Environmental impact of bioethanol

Introducing biofuels: primary goals

The development of biofuels has two primary objectives:

• to reduce CO₂ emissions through the use of renewable fuels
• to find solutions for the successful transition to a post-oil era.

Findings by Alcosuisse

From the outset, Alcosuisse has been conducting studies on the environmental impact of potential production channels. Our calculations of CO₂ savings for a 5% ethanol/petrol blend were based on the following data:

• comparative emissions tests on essEnce5 / 95-octane petrol, carried out by EMPA on a common type of vehicle that had not been modified, according to a recognised test cycle (the New European Driving Cycle - NEDC)
• a life cycle analysis carried out by the Laboratory of Energy Systems (LASEN) of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL). This analysis takes account of all stages, from production of feedstocks through to transportation of the bioethanol fuel to the mixing site (field to pump).

Under equivalent conditions (100 km distance in accordance with the NEDC), the test vehicle generally produced 3.9% less CO₂ with essEnce5 than with commercial 95-octane petrol. If all the petrol used in Switzerland were to be replaced by essEnce5, the corresponding reduction in greenhouse gas emissions would represent approximately 500,000 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents a year.

With E85 (85% bioethanol), CO₂ emissions are reduced by 70% compared with petrol.

Debate on the ecological impact of biofuels

Debate on the ecological impact of biofuels.
The debate on the ecological impact of biofuels has now entered the public arena. There are many, often conflicting opinions on the subject, but not everyone is fully aware of the complexity and subtleness of the scientific findings. In Switzerland, a report on the subject published by the EMPA* in spring 2007 is revealing. Its findings on biofuels are disappointing, to say the least. Strangely enough, from the environmental point of view, the highest marks went to petrol and diesel!

See our analysis of the EMPA findings

*EMPA, Ökobilanzierung von Bioenergie, Ökologische Bewertung der Treibstoffnutzung, 2007