Potential and Environmental Impacts of Liquid Biofuel from Agricultural Residues in Thailand

Abstract

In this study, various national strategies and programs are described by planning instruments. The TIEB (Thailand Integrated Energy Blueprint), which includes six programs (AEDP, PDP, EEDP, ODP, GDP, REDP), aims to regulate renewable energy and improve the use of biofuel. In addition, the potential of second-generation biofuels is estimated with different residue extractions of second-generation biomasses: 20% (scenario 1), 44% (scenario 2), and 66% (scenario 3). Based on the production potentials that were estimated, CO2 will decrease 1.3–3.5 megatons in the gasoline sector, and 1.4–3.8 megatons in the diesel sector under scenario 1. In scenario 2, we estimated decreases of 2.8–7.7 mega tons and 3.2–8.4 mega tons of CO2 for the gasoline and diesel sectors, respectively. Finally, scenario 3 is expected to reduce the CO2 concentration by 4.2–11.6 megatons in the gasoline sector, and by 4.7–12.6 megatons in the diesel sector. We also estimate the economic potential of a second-generation biofuel with the view of emissions trading. For bioethanol and biodiesel, respectively, 27–74 million USD and 30–81 million USD could be realized in scenario 1, 60–163 million USD and 67–178 million USD in scenario 2, and 90–244 million USD and 100–267 million USD in scenario 3. We conclude that the future potential of second-generation biofuels in Thailand is optimistic, and that they can provide both environmental and economic benefits to the country.

The Availability and Assessment of Potential Agricultural Residues for the Regional Development of Second-Generation Bioethanol in Thailand

“…Approximate supply volumes of bioethanol could be 55.4 million liters per day. Compared to the recent estimation by Heo et al our study projects significantly higher ethanol production potentials, implying the possibility of obtaining more benefits from existing biomass [44].…”

“…Therefore, not only does the current study encourage the transition away from conventional feedstocks towards alternative residues, it assesses the regional potential of agricultural residues in Thailand with regard to availability, biomass properties, and the possibility for bioethanol conversion on a provincial and regional scale. Although biomass potentials from crop production in Thailand have already been investigated [17,44], the proposed scope of this work adds value through the regionalized assessment of agricultural residues from an up-to-date list of major crops based on statistics from Thailand's agricultural sector. Furthermore, stoichiometric bioethanol estimates based on agricultural residues generated on a regional and provincial scale and which illustrate spatial distribution are a way to motivate regional residue utilization in second-generation ethanol production.…”

Organic Carbonate Production Utilizing Crude Glycerol Derived as By-Product of Biodiesel Production: A Review

“…The next renewable alternative fuel is called renewable diesel. Renewable diesel, almost similar to biodiesel, is formed from waste agricultural products [5], mainly waste vegetable oils and animal fats. The main difference between renewable diesel and biodiesel is the production method.…”

Criteria prioritization for sustainable development of second-generation bioethanol in Thailand with an application of Delphi-AHP technique

“…Behind this background, the dimensions for a successful implementation of second-generation bioethanol in Thailand are anticipated to be manifold. Apart from the biofuel as energy supply, which can support the concept of controlling land use expansion, the utilization of leftover lignocellulosic materials could be projected to mitigate the environmental impacts from the open field burning issue [26,27]. In addition to that, the utilization of agricultural residues would provide the possibility of longer value chains of biorefinery production, which also plays an essential role in bioeconomy concept [28,29], generating direct and indirect socio-economic benefits [12,30,31].…”

“…Exploring a substitution of the conventional feedstocks is recognized as a promising option especially from the available agricultural residues. The utilization of lignocellulosic biomass for secondgeneration bioethanol have verified the reducing effect of GHG emissions based on ethanol conversion potential [27,51]. The residues derived from crop plantation showed optimistic future in terms of availability, non-food materials and promising results of GHG reduction [52].…”