Perspectives on Biofuels Potential Benefits and Possible Pitfall

About this book

Today, fossil fuels dominate the worldwide energy mix. Combining the finite supply of fossil fuels with their adverse environmental impact and the uneven worldwide distribution causes political and economic tensions. Biofuels can improve the current energy portfolio since they are renewable resources grown domestically thereby offering potential economic, environmental and security benefits.

The role of biofuels as a liquid fuel replacement is nascent, but projected to grow significantly in the coming years as chemists and chemical engineers contribute to solving technical problems in the use of lignocellulosic feedstocks. To insure we take the wisest approach during biofuel development, chemists and engineers in their roles as managers and policy makers need to have a broad perspective of the impacts of biofuel production so they are able to consider the long-term impacts of biofuel development on the economy, environment and society.

Contents

Dedication
1. Putting Biofuels into Context Beyond Biofuels Chemistry—Context, Issues, and Broader Perspectives Important to the Technical Audience
Rich Lomneth, Caroline Taylor, and Frankie Wood-Black
2. Projecting an Energy Future: Biofuels, Bioenergy, and the Importance of Regionality in Scenarios and Potentials
Caroline Taylor
3. The Effects of Stakeholder Values on Biofuel Feedstock Choices
Heather L. Youngs
4. Inventories and the Global Food-Commodity Prices
Gal Hochman, Deepak Rajagopal, Govinda Timilsina, and David Zilberman
5. Avoiding the Unintended Consequences of Bioenergy
S. A. Miller
6. Sustainability of Bioenergy from Forestry
Marcia Patton-Mallory
7. Algal Technologies for Biological Capture and Utilization of CO₂ Require Breakthroughs in Basic Research
Jennifer L. Milne, Jeffrey C. Cameron, Lawrence E. Page, Sally M. Benson, and Himadri B. Pakrasi
8. Unintended Consequences: Evaluation of the Pros and Cons of New Technologies and Regulatory Drivers as They Relate to the Potential Changes in Behavior and Infrastructure
Frankie Wood-Black, Ph.D., REM, MBA
9. Economist's Perspective on Biofuels
David Zilberman, Deepak Rajagopal, and Gal Hochman
10. Securing a Bioenergy Supply: UK and US
C. Whittaker, P. W. R. Adams, and M. C. McManus
11. Biomass Sustainability Standards: Towards a Credible and Feasible Measure of Biomass Sustainability for U.S. Bioenergy Policy
Jody M. Endres, J.D., M.A.

Editors' Biographies
Indexes
Author Index
Subject Index

Customer Reviews

Biography

Caroline Taylor is associated with the University of California, Berkeley. Rich Lomneth is associated with the University of Nebraska at Omaha. Frankie Wood-Black is associated with Trihydro Corporation.