Search

Abstract: Expanding the use of biofuels is controversial because of concerns about competition with food. Here we describe how varying the biofuel demand could help address these concerns. Variable biofuel demand can be implemented through market or policy mechanisms that adjust biofuel production according to feedstock availability, expanding or contracting in response to supply surplus or limitations. Based on a survey, an expert workshop, and relevant literature, the effects of a variable biofuel demand approach are evaluated with respect to food security, agricultural productivity, detrimental land‐use change, and feedstock competition with biobased chemicals and materials. Here we provide evidence that variable biofuel demand can enhance the synergistic development of agriculture, renewable biomass feedstocks and biofuels, but implementation faces several challenges. Recommendations are provided for governance options to tackle these challenges. © 2020 The Authors. Biofuels, Bioproducts, and Biorefining published by Society of Chemical Industry and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The export of wood pellets from the southeastern United States (USA) has grown significantly in recent years, following rising demand from Europe. Increased wood pellet demand could lead to spatially variable changes in timberland management and area in the USA. This study presents an assessment of the impacts of increasing wood pellet demand (an additional 11.6 Mt by 2030) on land-use dynamics, taking into account developments in other wood product markets as well as expected changes in other land uses. An economic model for the forest sector of the southeastern USA (SRTS) was linked to a land-use change model (PLUC) to identify potential locations of land-use change following scenarios of demand for pellets and other wood products. Projections show that in the absence of additional demand for wood pellets, natural timberland area is projected to decline by 450-15 000 km2 by 2030, mainly through urbanization and pine plantation establishment. Under the high wood pellet demand scenario, more (2000-7500 km2) natural timberland area is retained and more (8000-20 000 km2) pine plantation is established. Shifts from natural timberland to pine plantation occur predominantly in the Atlantic coastal region. Future work will assess the impact of projected transitions in natural timberland and pine plantations on biodiversity and carbon storage. This modeling framework can be applied for multiple scenarios and land-use projections to identify locations of timberland area changes for the whole southeastern USA, thereby informing the debate about potential impacts of wood pellet demand on land-use dynamics and environmental services. © 2017 The Authors. Biofuels, Bioproducts and Biorefining published by Society of Chemical Industry and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the effect poster presentation from the conferences of sciences for creating awareness regarding sustainable bioenergy. Particular focus is given impacts of the posters which include research work information, helps in scientific communications, and knowledge transfer. Methods to create posters, its benefits, and initiatives of the department of energy of U.S. are also discussed.

A framework for selecting and evaluating indicators of bioenergy sustainability is presented. This framework is designed to facilitate decision-making about which indicators are useful for assessing sustainability of bioenergy systems and supporting their deployment. Efforts to develop sustainability indicators in the United States and Europe are reviewed. The first steps of the framework for indicator selection are defining the sustainability goals and other goals for a bioenergy project or program, gaining an understanding of the context, and identifying the values of stakeholders. From the goals, context, and stakeholders, the objectives for analysis and criteria for indicator selection can be developed. The user of the framework identifies and ranks indicators, applies them in an assessment, and then evaluates their effectiveness, while identifying gaps that prevent goals from being met, assessing lessons learned, and moving toward best practices. The framework approach emphasizes that the selection of appropriate criteria and indicators is driven by the specific purpose of an analysis. Realistic goals and measures of bioenergy sustainability can be developed systematically with the help of the framework presented here. © 2015 Society of Chemical Industry and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Potential global biodiversity impacts from near-term gasoline production are compared to biofuel, a renewable liquid transportation fuel expected to substitute for gasoline in the near term (i.e., from now until c. 2030). Petroleum exploration activities are projected to extend across more than 5.8 billion ha of land and ocean worldwide (of which 3.1 billion is on land), much of which is in remote, fragile terrestrial ecosystems or off-shore oil fields that would remain relatively undisturbed if not for interest in fossil fuel production. Future biomass production for biofuels is projected to fall within 2.0 billion ha of land, most of which is located in areas already impacted by human activities. A comparison of likely fuel-source areas to the geospatial distribution of species reveals that both energy sources overlap with areas with high species richness and large numbers of threatened species. At the global scale, future petroleum production areas intersect more than double the area and a higher total number of threatened species than future biofuel production. Energy options should be developed to optimize provisioning of ecosystem services while minimizing negative effects, which requires information about potential impacts on critical resources. Energy conservation and identifying and effectively protecting habitats with high-conservation value are critical first steps toward protecting biodiversity under any fuel production scenario. Published in 2014 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]