methodology and metrics needed to develop strategies for viable sustainability transition. It will be a key resource for students, researchers and practitioners seeking to deepen their knowledge on energy planning and current and future trends of biofuel as an alternative fuel. Provides an innovative approach to promoting sustainable development in biofuel production by linking supply chain design and decision support with the life cycle perspective Features case studies and examples that illustrate the theory and methods developed Includes material on corporate social responsibility and economic analysis of biofuels that is highly useful to policy-makers and administrators in both government and enterprise sectors