Bioethanol from poplar: a commercially viable alternative to fossil fuel in the European Union

Biotechnology for Biofuels
Jade LittlewoodRichard J Murphy

Abstract

The European Union has made it a strategic objective to develop its biofuels market in order to minimize greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, to help mitigate climate change and to address energy insecurity within the transport sector. Despite targets set at national and supranational levels, lignocellulosic bioethanol production has yet to be widely commercialized in the European Union. Here, we use techno-economic modeling to compare the price of bioethanol produced from short rotation coppice (SRC) poplar feedstocks under two leading processing technologies in five European countries. Our evaluation shows that the type of processing technology and varying national costs between countries results in a wide range of bioethanol production prices (€0.275 to 0.727/l). The lowest production prices for bioethanol were found in countries that had cheap feedstock costs and high prices for renewable electricity. Taxes and other costs had a significant influence on fuel prices at the petrol station, and therefore the presence and amount of government support for bioethanol was a major factor determining the competitiveness of bioethanol with conventional fuel. In a forward-looking scenario, genetically engineering poplar with a reduced lign...Continue Reading

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Citations

Feb 14, 2015·Biotechnology Journal·Ilga Porth, Yousry A El-Kassaby
Sep 5, 2015·Biotechnology for Biofuels·Miao GuoRichard Murphy
Feb 12, 2017·Angewandte Chemie·Walter LeitnerKatharina Kohse-Höinghaus
Jun 3, 2020·Trends in Plant Science·Nathan D BryantArthur J Ragauskas

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Methods Mentioned

BETA
transgenic
genetic modification

Software Mentioned

EnergyPoplar

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