LCA of Future Biofuels (in English)

Discussion forum on Life Cycle Assessment
Monday, November 17, 2008, 09.00 – 17.10h, EMPA Dübendorf, Empa-Akademie, Dübendorf-Zurich, Switzerland

Nowadays the discussion about biofuels is dominated by food security issues and ecological concerns. Indeed, various studies on currently used biofuels have shown that environmental impacts over the whole production chain are often higher than for the fossil reference. New hope is set on coming technology developments and improved feedstocks. They promise higher efficiencies and lower environmental impacts.

The conference will provide an overview on recent LCA approaches and results of several case studies about future bioenergy, including BtL-fuels and synthetic natural gas (SNG), as well as emerging feedstocks like jatropha and algae. Crucial questions from an LCA viewpoint are:

- Is the overall environmental performance of future biofuels better than that of current biofuels?
- Which feedstocks should be preferred?

What are the most promising technologies? However, LCA deals with only one aspect of sustainability. To obtain a complete picture of the future potential of biofuels, environmental impacts should be weighted against impacts on the socio-economic level. At this conference a holistic approach for the technology assessment of future biofuels will be presented. Furthermore opportunities and threats of biofuels from the perspective of the rural poor will be discussed.

Final Program

Download:    DF36_program_V1.pdf