Sustainability impact assessment of biofuel systems using an economic equilibrium model

• Main Authors: Enriquez, Norbert S., Gobaco, Bryan O.
• Format: text
• Published: Animo Repository 2012
• Subjects: Biomass energy; Sustainability; Environmental impact analysis; Economic impact analysis; Operations Research, Systems Engineering and Industrial Engineering
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/faculty_research/4948
• Institution: De La Salle University

In recent years, concerns about the finitude of the supply fossil fuels and its climate change potential have spurred increased interest in renewable energy specifically in biofuels. The sustainability of biofuels though is still in question. Its performance based on the three pillars of sustainability— economic performance, environmental quality and social equity— have given attention but the conflicts and tradeoffs that arise among the three pillars of sustainability haven’t been given much consideration. An economic equilibrium model was formulated to capture the behavior of the different agents involved in biofuel systems and how they interact. The sustainability impacts of the biofuel system to the economy, the environment and the society as well as the tradeoffs between them were evaluated through the model. The modeling framework was illustrated through a case study wherein different policies are tested and the sustainability performance of the biofuel system was determined under the different policies. Results of the study showed the behavior of the sustainability indicators of the biofuel system under different levels and interactions of the policies. The levels of the policies that would optimize each sustainability indicator as well as the levels that would simultaneously optimize all indicators were also determined.