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Development of a decision support tool for the assessment of biofuels

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  • Perimenis, Anastasios
  • Walimwipi, Hartley
  • Zinoviev, Sergey
  • Müller-Langer, Franziska
  • Miertus, Stanislav

Abstract

Alternative fuels for the transport sector are gaining growing attention as a means against fossil fuel dependence and towards greener forms of energy. At the same time, however, they are surrounded with doubts concerning sustainability of their production. This work presents the basic framework for a decision support tool to evaluate biofuel production pathways, with the purpose of providing the decision maker with a structured methodology that will lead him to the final decision. The tool integrates the most important aspects along the entire value chain (i.e. from biomass production to biofuel end-use), namely the technical, economic, environmental and social aspect. The tool consists of a computational part, which can be combined with the personal preferences of the user. The analysis provides a score for the respective pathway that can be used to rank different options and select among them the optimal solution. The functionality of the tool has been tested for the case of biodiesel from rapeseed in Germany.

Suggested Citation

  • Perimenis, Anastasios & Walimwipi, Hartley & Zinoviev, Sergey & Müller-Langer, Franziska & Miertus, Stanislav, 2011. "Development of a decision support tool for the assessment of biofuels," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(3), pages 1782-1793, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:enepol:v:39:y:2011:i:3:p:1782-1793
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    1. Sakthivel, G. & Sivaraja, C.M. & Ikua, Bernard W., 2019. "Prediction OF CI engine performance, emission and combustion parameters using fish oil as a biodiesel by fuzzy-GA," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 166(C), pages 287-306.
    2. Deborah Bentivoglio & Adele Finco & Mirian Rumenos Piedade Bacchi, 2016. "Interdependencies between Biofuel, Fuel and Food Prices: The Case of the Brazilian Ethanol Market," Energies, MDPI, vol. 9(6), pages 1-16, June.
    3. Finco, Adele & Bentivoglio, Deborah & Rasetti, Michele & Padella, Monica & Polla, Piergiuseppe & Cortesi, Davide, 2012. "Sustainability of rapeseed biodiesel using LCA method," 2012 Conference, August 18-24, 2012, Foz do Iguacu, Brazil 126447, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    4. Correa, Diego F. & Beyer, Hawthorne L. & Fargione, Joseph E. & Hill, Jason D. & Possingham, Hugh P. & Thomas-Hall, Skye R. & Schenk, Peer M., 2019. "Towards the implementation of sustainable biofuel production systems," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 107(C), pages 250-263.
    5. Ahmed, Asam & Sutrisno, Setiadi Wicaksono & You, Siming, 2020. "A two-stage multi-criteria analysis method for planning renewable energy use and carbon saving," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 199(C).
    6. Ziolkowska, Jadwiga R., 2014. "Optimizing biofuels production in an uncertain decision environment: Conventional vs. advanced technologies," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 114(C), pages 366-376.
    7. Sivaraja, C.M. & Sakthivel, G., 2017. "Compression ignition engine performance modelling using hybrid MCDM techniques for the selection of optimum fish oil biodiesel blend at different injection timings," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 139(C), pages 118-141.
    8. Mohammad S. Roni & Sandra D. Eksioglu & Kara G. Cafferty & Jacob J. Jacobson, 2017. "A multi-objective, hub-and-spoke model to design and manage biofuel supply chains," Annals of Operations Research, Springer, vol. 249(1), pages 351-380, February.
    9. Martin Kügemann & Heracles Polatidis, 2019. "Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis of Road Transportation Fuels and Vehicles: A Systematic Review and Classification of the Literature," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(1), pages 1-21, December.
    10. Ribau, João P. & Sousa, João M.C. & Silva, Carla M., 2015. "Reducing the carbon footprint of urban bus fleets using multi-objective optimization," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 93(P1), pages 1089-1104.
    11. Fauquet-Alekhine, Philippe & Boucherand, Anne, 2015. "Structuring effect of tools conceptualized through initial goal fixedness for work activity," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 65269, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    12. Ibrahim M. Hezam & Naga Rama Devi Vedala & Bathina Rajesh Kumar & Arunodaya Raj Mishra & Fausto Cavallaro, 2023. "Assessment of Biofuel Industry Sustainability Factors Based on the Intuitionistic Fuzzy Symmetry Point of Criterion and Rank-Sum-Based MAIRCA Method," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(8), pages 1-24, April.
    13. Sellak, Hamza & Ouhbi, Brahim & Frikh, Bouchra & Palomares, Iván, 2017. "Towards next-generation energy planning decision-making: An expert-based framework for intelligent decision support," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 80(C), pages 1544-1577.
    14. Myrto-Panagiota Zacharof, 2021. "Industrial Symbiosis: Beer Brewery Wastewater-Based Biorefinery," Circular Economy and Sustainability,, Springer.
    15. Monica Padella & Adele Finco & Wallace E. Tyner, 2012. "Impacts of Biofuels Policies in the EU," Economics of Energy & Environmental Policy, International Association for Energy Economics, vol. 0(Number 3).
    16. Valencia, Monica J. & Cardona, Carlos A., 2014. "The Colombian biofuel supply chains: The assessment of current and promising scenarios based on environmental goals," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 67(C), pages 232-242.
    17. Andrzej Macioł & Bogdan Rębiasz, 2018. "Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) methods in Life-Cycle Assessment (LCA): A comparison of private passenger vehicles," Operations Research and Decisions, Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, Faculty of Management, vol. 28(1), pages 5-26.
    18. Luis C. Dias & Carolina Passeira & João Malça & Fausto Freire, 2022. "Integrating life-cycle assessment and multi-criteria decision analysis to compare alternative biodiesel chains," Annals of Operations Research, Springer, vol. 312(2), pages 1359-1374, May.

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