Second-generation biofuels offer sustainable fuel resource
Research from the University of Pittsburgh and the University of Oklahoma, published in the UK's Energy & Environment Science journal, details the life cycle of a second-generation biofuel. The fuel was generated from short-rotation oak and the study highlighted how second-generation biofuels produced from perennial grasses and managed trees could be an important alternative yet sustainable fuel resource.
In the UK, the Royal Society of Chemistry journal Energy & Environmental Science recently published research by a team from the University of Pittsburgh and the University of Oklahoma investigating the full life cycle impact of one promising “second-generation biofuel” produced from short-rotation oak. The study found that second-generation biofuels made from managed trees and perennial grasses may provide a sustainable fuel resource.

“Multistage torrefaction and in situ catalytic upgrading to hydrocarbon biofuels: analysis of life cycle energy use and greenhouse gas emissions” ( DOI: 10.1039/C7EE00682A) took a novel approach to the production of second-generation biofuel while also comprehensively accounting for all of the steps involved in the full supply chain.