Sustainable Development of Algal Biofuels in the United States (2012) / Chapter Skim
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6 A Framework to Assess Sustainable Development of Algal Biofuels
6 A Framework to Assess Sustainable Development of Algal Biofuels
Pages 191-206
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From page 191... ...
Any one LCA for a single resource use or environmental effect is insufficient to determine the overall sustainability of an algal biofuel production system. Issues arise as to how to assess the overall environ mental sustainability of algal biofuels and how to balance the environmental objectives against economic and social objectives of sustainable development.
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From page 192... ...
requirements are not a key sustainability concern because the lipid-extracted algae undergo anaerobic digestion to produce energy and these nutrients are returned to the algal culture. Energy generation from anaerobic digestion contributes to reducing energy input and hence GHG emissions.
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From page 193... ...
If the coproduct is electricity, then market saturation will not be a concern. The energy requirement and GHG emissions could be lower compared to the reference pathway, and the cost of energy input into the algal biofuel production pathway could be reduced.
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From page 194... ...
The question arises as to how to make a holistic assessment of the relative sustainability of different algal biofuel production systems, given the multiple indicators and LCAs that represent various sustainability goals and objectives. As discussed in Chapter 2, indicators and LCAs are tools that can be used to assess a particular aspect of sustainability.
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From page 195... ...
It provides liquid fuels to improve energy security, wastewater treatment if wastewater is to be used as a culture medium, animal feed if it is produced as a coproduct, and energy if lipid-extracted algal biomass is used to generate electricity via anaerobic digestion. Conversely, algal biofuel production systems could compete for resources with other systems that provide ecosystem services -- for example fresh water, or land that could be used for food production or other human benefits.
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From page 196... ...
and has great promise for contributing to the understanding of the sustainability of algal biofuel production. Although analyses of ecosystem services integrate the various aspects of resource use and environmental effects, their application to a developing industry such as algal biofuels could be difficult because some aspects of ecosystem services
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From page 197... ...
. A key challenge to applying a cost-benefit analysis to algal biofuel production relates to nonmarket valuation.
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From page 198... ...
. 6.2.3 Cumulative Impacts In addition to assessing the sustainability goals quantitatively when possible, balancing the sustainability objectives, and minimizing tradeoffs, developing algal biofuels sustainably also would require consideration of the cumulative impacts to the environment.
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From page 199... ...
in its decision-making process on sustainable development of algal biofuels. The framework Alga Life-cycle Cumulative Integrating multiple resource uses and environmental effects Assessment impact Species Selection Energy and material Scale up of algae & Biology use over measures biofuel production such as supply and integration with Cultivation chain to obtain effects of existing System energy return on activities energy investment and water footprint Water Growth Model Intermediate Resource use and environmental effects: Constituents For example, Energy, Water, Greenhouse Gases, and Land Conversion Processes Ecosystem Service Analysis: Fuels / Products Integrates what ecosystems provide for human needs with requirements for algal biofuel production Cost-Benefit Analysis: Integrates monetized costs of resource use and environmental effects with benefits of algal biofuels Managing Sustainability: For example, Energy Security, Resource Availability, Air and Water Emissions FIGURE 6-1 A diagram illustrating various tools for assessing sustainability at different scales.
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From page 200... ...
Specifically, a given algal biofuel production system would have to have or at least show progress toward EROI within the range of EROIs of other transportation fuels (Figure 6-3) because algal biofuels will be compared with other petroleum-based fuels and nonpetroleum-based alternatives.
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From page 201... ...
. Reducing GHG emissions is another key goal in developing alternative liquid transportation fuels, and GHG emissions are closely related to energy input and output of algal biofuel production systems (Chapter 5)
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From page 202... ...
has to be assessed over the life cycle of fuel and in the context of regional availability. Thus, a national assessment of land requirements for algae cultivation that takes into account climatic conditions; brackish, fresh water, and waste water resources; and sources of concentrated CO2, and land prices could inform the potential amount of algal biofuels that could be produced economically in the United States.
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From page 203... ...
, and reduce processing requirements have the potential to greatly improve the energy balance, reduce GHG emissions, and enhance the overall sustainability of algal biofuels. SUMMARY FINDING FROM THIS CHAPTER The environmental, economic, and social effects of algal biofuel production and use have to be compared with those of petroleum-based fuels and other fuel alternatives to determine whether algal biofuels contribute to improving sustainability.
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From page 204... ...
2011. Biofuels, ecosystem services and human wellbeing: Putting biofuels in the ecosystem services narrative.
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From page 205... ...
2011. National microalgae biofuel production potential and resource demand.
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