An energy analysis of first to third-generation bioethanol production in Brazil: the potential for CO 2 emissions

Flavio Numata Jr.

International Journal of Energy Technology and Policy, 2021, vol. 17, issue 1, 38-60

Abstract: First (1G), second (2G) and third-generation (3G) ethanol industrialisation produces greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and increases carbon dioxide (CO₂) levels in the atmosphere. In this study, a life cycle assessment (LCA) concluded that hydrolysis and filtration processes have the largest environmental impact, and despite a trend of increased discharge generated by electricity related to 3G introduction, thermodynamic processes still show the highest emissions. These results demonstrate the importance of developing a strong technology base in biofuel industrialisation, predominantly due to the vast potential of 3G production, which increasingly requires higher energy consumption and more efficiency from the industrial system. As such, the aim of this paper is to assess the environmental impact caused by CO₂ emissions in 1G, 2G and 3G ethanol production.

Keywords: energy analysis; life cycle assessment; LCA; CO 2 emissions; bioethanol. (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.inderscience.com/link.php?id=111921 (text/html)
Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ids:ijetpo:v:17:y:2021:i:1:p:38-60

Access Statistics for this article

More articles in International Journal of Energy Technology and Policy from Inderscience Enterprises Ltd
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sarah Parker ().