The EU regime on biofuels in transport: Still in search of sustainability. Egmont Paper No. 68, July 2014

Like other regions of the world, the EU is developing biofuels in the transport sector to reduce oil consumption and mitigate climate change. To promote them, it has adopted favourable legislation since the 2000s. In 2009 it even decided to oblige each Member State to ensure that by 2020 the share of energy coming from renewable sources reached at least 10% of their final consumption of energy in the transport sector. Biofuels are considered the main instrument to reach that percentage since the development of other alternatives (such as hydrogen and electricity) will take much longer than expected. Meanwhile, these various legislative initiatives have driven the production and consumption of biofuels in the EU. Biofuels accounted for 4.7% of EU transport fuel consumption in 2011. They have also led to trade and investment in biofuels on a global scale. This large-scale expansion of biofuels has, however, revealed numerous negative impacts. These stem from the fact that first-generation biofuels (i.e., those produced from food crops), of which the most important types are biodiesel and bioethanol, are used almost exclusively to meet the EU’s renewable 10% target in transport. Their negative impacts are: socioeconomic (food price rises), legal (land-grabbing), environmental (for instance, water stress and water pollution; soil erosion; reduction of biodiversity), climatic (direct and indirect land-use effects resulting in more greenhouse gas emissions) and public finance issues (subsidies and tax relief). The extent of such negative impacts depends on how biofuel feedstocks are produced and processed, the scale of production, and in particular, how they influence direct land use change (DLUC) and indirect land use change (ILUC) and the international trade. These negative impacts have thus provoked mounting debates in recent years, with a particular focus on ILUC. They have forced the EU to re-examine how it deals with biofuels and submit amendments to update its legislation. So far, the EU legislation foresees that only sustainable biofuels (produced in the EU or imported) can be used to meet the 10% target and receive public support; and to that end, mandatory sustainability criteria have been defined. Yet they have a huge flaw. Their measurement of greenhouse gas savings from biofuels does not take into account greenhouse gas emissions resulting from ILUC, which represent a major problem. The Energy Council of June 2014 agreed to set a limit on the extent to which firstgeneration biofuels can count towards the 10% target. But this limit appears to be less stringent than the ones made previously by the European Commission and the European Parliament. It also agreed to introduce incentives for the use of advanced (second- and third-generation) biofuels which would be allowed to count double towards the 10% target. But this again appears extremely modest by comparison with what was previously proposed. Finally, the approach chosen to take into account the greenhouse gas emissions due to ILUC appears more than cautious. The Energy Council agreed that the European Commission will carry out a reporting of ILUC emissions by using provisional estimated factors. A review clause will permit the later adjustment of these ILUC factors. With such legislative orientations made by the Energy Council, one cannot consider yet that there is a major shift in the EU biofuels policy. Bolder changes would have probably meant risking the collapse of the high-emission conventional biodiesel industry which currently makes up the majority of Europe’s biofuel production. The interests of EU farmers would have also been affected. There is nevertheless a tension between these legislative orientations and the new Commission’s proposals beyond 2020. In any case, many uncertainties remain on this issue. As long as solutions have not been found to minimize the important collateral damages provoked by the first generation biofuels, more scientific studies and caution are needed. Meanwhile, it would be wise to improve alternative paths towards a sustainable transport sector, i.e., stringent emission and energy standards for all vehicles, better public transport systems, automobiles that run on renewable energy other than biofuels, or other alternatives beyond the present imagination.

Kaasukäyttöisen jäteauton toiminnan tutkiminen ja soveltuvuuden selvittäminen pääkaupunkiseudun jätteenkuljetuksiin

Kaasunkäyttö liikennepolttoaineena on Suomessa vielä melko vähäistä. Maa- ja biokaasun käyttöä pyritään kuitenkin lisäämään, sillä EU:n jäsenvaltioiden tulee korvatavuoteen 2010 mennessä 5,75 % nykyisistä liikenteen polttoaineista biopolttoaineilla ja vuoteen 2020 mennessä jopa 20 %:a. Tässä työssä tutkittiin kaasukäyttöisen (CNG) jäteauton vahvuuksia ja heikkouksia dieseljäteautoon verrattuna. Ensimmäinen CNG-jäteauto aloitti liikennöinnin Pääkaupunkiseudun yhteistyövaltuuskunnan alueella joulukuussa 2005. Kaasujäteautolle suoritettujen melu- ja pakokaasupäästömittausten perusteella selvisi, että CNG-jäteauto on ympäristön kannalta dieseljäteautoa puhtaampi vaihtoehto. Kaasujäteautolla on myös yrityksen imagoon positiivinen vaikutus. Jäteautojen kustannuslaskelmat osoittivat, että kaasujäteauto tulee kokonaiskustannuksiltaan kalliimmaksi kuin dieseljäteauto. Ainoastaan CNG-jäteauton polttoainekustannukset ovat toistaiseksi edullisemmat kuin dieseljäteauton. Kaasujäteautokannan lisääntyminen edellyttää kaasun liikennepolttoainekäytön tukemista esimerkiksi antamalla lisäpisteitä urakkatarjouskilpailuissa. Tällöin eri polttoainevaihtoehtojen välillesyntyy kilpailua, millä voi tulevaisuudessa olla vaikutusta CNG-jäteauton kokonaiskustannusten alenemiseen ja kaasun käytön lisäämiseen taloudellisesti kannattavasti. Myös edistämällä biokaasun hyötykäyttöä liikennepolttoaineena saavutetaan maakaasua paremmat ympäristöhyödyt ja saadaan kaatopaikoilla muodostuva metaani talteen. Biokaasu on hiilidioksidineutraali polttoaine, joten sen poltosta ei synny kasvihuonekaasupäästöjä.

