Advanced Biofuels: Review of Effects on Environment and Socioeconomic Development

Abstract

In the current scenario when depleting crude oil sources pose a challenge against energy security the advanced biofuels seems as suitable alternate for transport sector. Because of lignocellulosic biomass based production advanced biofuels are considered as environment friendly and they have positive income and employment impacts on the socioeconomic conditions. The study has objectives to test the aforementioned claims on the basis of a review of available literature. It is found that the GHG emission from conventional biofuels is not as much lower as claimed. But the advanced biofuels found to be more environment friendly than their counterparts. The data on socioeconomic impacts of advanced biofuel is scarce and only available for the USA which is reported in this study. It is found that the agriculture sector is significantly benefited sector by the industrial scale production of the advanced biofuels. For the assessment of large scale impacts it is assumed that the dynamics of spreading of socioeconomic impacts of advanced biofuels industry is same as the conventional biofuel industry. On the basis of aforementioned observations, this study also supports the notion of positive environmental and socioeconomic impacts of the advanced biofuels but on the conditions of sustainable and decarbonized supply chain.