Evaluation of liquid bio-fuels using the Analytic Hierarchy Process

Biomass-derived liquid bio-fuels are being promoted as a major feasible fuel alternative in the European Union, in order to reduce Europe's transport dependency on crude oil. In particular, liquid bio-fuels if used in internal combustion engines can substitute a considerable amount of conventional fuels. These bio-fuels include conventional bio-ethanol and bio-diesel, which are derived from agricultural crops as well as second-generation bio-ethanol and synthetic diesel derived from lignocellulosic biomass. There are numerous pathways dealing with the production and use of liquid bio-fuels, depending on biomass feedstock, production technology, by-product usage and final bio-fuel consumption in vehicle power trains. In order to examine this complete chain of bio-fuel production and use, an evaluation study was carried out. This study used data from the Well to Wheels analysis of future automotive fuels and power trains in the European context (WTW report). Bio-fuels are assessed using the Analytic Hierarchy Process, which comprises of a synthesis of evaluation criteria and a sensitivity analysis. The criteria that were analyzed throughout the complete bio-fuel chain are bio-fuel substitution cost over conventional fuels, potential of substitution, total cycle GHG emissions and total cycle energy consumed.