1. A Methodological Framework for Assessing the Sustainability of Solid Biofuels Systems.
- Author
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Sacramento Rivero JC, Mwampamba TH, Navarro-Pineda FS, Musule R, García CA, Martínez-Bravo RD, Morales-García AL, Equihua-Sánchez M, Fuentes-Gutiérrez AF, Gallardo-Álvarez RM, Ruiz Camou CR, Grande-Acosta GK, Manzini F, Islas-Samperio JM, and Camarillo R
- Abstract
This paper introduces a methodological framework for assessing the sustainability of solid biofuels in Mexico. The designed framework comprises 13 normalized indicators and two diagnostic studies, covering the economic, social, environmental, and institutional sustainability dimensions, and their intersections. Indicators are normalized using the concept of load capacity of a system, similarly to the planetary boundaries. Thus, the graphical representation of results facilitates their multidimensional analysis. The framework was applied to three case studies: traditional fuelwood in rural households, charcoal for restaurant grilling, and electricity cogeneration from sugarcane bagasse. This was part of an iterative process of testing and refining the framework and simultaneously demonstrating its application in the Mexican bioenergy context. This led to the conclusion that the resulting framework (a) provides a useful, quantitative, and comprehensive overview of both broad and specific sustainability aspects of the assessed system; (b) requires a balance of accessible but also scattered or sensitive data, similarly to most existing frameworks; (c) is highly flexible and applicable to both modern and traditional solid biofuels; and (d) is simple to communicate and interpret for a wide audience. Key directions for improvement of the framework are also discussed., Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12155-021-10365-2., Competing Interests: Competing interestsThe authors have no conflicts of interest or competing interests to declare that are relevant to the content of this article., (© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2021.)
- Published
- 2022
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