Review of Biofuels : Meeting the Energy and Environmental Challenges of the Transportation Sector by Daniel Ballerini

Book details Ballerini, D Biofuels: Meeting the Energy and Environmental Challenges of the Transportation Sector Paris: Editions Technip; 2012 355 pages, ISBN 978-2-7108-0983-8 With the book Biofuels, Meeting the Energy and Environmental Challenges of the Transportation Sector, Daniel Ballerini published a comprehensive overview of biofuel production and markets. It is a revised and translated version of the book Les Biocarburants État des lieux, perspectives et enjeux du dévelopement, which was first published in 2006 but has been only available so far in French. Changes in the world energy context, the increasing awareness of the environmental stakes and the development of research into the production of secondand third-generation biofuels have created a need for a new book to be written. The back cover of the book proclaims that it provides a detailed state-of-the-art description of first-generation biofuel production technologies. Furthermore, it describes the new secondgeneration pathways that use lignocellulosic biomass as a raw material and have been found to have industrial applications. The book also provides a technical update of the algae-to-energy pathway (third generation) and the production of methane and hydrogen via biochemical pathways. To comply with this aim, Daniel Ballerini gathered 22 experts in the field to contribute their knowledge as authors. Many of the authors are affiliated with the French IFP Énergies nouvelles, which is surely a reason why the elaborations on biofuels are well connected to general issues in the petrol industry. Figures and tables adequately complement the text. Each chapter is followed directly by a list of references, of which only few are French publications. A five-page index may serve for navigation in the book. The book’s seven chapters follow a pragmatic structure. The first chapter is an introduction to the topic. Chapters two and three deal with current biofuels for spark ignition engines and diesel engines, respectively. Chapter four gives an introduction to ‘lignocellulosic biomass resources’. Their conversion into biofuels via thermochemical and biochemical pathways is treated in chapters five and six, respectively. Finally, chapter seven covers ‘other biomass-to-energy biochemical pathways’. Chapter one provides a comprehensive introduction to the controversially discussed topic of biofuels. It starts with a short historical background of biofuels, beginning in the 1960s, which were envisaged to be the main energy carriers of choice in the early days of motorised transport. It then gives a good overview of the competitiveness and different interests and concerns of many of the stakeholders that are involved in biofuel production. Amongst the topics discussed are safety issues in handling and production, environmental and ecological impacts of biomass production and biofuel use. The visions of the refining industry as well as the car manufacturers towards biofuels are also elaborated. Moreover, a short overview of the situation in the mid-2000s is given for the most important regions, such as America and Europe, with some insight into other global regions. Chapter two addresses the production of ethanol from sugar and amylaceous crops as well as ether fuels. A brief overview of current ethanol production practices is followed by energy balances and a list of improvement options for these processes. To find a whole section about ethers, such as ETBE, MTBE, TAME and ETAE, in a book about biofuels expands the horizon to the possibilities for an incorporation of bio-based compounds like ethanol into the petrol industry. Moreover, the most important industrial players and the state of global ethanol production are briefly addressed, however, only until * Correspondence: [email protected] Department of Biorefineries, Deutsches Biomasseforschungszentrum gemeinnützige GmbH, Torgauer Straße 116, Leipzig D-04347, Germany