Skip to content
University of Maryland LibrariesDigital Repository at the University of Maryland
    • Login
    View Item 
    •   DRUM
    • Theses and Dissertations from UMD
    • UMD Theses and Dissertations
    • View Item
    •   DRUM
    • Theses and Dissertations from UMD
    • UMD Theses and Dissertations
    • View Item
    JavaScript is disabled for your browser. Some features of this site may not work without it.

    Integrated Energy, Environmental and Financial Analysis of Biofuel Production from Switchgrass, Hybrid Poplar, Soybean and Castorbean

    Thumbnail
    View/Open
    umi-umd-4130.pdf (1.155Mb)
    No. of downloads: 4219

    Date
    2007-01-22
    Author
    Felix, Erika Ruth
    Advisor
    Tilley, David R
    Metadata
    Show full item record
    Abstract
    Biofuels are considered a substitute for petroleum-fuels, but to be viable they should not depend heavily upon non-renewable resources. The objective of this study was to estimate the ultimate amount of energy required to produce liquid-fuels from switchgrass, hybrid poplar, soybean, and castorbean. Emergy (with an "m") accounting was used to integrate all environmental, fossil fuel, and human-service inputs used throughout the production chain from agricultural field to processing facility. Depending on feedstock type and conversion yields, environmental inputs were between 21-44%, fossil fuels were 18-73% and human-derived services were 2-61%. Gallons of transportation fuel produced per gallon of petroleum used ranged from 0.06 to 4.2 for ethanol and 2.6 to 4.4 for biodiesel. No biofuel was made with less than 75% non-renewable resources. Energy embodied in "hidden" indirect paths ranged from 38-99%. The viability of replacing petroleum with cellulosic ethanol or biodiesel is highly questionable.
    URI
    http://hdl.handle.net/1903/6671
    Collections
    • Environmental Science & Technology Theses and Dissertations
    • UMD Theses and Dissertations

    DRUM is brought to you by the University of Maryland Libraries
    University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742-7011 (301)314-1328.
    Please send us your comments.
    Web Accessibility
     

     

    Browse

    All of DRUMCommunities & CollectionsBy Issue DateAuthorsTitlesSubjectsThis CollectionBy Issue DateAuthorsTitlesSubjects

    My Account

    LoginRegister
    Pages
    About DRUMAbout Download Statistics

    DRUM is brought to you by the University of Maryland Libraries
    University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742-7011 (301)314-1328.
    Please send us your comments.
    Web Accessibility