Impact of policy on greenhouse gas emissions and economics of biodiesel production.
As an alternative transportation fuel to petrodiesel, biodiesel has been promoted within national energy portfolio targets across the world. Early estimations of low lifecycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of biodiesel were a driver behind extensive government support in the form of financial incentives for the industry. However, studies consistently report a high degree of uncertainty in these emissions estimates, raising questions concerning the carbon benefits of biodiesel. Furthermore, the implications of feedstock blending on GHG emissions uncertainty have not been explicitly addressed despite broad practice by the industry to meet fuel quality standards and to control costs. This work investigated the impact of feedstock blending on the characteristics of biodiesel by using a chance-constrained (CC) blend optimization method. The objective of the optimization is minimization of feedstock costs subject to fuel standards and emissions constraints. Results indicate that blending can be used to manage GHG emissions uncertainty characteristics of biodiesel, and to achieve cost reductions through feedstock diversification. Simulations suggest that emissions control policies that restrict the use of certain feedstocks based on their GHG estimates overlook blending practices and benefits, increasing the cost of biodiesel. In contrast, emissions control policies which recognize the multifeedstock nature of biodiesel provide producers with feedstock selection flexibility, enabling them to manage their blend portfolios cost effectively, potentially without compromising fuel quality or emissions reductions.
Department of Materials Science & Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology , 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, United States.
Elsa
E
Olivetti
Ece
E
Gülşen
João
J
Malça
Erica
E
Castanheira
Fausto
F
Freire
Luis
L
Dias
Randolph
R
Kirchain
D000393:Air Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*; D000397:Air Pollution / Q000191:economics / Q000517:prevention & control; D056804:Biofuels / Q000191:economics*; D002244:Carbon / Q000032:analysis; D003365:Costs and Cost Analysis; D058735:Environmental Policy; D005740:Gases / Q000032:analysis*; D017752:Greenhouse Effect; D035501:Uncertainty
D000393:Air Pollutants; D056804:Biofuels; D005740:Gases; D002244:Carbon