International Policies on Bioenergy and Biofuels - Industrial Crops: Breeding for BioEnergy and Bioproducts - page 378

Despite the substantial increase in global biofuel production, biofuels' share in
global fuel (i.e., biofuel and liquid fossil fuel) consumption is low; worldwide,
biofuels represent less than 3% of transportation 3 fuel consumption [ 2 ]. The global
biofuel consumption is projected to rise to 7 % and 11 % of the world's transpor-
tation fuel consumption in 2020 and 2030, respectively [ 23 ]. Of course, the share is
higher in developed countries where consumption of biofuels is promoted. For
example, in 2009 the share of biofuels in total transportation fuel use was 7-8 % in
Germany and Spain, 6 % in France, 4 % in Italy, and 3 % in Great Britain
[ 24 ]. Brazil is an outlier in this cross-country comparison as the volume of biofuels
in total transportation fuel use achieved 21 % in 2008 [ 25 ].
Biofuel Feedstocks
Currently, ethanol is mostly produced from corn and sugarcane. It can also be
produced from wheat, sorghum, sugar beet, or cassava (Table 18.1 ). These crops are
rich in sugar and starch that is fermented into ethanol. Sugarcane is the favorite raw
material for ethanol production in Brazil, while corn and cereals are used in the
United States, the European Union, and other developed countries with a temperate
climate [ 1 , 29 - 31 ].
Biodiesel, on the other hand, is mostly produced from oilseed crops like rape-
seed, soybeans, sunflower, or palm oil (Table 18.2 ). Rapeseed is the most popular
feedstock for biodiesel production in the European Union and soybean in Brazil and
the United States. In some tropical and subtropical countries, palm, and jatropha
oils are used for biodiesel production [ 1 ].
The second-generation biofuels aim at using lignocellulosic feedstock, including
herbaceous lignocellulosic species such as miscanthus, switchgrass, and reed
canary grass (perennial crops) and trees such as poplar, willow, and eucalypt
(short rotation crops), as well as forestry and agricultural residues. Feedstocks for
second-generation biofuels generally produce higher biomass yields than most first-
generation feedstocks (sugarcane being an exception). Given their relatively high
projected energy conversion efficiency, second-generation feedstocks are projected
to have higher overall energy yields (Tables 18.1 and 18.2 ). However, technologies
for second-generation biofuels are still in the research and development stage and
are not commercially exploited at a larger scale.
3 The largest use of ethanol and biodiesel is as a motor fuel and fuel additive. Other uses of ethanol
and biodiesel include industrial and residential consumption and represent a small proportion of
total production (less than 2 %) [ 22 ].