Eco-Biofuels from the Tropics
Palm oil from South-East Asia, sugarcane from Brazil and sweet sorghum in China are the most sustainable energy crops at present. Maize from the US and wheat in Europe have a much more negative environmental impact. This conclusion was drawn by the Plant Production Systems chair group, after testing nine energy crops against nine sustainability criteria. The findings will be published soon in Biomass and Bioenergy.
Oil palms, sugar cane and sorghum make the most efficient use of land, water, nitrogen and pesticides in proportion to the amount of energy they produce. If no forest is cut down to make way for their production, they produce far smaller quantities of greenhouse gases than fossil fuels, say the researchers. Major energy crops such as maize in the US and wheat in Europe score much lower on nearly all the sustainability criteria. Sugar beet and oil seed rape (Europe), cassava (Thailand) and soya (Brazil) got an average score. READ MORE
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