The work builds on the results of the COMPETE Bioenergy Competence Platform for Africa, which was supported by the European Commission and coordinated by WIP Renewable Energies, Germany. The five sections cover biomass production and use, biomass technologies and markets in Africa, biomass policies, sustainability, and financial and socio-economic issues. This valuable work is, in effect, a single-source treatment of a key energy sector in a part of the world which still has a lot of unrealised potential for development.

Given the environmental concerns and declining availability of fossil fuels, as well as the growing population worldwide, it is essential to move toward a sustainable bioenergy-based economy. However, it is also imperative to address sustainability in the bioenergy industry in order to avoid depleting necessary biomass resources. Sustainable Bioenergy Production provides comprehensive knowledge and skills for the analysis and design of sustainable biomass production, bioenergy processing, and biorefinery systems for professionals in the bioenergy field. Focusing on topics vital to the sustainability of the bioenergy industry, this book is divided into four sections: Fundamentals of Engineering Analysis and Design of Bioenergy Production Systems, Sustainable Biomass Production and Supply Logistics, Sustainable Bioenergy Processing, and Sustainable Biorefinery Systems. Section I covers the fundamentals of genetic engineering, novel breeding, and cropping technologies applied in the development of energy crops. It discusses modern computational tools used in the design and analysis of bioenergy production systems and the life-cycle assessment for evaluating the environmental sustainability of biomass production and bioenergy processing technologies. Section II focuses on the technical and economic feasibility and environmental sustainability of various biomass feedstocks and emerging technologies to improve feedstock sustainability. Section III addresses the technical and economic feasibility and environmental sustainability of different bioenergy processing technologies and emerging technologies to improve the sustainability of each bioenergy process. Section IV discusses the design and analysis of biorefineries and different biorefinery systems, including lignocellulosic feedstock, whole-crop, and green biorefinery.

Growing concerns about the impacts of climate change and dependence on fossil fuels have intensified interest in bioenergy from sugar cane and other crops, highlighting important links between energy, environment and development goals. Sub-Saharan Africa is characterized by severe poverty; the possibility to exploit a renewable energy resource offers valuable avenues for sustainable development and could support a more dynamic and competitive economy. This book describes how the bioenergy expansion will improve rural livelihoods, reduce costly energy imports, reduce GHG emissions, and offer new development paths. Drawing on international experience, it is shown that harnessing this potential will require significant increases in investment, technology transfer, and international cooperation. Because of its high efficiency, the authors argue that sugar cane should be viewed as a global resource for sustainable development and should command much greater focus and concerted policy action. Through an analysis of the agronomy, land suitability and industrial processing of sugar cane and its co-products, along with an assessment of the energy, economic and environmental implications, this volume demonstrates that sugar cane offers a competitive and environmentally beneficial resource for Africa's economic development and energy security. With forty-four authors representing thirty organisations in sixteen countries, the book offers a truly international and interdisciplinary perspective by combining technical and economic principles with social, political and environmental assessment and policy analysis.

Modern bioenergy has gained increased attention in the past decade. Not only does it provide an effective option for the provision of energy services from the technical point of view, but it is based on resources that can be utilized on a sustainable basis all around the globe. In addition, the benefits accrued go beyond energy provision, creating unique opportunities for regional development. Today, biomass is seen as one of the most promising renewable sources of modern energy services in the medium term. Know-how and experiences from different countries pave the way to further development of bioenergy systems.Bioenergy: Realising the Potential integrates the key technical, policy and economic issues surrounding bioenergy projects in industrialised and developing countries, with a critical focus on four major topics: • The biomass resource availability and potential • The institutions and markets development• Technical and economic enhancements • Successful examples from Europe and developing countries

The increasing deployment of bioenergy frequently raises issues regarding the use of land and raw materials, infrastructure and logistics. In light of these sometimes conflicting interests Advances in Bioenergy provides an objective and wide-ranging overview of the technology, economics and policy of bioenergy. Offering an authoritative multidisciplinary summary of the opportunities and challenges associated with bioenergy utilization, with international researchers give up-to-date and detailed information on key issues for biomass production and conversion to energy. Key features: *Discusses different bioenergy uses such as transportation fuels, electricity and heat production. *Assesses emerging fields such as bio-based chemicals and bio-refineries. *Debates conditions for the mobilization of sustainable bioenergy supply chains and outlines governance systems to support this mobilization. * Dedicated chapters to sustainability governance and emerging tools such as certification systems and standards supporting growth of a sustainable bioenergy industry. *Considers the political, environmental, social and cultural context related to the demand for energy resources, the impact of this demand on the world around us, and the choices and behaviours of consumers. This book will be a vital reference to engineers, researchers and students that need an accessible overview of the bioenergy area. It will also be of high value for politicians, policymakers and industry leaders that need to stay up to date with the state-of-the-art science and technology in this area.

A global assessment of potential and anticipated impacts of efforts to achieve the SDGs on forests and related socio-economic systems. This title is available as Open Access via Cambridge Core.

Around the world, many countries are increasing efforts to promote biomass production for industrial uses including biofuels and bio-products such as chemicals and bio-plastic. Against a backdrop of lively public debate on sustainability, bioenergy wields both positive and negative impacts upon a variety of environmental and socio-economic issues. These include property rights, labor conditions, social welfare, economic wealth, poverty reduction and more. This book discusses the issues and impacts of bioenergy, taking into account the local and regional framework under which bioenergy is produced, touching upon educational level, cultural aspects, the history and economies of the producing countries and an array of policies including environmental and social targets. The book surveys and analyzes global bioenergy production from a number of perspectives. The authors illustrate the complexity of interrelated topics in the bioenergy value chain, ranging from agriculture to conversion processes, as well as from social implications to environmental effects. It goes on to offer insight on future challenges associated with the expected boom of a global bio-based economy, which contributes to the paradigm shift from a fossil-based to a biomass and renewable energy-based economy. The expert contributors include researchers, investors, policy makers, representatives from NGOs and other stakeholders, from Europe, Africa, Asia and Latin America. Their contributions build upon the results of the Global-Bio-Pact project on “Global Assessment of Biomass and Bio-product Impacts on Socio-economics and Sustainability,” which was supported by the European Commission in its 7th Framework Program for Research and Technological Development, conducted from February 2010 to January 2013. The book benefits policy makers, scientists and NGO staffers working in the fields of agriculture, forestry, biotechnology and energy.