Benefits and risks of bioenergy

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Bioenergy > Issues > Benefits and risks of bioenergy

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This list is an evolving "outline" of issues related to the sustainability of bioenergy; related data should be included with citations, and differing views on each point introduced.

Contents 1 Economic issues 1.1 Potential benefits 1.2 Potential risks 2 Energy and climate issues 2.1 Potential benefits 2.2 Potential risks 2.3 Energy issues 3 Environmental issues 3.1 Potential benefits 3.1.1 Environmental benefits of biofuels 3.2 Potential risks 3.2.1 Environmental risks/concerns related to the sustainability of biofuels 4 Social 4.1 Potential benefits 4.2 Potential risks 5 Technological issues 5.1 Potential benefits 5.2 Potential risks 5.3 Technologies 6 Organizations

Economic issues

Potential benefits

• Employment
• Farm income

Potential risks

• Costs of bioenergy
  • Cost of ethanol

Energy and climate issues

Potential benefits

• Reduced carbon emissions

Potential risks

Energy issues

• Energy content of biofuels
  • The ethanol-gasoline blend E-85 has a net energy content of some three-quarters of an equivalent volume of gasoline.[1]
• Net energy of biofuels
  • Energy balance of biofuels

Environmental issues

Potential benefits

Environmental benefits of biofuels

• Reduced life-cycle release of CO₂ compared to fossil fuels

Potential risks

According to researchers at the University of Leeds, clearing forests to grow biofuel crops could lead to the release of 2 to 9 times as much carbon into the atmosphere as the use of fossil fuels.[2]

Environmental risks/concerns related to the sustainability of biofuels

• Biodiversity
• Water
  • Water quality
  • Water quantity
• Habitat destruction
  • Monocultures (monoculture plantations)
• Soil degradation/soil erosion
  • "mining" of topsoil
  • agricultural chemical runoff - herbicides, pesticides
• Competition for the use of crops for food (the food versus fuel issue)
  • displacement of agricultural practices (issues of Land use).

See also Feedstocks for information on the advantages/disadvantages of each of the different feedstocks.

Social

Potential benefits

• Rural job creation
• Local sustainability

Potential risks

• Poverty issues
  • Land tenure - e.g., potential displacement of people with insecure land tenure due to the expansion of plantations to meet growing demand for feedstocks.
• Gender issues
• "Food versus fuel"
• Conflicts over water

Technological issues

Potential benefits

Potential risks

Technologies

• Technology transfer
  • Support for developing countries
    • Global Village Energy Partnership - Promotes decentralized energy.

Organizations

• Biofuel Watch - Discusses sustainablitity concerns of bioenergy sources.

	Bioenergy impacts	edit
Air | Agriculture | Food prices | Land use | Water

	Types of bioenergy	edit
Gases: Biopropane | Biogas | Synthetic natural gas | Syngas Liquids: Biodiesel | Biobutanol | Biogasoline | Biokerosene | Biomass-to-Liquids (BTL) | Dimethyl ether (DME) ETBE | Ethanol | Methanol | Pure plant oil (PPO) | Pyrolysis oil | Synthetic Natural Gas Solids: Biomass pellets | Char/Charcoal | Wood

	Bioenergy conversion technologies	edit
Technologies categorized by bioenergy processes: Biochemical: Aerobic, Anaerobic, Landfill gas collection (LFG), Biodiesel production, Ethanol production Physiochemical: Thermochemical: Combustion, Gasification, Pyrolysis, Depolymerization Biorefineries Technologies categorized by feedstock: Algae | Cellulosic technology Technologies by commercialization status: Analysis of technologies: Life-cycle analysis

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