Page 67 - Advances in Eco-Fuels for a Sustainable Environment

44 Advances in Eco-Fuels for a Sustainable Environment

Biofuels may prove less harmful to an organism’s health than their fossil counter-
part: biodiesel has been shown to contain fewer polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons
(PAHs) that are linked to human cancer.

2.6 Economic considerations

Contrary to widespread popular perception, biofuels cannot be produced in limitless
quantities just because they are renewable. Mankind’s increasing energy needs far
outpace the ability to grow biomass for biofuels for one simple reason: land availabil-
ity. Growing biofuel feedstock necessarily competes with the food-growing process.
A second reason, mentioned in the previous section, is water availability.
The balance between food and biofuel demand is what keeps the relatively simple
process of growing feedstock and making biofuels from being substantially cheaper
than fossil fuel. This, combined with an increased technological ability to extract fos-
sil oil from previously unsuitable reserves, makes the industrial price of fossil fuels
actually still lower than biofuels. Fig. 2.8 shows current costs of electricity from var-
ious biomasses and renewable sources. For a fuel to be economically viable, the main
parameters are feedstock cost and availability. For example, in 2008, the global mar-
6
ket for 1-butanol was 2.8 10 t, at an estimated worth of approximately $5 billion,
expected to grow at 3.2% p.a. with demand concentrated in North America (28%),
Western Europe (23%), and Northeast Asia (35%).
With the current demand, butanol is produced globally at more than 4.5 billion
liters per year, with a market estimate in 2020 of $247 billion, due to its advantages

2014 USD/kWh
0.4

0.3

0.2

0.1
Range of today’s fossil fuel electricity costs
0.0
2014 2025 2014 2025 2014 2025 2014 2025 2014 2025 2014 2025 2014 2025 2014 2025 2014 2025 2014 2025 2014 2025 2014 2025 2014 2025
Wind onshore Wind offshore Solar PV-grid CSP PTC (no storage) CSP PTC (6 h storage) CSP ST (6–15 h storage) Biomass-stoker/BFB/CFB Biomass-gasification Biomass-AD Biomass-co-firing Biomass-non-OECD Hydropower Geothermal

Fig. 2.8 Price (USD/kWh) of electric energy from various sources.