Calculating the CO2 emissions of biofuels is not enough

A new EU regulation aims to shrink the environmental footprint of biofuels starting in 2021. But an EPFL scientist thinks we should go one step further and take into account all compounds produced at biorefineries, not just biofuel. And he has developed a model for doing just that. "In my study, I wanted to show that calculating the greenhouse gas emissions of biofuels tells just half of the story. What we really need to do is quantify the emissions of each product coming out of biorefineries," says Edgard Gnansounou, professor at EPFL and head of the school's Bioenergy and Energy Planning Research Group. To that end, Gnansounou has developed a sophisticated computer model described in an article appearing in Bioresource Technology . Biofuels and other biomass-derived products have become viable options for replacing fossil fuels.