Bio- ja maakaasu liikennepolttoaineena Suomessa

Työssä tarkastellaan bio- ja maakaasun käyttöä Suomen tieliikenteen polttoaineena. Työn lähtökohtana on selvittää kaasukäyttöisten ajoneuvojen käytön kannattavuutta Suomessa ja niiden etuja muihin polttoaineisiin nähden. Tutkielmassa perehdytään erityisesti biokaasun käyttöön fossiilisten polttoaineiden korvaajana ja mitä vaatimuksia sen käytön lisääminen edellyttää. Työssä perehdytään kaasujen tuotantomenetelmiin, jakeluun, taloudelliseen kannattavuuteen, ympäristöystävällisyyteen ja tulevaisuuden näkymiin.

Etanoli liikennepolttoaineena Suomessa

Suomi on sitoutunut vähentämään liikenteen kasvihuonekaasupäästöjä ja lisäämään uusiutuvan energian käyttöä liikenteessä vuoteen 2020 mennessä. EU:n energiastrategian mukaisesti liikenteelle on asetettu 10 prosentin tavoiteosuus uusiutuvan energian osalta liikenteen energian loppukulutuksesta. EU:n tavoitteiden lisäksi Suomi on asettanut kansalliseksi tavoitteekseen uusiutuvan energian osuudeksi 20 prosenttia liikenteen energian loppukulutuksesta. Nestemäiset biopolttoaineet ovat laadukkaasti ja kestävästi tuotettuina nopea ja kustannustehokas tapa vähentää liikenteen kasvihuonekaasupäästöjä. Etanoli on maailman käytetyin liikenteen biopolttoaine. Maailman etanolin tuotannossa käytetään pääosin tärkkelys- ja sokeripitoisia raaka-aineita, kuten maissia ja sokeriruokoa. Pääosa Suomessa käytetystä etanolipolttoaineesta tuodaan ulkomailta. Ainoa Suomessa etanolia liikennekäyttöön tuottava yritys on St1 Biofuels Oy, joka käyttää etanolin tuotannossa jäteperäisiä raaka-aineita. Tulevaisuudessa yhtiö suunnittelee tuottavansa valtaosan Suomessa käytetystä etanolista selluloosapohjaisista raaka-aineista. Etanoli soveltuu käytettäväksi moottoripolttoaineena sellaisenaan, mutta useista käyttöteknisistä syistä sitä käytetään enimmäkseen bensiinikomponenttina. Suurin osa Suomessa käytetystä etanolista muodostuu moottoribensiineille asetetuista jakeluvelvoitteista. Korkeaseosetanolipolttoaineen (E85) käytölle suunnitelluissa FFV-ajoneuvoissa voidaan käyttää etanolin ja bensiinin seosta aina 85 tilavuusprosentin etanolipitoisuuteen asti. Lisäaineistettua etanolia voidaan myös käyttää dieselmoottorin polttoaineena. Tulevaisuudessa etanolipolttoaineen kulutus Suomessa keskittynee pääasiassa nykytilanteen mukaisesti etanolin käyttöön bensiinikomponenttina.

EU Policies on Bioenergy and their Potential Clash with the WTO

The paper outlines EU policy on bioenergy, including biofuels, in the context of its policy initiatives to promote renewable energy to combat greenhouse gas emissions and climate change. The EU's Member States are responsible for implementing EU policy: thus, the UK's Renewables Obligation on electricity suppliers and its Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation and road-fuel tax rebates are examined. It is unlikely that EU policy is in conflict with the WTO Agreement on Agriculture or that on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures, but its provisions on environmental sustainability criteria could be problematic.

