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An Assessment of Thailand’s Biofuel Development

Author

Listed:
  • S. Kumar

    (School of Environment, Resources and Development (GNESD Member Centre), Asian Institute of Technology, P. O .Box 4, Klong Luang, Pathumthani 12120, Thailand)

  • P. Abdul Salam

    (School of Environment, Resources and Development (GNESD Member Centre), Asian Institute of Technology, P. O .Box 4, Klong Luang, Pathumthani 12120, Thailand)

  • Pujan Shrestha

    (School of Environment, Resources and Development (GNESD Member Centre), Asian Institute of Technology, P. O .Box 4, Klong Luang, Pathumthani 12120, Thailand)

  • Emmanuel Kofi Ackom

    (Global Network on Energy for Sustainable Development (GNESD), UNEP Risø Centre, Denmark Technical University, DTU Management Engineering, Frederiksborgvej 399, Building 142, Roskilde 4000, Denmark)

Abstract

The paper provides an assessment of first generation biofuel (ethanol and biodiesel) development in Thailand in terms of feedstock used, production trends, planned targets and policies and discusses the biofuel sustainability issues—environmental, socio-economic and food security aspects. The policies, measures and incentives for the development of biofuel include targets, blending mandates and favorable tax schemes to encourage production and consumption of biofuels. Biofuel development improves energy security, rural income and reduces greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, but issues related to land and water use and food security are important considerations to be addressed for its large scale application. Second generation biofuels derived from agricultural residues perform favorably on environmental and social sustainability issues in comparison to first generation biofuel sources. The authors estimate that sustainably-derived agricultural crop residues alone could amount to 10.4 × 10 6 bone dry tonnes per year. This has the technical potential of producing 1.14–3.12 billion liters per year of ethanol to possibly displace between 25%–69% of Thailand’s 2011 gasoline consumption as transportation fuel. Alternatively, the same amount of residue could provide 0.8–2.1 billion liters per year of diesel (biomass to Fischer-Tropsch diesel) to potentially offset 6%–15% of national diesel consumption in the transportation sector.

Suggested Citation

  • S. Kumar & P. Abdul Salam & Pujan Shrestha & Emmanuel Kofi Ackom, 2013. "An Assessment of Thailand’s Biofuel Development," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 5(4), pages 1-21, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:5:y:2013:i:4:p:1577-1597:d:24998
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Joachim Braun, 2009. "Addressing the food crisis: governance, market functioning, and investment in public goods," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 1(1), pages 9-15, February.
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    Cited by:

    1. Hon Chung Lau & Kai Zhang & Harsha Kumar Bokka & Seeram Ramakrishna, 2022. "A Review of the Status of Fossil and Renewable Energies in Southeast Asia and Its Implications on the Decarbonization of ASEAN," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(6), pages 1-30, March.
    2. Kumar, S. & Shrestha, Pujan & Abdul Salam, P., 2013. "A review of biofuel policies in the major biofuel producing countries of ASEAN: Production, targets, policy drivers and impacts," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 26(C), pages 822-836.
    3. Hon Chung Lau, 2022. "Evaluation of Decarbonization Technologies for ASEAN Countries via an Integrated Assessment Tool," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(10), pages 1-21, May.
    4. Vishal Ram & Surender Reddy Salkuti, 2023. "An Overview of Major Synthetic Fuels," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(6), pages 1-35, March.
    5. Luqman Razzaq & Muhammad Farooq & M. A. Mujtaba & Farooq Sher & Muhammad Farhan & Muhammad Tahir Hassan & Manzoore Elahi M. Soudagar & A. E. Atabani & M. A. Kalam & Muhammad Imran, 2020. "Modeling Viscosity and Density of Ethanol-Diesel-Biodiesel Ternary Blends for Sustainable Environment," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(12), pages 1-20, June.
    6. Sujung Heo & Joon Weon Choi, 2019. "Potential and Environmental Impacts of Liquid Biofuel from Agricultural Residues in Thailand," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(5), pages 1-14, March.
    7. Khatiwada, Dilip & Silveira, Semida, 2017. "Scenarios for bioethanol production in Indonesia: How can we meet mandatory blending targets?," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 119(C), pages 351-361.
    8. Siti Norasyiqin Abdul Latif & Meng Soon Chiong & Srithar Rajoo & Asako Takada & Yoon-Young Chun & Kiyotaka Tahara & Yasuyuki Ikegami, 2021. "The Trend and Status of Energy Resources and Greenhouse Gas Emissions in the Malaysia Power Generation Mix," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(8), pages 1-26, April.
    9. Muhammad Yaseen & Neha Thapa & Supawan Visetnoi & Shoukat Ali & Shahab E. Saqib, 2023. "Factors Determining the Farmers’ Decision for Adoption and Non-Adoption of Oil Palm Cultivation in Northeast Thailand," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(2), pages 1-19, January.

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