Evergreen Briefing Paper - Biofuels

to appear in Centre for Global Studies, University of Victoria

Dr. A.R. Dobell, Dr. B. Carin, J. Swift and C.L. Abbott

Published: March 2007

Keywords: biofuels, biomass, corn, lignin, ethanol, Hydrogen Economy, Energy

Abstract:

Forest waste products can play a major role in B.C.'s energy future. In many regions, including B.C., dedicated plant crops (e.g. corn) are uneconomic as a source of biofuels, based on a life cycle energy analysis. Of course there is a second best argument in favour of subsidizing some bio fuels, if subsidies to agriculture are deemed unavoidable. There is also a security of supply argument. The real promise lies in applied research - developing lignocellulosic sources for ethanol, new or improved enzymes for decomposing biomass, using micro organisms to create fuels other than ethanol, or to create novel lignin using innovative enzymes, synthetic catalysts and genes.

Disciplines: Environment, Governance

Publication: Evergreen--073-Biofuels_final.pdf