Fundamental Biochemical and Biotechnological Principles of Biomass Growth and Use 19
Table 1.22Renewable energy share of global final energy consumption (2012) (Zervos, 2014).
All energies (%)
All renewable
energies (%) Modern renewable energies (%)
Fossil fuel 78.4
Renewable 19.0 ≫ Modern renewable 52.6 ≫ Heat: biomass-, geothermal-,
solar-, wind-derived
42
Nuclear 2.6 Traditional biomass
(e.g., fire wood)
47.4 Hydropower 38
Power: biomass-, geothermal-,
solar-, wind-derived
12
Bio-fuel 8
Table 1.23Global growth rate of renewable energy capacity and bio-fuels
production (%; end 2008–2013) (Zervos, 2014).
Power Heating Transport
Geothermal Hydro
Solar
voltaic
Solar
heat Wind
Solar
heating Bio-ethanol Biodiesel
4.0 4.2 39.0 35.0 12.4 15.7 5.6 11.4
accounts for half of the renewable energy share, that is, 10%. The fact that 60% of
that biomass is so-called traditional biomass (fuel wood often collected by hand, crop
residues, and animal dung – combusted in open fires or insufficient stoves) illustrates
how much optimizing potentials concerning efficiency are in disseminating efficient
harvesting, processing, and energy production methods. In contrast, the so-called
modern bio-energy uses especially prepared solid, gaseous, and liquid bio-fuels.
Examples are wood pellets, biogas, and biodiesel (Table 1.22).
Biomass is clearly a priority in expanding renewable fuel (bio-ethanol, biodiesel)
whereas power and heat generation are dominated by solar energy (Table 1.23).
This development demonstrates how the energy sector, which is currently pushed by
governmental measures, might trigger renewables in the chemical sector. For example,
bio-ethanol can be used not only as fuel but also as a key intermediate in chemical
synthesis to ethylene and its follow-up products in the polymer sector. Though today
the transport market is driving bio-ethanol, tomorrow chemical markets might build
on these investments into bio-ethanol (e.g., feedstock and fermentation capacities).
This example illustrates how feedstock and product markets are integrated, compete
about the very same feedstock base, and influence each other.
Transport With a total production volume of 116.6 billion liters (2013) bio-based liquid
fuel meets about 3% of the global road transport fuel demand. Primarily ethanol and
biodiesel are established but aeration fuel is on the horizon.
Biodiesel is produced from vegetable oil by esterification to fatty acid methyl ester
(FAME) or by catalytic hydrogenation to hydro-treated vegetable oil (HVO). The largest
producer is Europe accounting for 42% of global production (10.5 billion liter FAME and
1.8 billion liter HVO).
