A comprehensive analysis of the current and future role of biofuels for transport in the European Union (EU)

Massimo Raboni; Paolo Viotti; Andrea G. Capodaglio

Massimo Raboni University LIUC - Cattaneo
Paolo Viotti Department of Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering (DICEA), University of Rome "La Sapienza"
Andrea G. Capodaglio Department of Civil Engineering and Architecture, University of Pavia

Keywords: biodiesel, bioethanol, European policy, sustainable mobility

Abstract

The production of biofuels is strongly supported all over the world as a renewable energy source for reducing dependence on the unstable oil market. Bioethanol, the main biofuel produced in the world, is widely used to power vehicles in both the USA and Brazil, but concerns exist in both places regarding its sustainability. In Brazil, it is produced from a by product of the sugar cane industry, while in the USA it is manufactured from food crops. The production of biogas and biodiesel is growing rapidly, but neither has outpaced the production of bioethanol. The European Union (EU) is greatly interested in this issue, and in 2011 adopted an extensive strategy to reduce carbon dioxide emissions related to transport by 60% by the year 2050. In order to achieve this result, the current European transportation system must be transformed. This ambitious goal will require the implementation of complex measures including the reduction of fossil fuels in favor of renewable fuels. This program has various options regarding the development of biofuels (e. g., biogas, bioethanol and biodiesel) and their related technologies, which are still on trial (mainly regarding the bioethanol production), and must also analyze their sustainability from a social and economic standpoint. The paper discusses the use of biofuels for transport in the European setting, and shows that their sustainability may result in relevant negative social effects due mainly to the use of land for energy crops (e.g., change of food price and world food shortage).

Author Biographies

Massimo Raboni, University LIUC - Cattaneo

He earned his Master degree in Environmental Engineering in 2006 at the University of Pavia (Italy). In July 2010 he defended his PhD thesis in Civil Engineering on the “Numerical and experimental analysis of multiphysics phenomena” at the University of Pavia. The subjects dealt also with the analysis of two-phase flows and the oxygen mass transfer in activated sludge systems for wastewater treatment equipped with turbulent jets. Post-doc fellow at the: - Hydraulic and Environmental Engineering Department of the University of Pavia (Italy), where he deepened the issues studied during the PhD programme (2010-2011); - Science and High Technology Department of the University of Insubria (Varese, Italy), where he worked in the field of the environmental and safety management of hazardous materials transport (2011-2013); - Chemistry, Materials and Chemical Engineering Department of the Politecnico di Milano (Italy), where he contributed to the study of an electrocoagulation process for the removal of phosphates and arsenic from both freshwater and wastewater (January-September, 2014). Since October, 2014 he is Assistant Professor at the University Cattaneo - LIUC (Castellanza, Italy) and coordinator of the didactic activities regarding the topic of the environment and safety. Teaching assistant since 2006 in various courses (i.e. hydraulics, fluid mechanics, applied ecology, environmental impact assessment, occupational health and safety, relevant accidents and risk analysis), he is now teacher of “Management of environment and safety in the industry” in the M.Sc course of Industrial Engineering at University Cattaneo - LIUC. During the period 2006-2008 he was also member of an Italo-Brazilian research team working on the development of the river Pojuca basin management plan (Bahia, Brazil) as water quality modelling expert.

Paolo Viotti, Department of Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering (DICEA), University of Rome "La Sapienza"

Prof. Paolo Viotti is Professor at the Department of Civil, Building and Environmental Engineering of University of Rome “La Sapienza”. From 1993 to 1999 he participated in the European Action COST 67 "Chemodynamics and Water Quality protection in Natural Porous Media" . In 2001 has been nominated in the Management Committee of the COST Action 629 "Assessment of fate, impact and indicators of water pollution in natural porous media at different scales". He acts also as referee for several international scientific journals in the field of Environmental Engineering such Ecological modelling, Transport in porous media, Water Research, Science of total environment, Waste Management and Research, Advances in Environmental Research The scientific activity of Prof. Paolo Viotti is mainly addressed to experimental investigation of transport and dispersion of reactive contaminants in atmosphere and in soil and subsoil. His scientific research has also been also devoted to the use of advanced numerical technique (i.e. artificial neural networks and genetic algorithms) as alternative methods to solve complex environmental problems.

Andrea G. Capodaglio, Department of Civil Engineering and Architecture, University of Pavia

Associate Professor in Sanitary Engineering. He also holds a position as Adjunct Professor at Marquette University of Milwaukee (USA) and a fellowship from the Research Institute of Waters (IRSA) of the Italian National Research Council. He graduated with honors in Civil Engineering-Hydraulics at the University of Pavia and defended his PhD at the Marquette University (Milwaukee, USA). His research interests deals with innovative technologies for water purification (membrane processes, microbial fuel cells), modeling systems and the environment (e.g. surface water and groundwater, air), risk assessment and environmental impact.

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