Energy Return on Investment (EROI) and Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) of biofuels in Ecuador
In Ecuador, the net energy contribution of biofuels is unknown or unnoticed. To address this issue, we determined the Energy Return on Investment (EROI) for bioethanol and biodiesel.The selection of raw materials relied on their productive capacity, export and import records, and historical yields....
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Elsevier
2020-06-01
|
| Series: | Heliyon |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405844020310574 |
| _version_ | 1828762387919929344 |
|---|---|
| author | Gonzalo Chiriboga Andrés De La Rosa Camila Molina Stefany Velarde Ghem Carvajal C |
| author_facet | Gonzalo Chiriboga Andrés De La Rosa Camila Molina Stefany Velarde Ghem Carvajal C |
| author_sort | Gonzalo Chiriboga |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In Ecuador, the net energy contribution of biofuels is unknown or unnoticed. To address this issue, we determined the Energy Return on Investment (EROI) for bioethanol and biodiesel.The selection of raw materials relied on their productive capacity, export and import records, and historical yields. Consequently, the scope included three raw materials for ethanol (sugar cane, corn, and forest residues) and four for biodiesel (African palm, pinion, bovine fat, and swine fat).Using a method based on the Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) of each biofuel, we assessed the entire production chain through statistical processing of primary and secondary information. Then we calculated the calorific values in the laboratory, compared energy inputs/outputs, and finally obtained the energetic returns.EROIs for bioethanol were: 1.797 for sugarcane, 1.040 for corn, and 0.739 for wood. The results for biodiesel were: 3.052 for African palm, 2.743 for pinion, 2.187 for bovine fat, and 2.891 for swine fat. These values suggest feasibility only for sugarcane in the case of ethanol. In contrast, biodiesel has better prospects because all the feedstocks analyzed had EROIs higher than two. Nevertheless, biodiesel is not available for trading in Ecuador because energy policy has overlooked systems based on higher energy return. Future studies should consider more comprehensive variables such as climate change, land use, and water management. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-11T01:43:47Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-ef7775169e9f4c9e8e7bc07643e51823 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2405-8440 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-11T01:43:47Z |
| publishDate | 2020-06-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Heliyon |
| spelling | doaj.art-ef7775169e9f4c9e8e7bc07643e518232022-12-22T01:24:58ZengElsevierHeliyon2405-84402020-06-0166e04213Energy Return on Investment (EROI) and Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) of biofuels in EcuadorGonzalo Chiriboga0Andrés De La Rosa1Camila Molina2Stefany Velarde3Ghem Carvajal C4Corresponding author.; Central University of Ecuador, Chemical Engineering Faculty, Jerónimo Ritter S/N and Bolivia Quito, EcuadorCentral University of Ecuador, Chemical Engineering Faculty, Jerónimo Ritter S/N and Bolivia Quito, EcuadorCentral University of Ecuador, Chemical Engineering Faculty, Jerónimo Ritter S/N and Bolivia Quito, EcuadorCentral University of Ecuador, Chemical Engineering Faculty, Jerónimo Ritter S/N and Bolivia Quito, EcuadorCentral University of Ecuador, Chemical Engineering Faculty, Jerónimo Ritter S/N and Bolivia Quito, EcuadorIn Ecuador, the net energy contribution of biofuels is unknown or unnoticed. To address this issue, we determined the Energy Return on Investment (EROI) for bioethanol and biodiesel.The selection of raw materials relied on their productive capacity, export and import records, and historical yields. Consequently, the scope included three raw materials for ethanol (sugar cane, corn, and forest residues) and four for biodiesel (African palm, pinion, bovine fat, and swine fat).Using a method based on the Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) of each biofuel, we assessed the entire production chain through statistical processing of primary and secondary information. Then we calculated the calorific values in the laboratory, compared energy inputs/outputs, and finally obtained the energetic returns.EROIs for bioethanol were: 1.797 for sugarcane, 1.040 for corn, and 0.739 for wood. The results for biodiesel were: 3.052 for African palm, 2.743 for pinion, 2.187 for bovine fat, and 2.891 for swine fat. These values suggest feasibility only for sugarcane in the case of ethanol. In contrast, biodiesel has better prospects because all the feedstocks analyzed had EROIs higher than two. Nevertheless, biodiesel is not available for trading in Ecuador because energy policy has overlooked systems based on higher energy return. Future studies should consider more comprehensive variables such as climate change, land use, and water management.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405844020310574EnergyEnvironmental chemical engineeringBiofuelEnergy economicsEnergy sustainabilityEnergy return of investment |
| spellingShingle | Gonzalo Chiriboga Andrés De La Rosa Camila Molina Stefany Velarde Ghem Carvajal C Energy Return on Investment (EROI) and Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) of biofuels in Ecuador Heliyon Energy Environmental chemical engineering Biofuel Energy economics Energy sustainability Energy return of investment |
| title | Energy Return on Investment (EROI) and Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) of biofuels in Ecuador |
| title_full | Energy Return on Investment (EROI) and Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) of biofuels in Ecuador |
| title_fullStr | Energy Return on Investment (EROI) and Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) of biofuels in Ecuador |
| title_full_unstemmed | Energy Return on Investment (EROI) and Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) of biofuels in Ecuador |
| title_short | Energy Return on Investment (EROI) and Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) of biofuels in Ecuador |
| title_sort | energy return on investment eroi and life cycle analysis lca of biofuels in ecuador |
| topic | Energy Environmental chemical engineering Biofuel Energy economics Energy sustainability Energy return of investment |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405844020310574 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT gonzalochiriboga energyreturnoninvestmenteroiandlifecycleanalysislcaofbiofuelsinecuador AT andresdelarosa energyreturnoninvestmenteroiandlifecycleanalysislcaofbiofuelsinecuador AT camilamolina energyreturnoninvestmenteroiandlifecycleanalysislcaofbiofuelsinecuador AT stefanyvelarde energyreturnoninvestmenteroiandlifecycleanalysislcaofbiofuelsinecuador AT ghemcarvajalc energyreturnoninvestmenteroiandlifecycleanalysislcaofbiofuelsinecuador |