Energy efficiency potential in Jamaica: challenges, opportunities and strategies for implementation

Incluye Bibliografía

Induction of Microalgal Lipids for Biodiesel Production in Tandem with Sequestration of High Carbon Dioxide Concentration

There is no doubt that sufficient energy supply is indispensable for the fulfillment of our fossil fuel crises in a stainable fashion. There have been many attempts in deriving biodiesel fuel from different bioenergy crops including corn, canola, soybean, palm, sugar cane and vegetable oil. However, there are some significant challenges, including depleting feedstock supplies, land use change impacts and food use competition, which lead to high prices and inability to completely displace fossil fuel [1-2]. In recent years, use of microalgae as an alternative biodiesel feedstock has gained renewed interest as these fuels are becoming increasingly economically viable, renewable, and carbon-neutral energy sources. One reason for this renewed interest derives from its promising growth giving it the ability to meet global transport fuel demand constraints with fewer energy supplies without compromising the global food supply. In this study, Chlorella protothecoides microalgae were cultivated under different conditions to produce high-yield biomass with high lipid content which would be converted into biodiesel fuel in tandem with the mitigation of high carbon dioxide concentration. The effects of CO2 using atmospheric and 15% CO2 concentration and light intensity of 35 and 140 µmol m-2s-1 on the microalgae growth and lipid induction were studied. The approach used was to culture microalgal Chlorella protothecoides with inoculation of 1×105 cells/ml in a 250-ml Erlenmeyer flask, irradiated with cool white fluorescent light at ambient temperature. Using these conditions we were able to determine the most suitable operating conditions for cultivating the green microalgae to produce high biomass and lipids. Nile red dye was used as a hydrophobic fluorescent probe to detect the induced intracellular lipids. Also, gas chromatograph mass spectroscopy was used to determine the CO2 concentrations in each culture flask using the closed continuous loop system. The goal was to study how the 15% CO2 concentration was being used up by the microalgae during cultivation. The results show that the condition of high light intensity of 140 µmol m-2s-1 with 15% CO2 concentration obtain high cell concentration of 7 x 105 cells mL-1 after culturing Chlorella protothecoides for 9 to 10 day in both open and closed systems respectively. Higher lipid content was estimated as indicated by fluorescence intensity with 1.3 to 2.5 times CO2 reduction emitted by power plants. The particle size of Chlorella protothecoides increased as well due to induction of lipid accumulation by the cells when culture under these condition (140 µmol m-2s-1 with 15% CO2 concentration).

Modeling the Transport Sector: The Role of Existing Fuel Taxes in Climate Policy

Existing fuel taxes play a major role in determining the welfare effects of exempting the transportation sector from measures to control greenhouse gases. To study this phenomenon we modify the MIT Emissions Prediction and Policy Analysis (EPPA) model to disaggregate the household transportation sector. This improvement requires an extension of the GTAP data set that underlies the model. The revised and extended facility is then used to compare economic costs of cap-and-trade systems differentiated by sector, focusing on two regions: the USA where the fuel taxes are low, and Europe where the fuel taxes are high. We find that the interplay between carbon policies and pre-existing taxes leads to different results in these regions: in the USA exemption of transport from such a system would increase the welfare cost of achieving a national emissions target, while in Europe such exemptions will correct pre-existing distortions and reduce the cost.

Comparison of the Fuel Needed to Transport Plastic Recyclables Verses Aluminum Recyclables from Yellowstone National Park

Research has provided no definitive answers on whether PET plastic bottles or aluminum cans are a more environmentally sustainable choice as soda containers. This paper researches the fuel used in recycling each of these materials from Yellowstone National Park to processing locations. The data is used to determine which of these alternatives use less fuel in this process. It was found that plastics use more fuel when transported from Yellowstone National Park to the processing center. Aluminum uses less fuel per ton to transport from Yellowstone to the processing center. The conclusions from this research may have implications on which material would be advised to use in selling soda in Yellowstone National Park.

Water transport in complex, non-wetting porous layers with applications to water management in low temperature fuel cells

An experimental setup was designed to visualize water percolation inside the porous transport layer, PTL, of proton exchange membrane, PEM, fuel cells and identify the relevant characterization parameters. In parallel with the observation of the water movement, the injection pressure (pressure required to transport water through the PTL) was measured. A new scaling for the drainage in porous media has been proposed based on the ratio between the input and the dissipated energies during percolation. A proportional dependency was obtained between the energy ratio and a non-dimensional time and this relationship is not dependent on the flow regime; stable displacement or capillary fingering. Experimental results show that for different PTL samples (from different manufacturers) the proportionality is different. The identification of this proportionality allows a unique characterization of PTLs with respect to water transport. This scaling has relevance in porous media flows ranging far beyond fuel cells. In parallel with the experimental analysis, a two-dimensional numerical model was developed in order to simulate the phenomena observed in the experiments. The stochastic nature of the pore size distribution, the role of the PTL wettability and morphology properties on the water transport were analyzed. The effect of a second porous layer placed between the porous transport layer and the catalyst layer called microporous layer, MPL, was also studied. It was found that the presence of the MPL significantly reduced the water content on the PTL by enhancing fingering formation. Moreover, the presence of small defects (cracks) within the MPL was shown to enhance water management. Finally, a corroboration of the numerical simulation was carried out. A threedimensional version of the network model was developed mimicking the experimental conditions. The morphology and wettability of the PTL are tuned to the experiment data by using the new energy scaling of drainage in porous media. Once the fit between numerical and experimental data is obtained, the computational PTL structure can be used in different types of simulations where the conditions are representative of the fuel cell operating conditions.