Open AccessEnergy Priority Estimation Model for Quantitative Analysis of Potential Bioethanol Feedstock
Author(s) -
Sin Ye Ong,
Zul Ilham
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
iop conference series. materials science and engineering
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1757-899X
pISSN - 1757-8981
DOI - 10.1088/1757-899x/864/1/012020
Subject(s) - biofuel , biomass (ecology) , raw material , renewable energy , environmental science , bioenergy , agricultural engineering , energy crop , renewable resource , waste management , microbiology and biotechnology , environmental economics , engineering , agronomy , economics , chemistry , electrical engineering , organic chemistry , biology
Conventional energy sources depletion, energy insecurity, fluctuating petroleum prices and global climate change have driven countries worldwide to consider alternative and renewable energy options. The use of biofuel such as bioethanol is as an option over conventional petroleum and important for the development of sustainable and eco-friendly energy resources. However, bioethanol manufactured from various biomass resources is different in terms of its processing stages and the need for extra pre-treatments. This study aims to suggest the most feasible biomass resource for bioethanol generation by using Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP), one of the multi-criteria decision-making methods based on priority estimation model. Among biomass resources, the issue of selecting the most feasible resource is evaluated, using numerous criteria influencing the biomass selection which are chosen through Focus Group Discussion (FGD) with experts in the biomass research field. Out of the five selected biomass resources, sugarcane is preferable as a bioethanol feedstock with an overall priority of 31.69%, followed by palm oil residues (overall priority= 23.51%), compared to corn (overall priority= 22.59%), rice straws (overall priority= 13.53%) and sugar beet (overall priority= 8.67%). Sugarcane is claimed to be the most feasible bioethanol feedstock due to its high availability over years, high energy ratio, high cellulose and hemicellulose content. Although sugarcane takes a longer time to grow, it is easier to be planted and harvested with the help of developed machineries. However, an ideal bioethanol-producing feedstock should not be food crops. Thus, as a suggestion for future research, more factors to determine the potential and suitability of the crops should be considered.