2007 Fiscal Year Final Research Report Summary
Environmental economic analysis of the large scale biofuels production : an application of MSIASEM
| Project/Area Number |
18530178
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
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| Allocation Type | Single-year Grants |
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| Section | 一般 |
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| Research Field |
Applied economics
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| Research Institution | The University of Tokushima |
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Principal Investigator |
MAYUMI Kozo The University of Tokushima, Faculty of Integrated Arts and Sciences, Professor (40253182)
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| Project Period (FY) |
2006 – 2007
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| Keywords | biofuels / viable technology / ethanol / energy analysis / environmental loading |
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| Research Abstract |
Many researchers claim that large scale biofuels production is a desirable and viable alternative to fossil fuels. This research examines whether or not large scale biofuels production is either feasible or desirable for developed society based on multi-scale integrated analysis of societal and ecosystem metabolism. After providing a brief introduction to the subject matter to be investigated in this research, two metaphors are used to explain why biomass energy was abandoned during the industrial revolution in the first place: (1) the Yin-Yang tension between recycling(to increase ecological compatibility)and linearization(to increase economic competitiveness)of the flows metabolized by society: (2) the energy sector of a society seen like the heart for the human body. Metaphorically speaking, an alternative viable heart must deliver the supply of blood which is expected by the rest of the body both in terms of quantity and quality. It is concluded that for a developed society not everything that can be burned should be considered as a desirable fuel and provides a framework for such an evaluation. Then we provide a critical appraisal of the option biofuels as an alternative to oil The high labor and land demand per net unit of biofuel delivered to society makes this option not compatible with the typical patterns of metabolism found in developed societies. In relation to ecological compatibility, fossil energy made it possible for the first time in the history of humankind to generate problems on the sink side (accumulation of CO2 in the atmosphere) rather than on the supply side (structural damage to the ecological processes of conversions of solar energy over cycles of nutrients). Agreeing on the fact that humans must find a substitute for fossil energy does not entail that this substitute should be biofuels.
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Research Products
(4 results)
