An emergy environmental accounting-based study of different biofuel production systems

Abstract

At the same time that the expectations grow around sustainable energy generation, biofuels emerge as an alternative to fossil fuels. This study evaluates the use of resources in the different biofuel production systems based on the emergy ternary diagram. A set of indicators was incorporated to the evaluation, aiming to display the environmental performance of each system. Results indicated that most of the analyzed systems are highly dependent on economy-sourced resources, evidencing that in a long term, there is no sustainable system. However, one of the public managers’ aims is to search for a means to indicate which policies and patterns are sustainable for humanity and nature. Since economic development is dependent of the resources it uses, emergy accounting may be used as a tool in the process of selecting plans for sustainable development.