The Current State and Environmental Footprint of High Yielding Non-Food Based Biomass Feedstock for Biofuel Production – from the Field to the Conversion Facility

One of the major challenges with biofuel conversion is the sustainable production of the feedstock used for producing the liquid fuels. Current first generation ethanol production utilizing corn has received significant attention on its perceived negative influence on food prices and the environment impacts from its production. Dedicated energy crops that are non-invasive, high-yielding, and non-food sources like switchgrass, sorghum, and woody crops will permit second generation biofuels to be produced in a much more environmentally sound process. The field to facility life cycle analytical methodology developed by Mesa is a way to calculate the total costs of producing biomass feedstock for liquid fuel conversion. The presentation will focus on the development of aggregation systems capable of assessing the overall impacts of second generation biomass feedstock which will be critical to the successful implementation of any biofuel program.