skip to main content
OSTI.GOV title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: Environmental indicators for sustainable production of algal biofuels

Abstract

For analyzing sustainability of algal biofuels, we identify 16 environmental indicators that fall into six categories: soil quality, water quality and quantity, air quality, greenhouse gas emissions, biodiversity, and productivity. Indicators are selected to be practical, widely applicable, predictable in response, anticipatory of future changes, independent of scale, and responsive to management. Major differences between algae and terrestrial plant feedstocks, as well as their supply chains for biofuel, are highlighted, for they influence the choice of appropriate sustainability indicators. Algae strain selection characteristics do not generally affect which indicators are selected. The use of water instead of soil as the growth medium for algae determines the higher priority of water- over soil-related indicators. The proposed set of environmental indicators provides an initial checklist for measures of biofuel sustainability but may need to be modified for particular contexts depending on data availability, goals of the stakeholders, and financial constraints. Ultimately, use of these indicators entails defining sustainability goals and targets in relation to stakeholder values in a particular context and can lead to improved management practices.

Authors:
 [1];  [1]
  1. Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
Sponsoring Org.:
USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Sustainable Transportation Office. Bioenergy Technologies Office
OSTI Identifier:
1159402
Alternate Identifier(s):
OSTI ID: 1251704
Grant/Contract Number:  
AC05-00OR22725
Resource Type:
Journal Article: Accepted Manuscript
Journal Name:
Ecological Indicators
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 49; Journal ID: ISSN 1470-160X
Publisher:
Elsevier
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
09 BIOMASS FUELS; BIOFUELS; ALGAE; SUSTAINABILITY; INDICATORS; bioenergy; biofuel; algae; sustainability; indicators; water; greenhouse gas emissions; biodiversity

Citation Formats

Efroymson, Rebecca A., and Dale, Virginia H. Environmental indicators for sustainable production of algal biofuels. United States: N. p., 2014. Web. doi:10.1016/j.ecolind.2014.09.028.
Efroymson, Rebecca A., & Dale, Virginia H. Environmental indicators for sustainable production of algal biofuels. United States. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2014.09.028
Efroymson, Rebecca A., and Dale, Virginia H. 2014. "Environmental indicators for sustainable production of algal biofuels". United States. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2014.09.028. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1159402.
@article{osti_1159402,
title = {Environmental indicators for sustainable production of algal biofuels},
author = {Efroymson, Rebecca A. and Dale, Virginia H.},
abstractNote = {For analyzing sustainability of algal biofuels, we identify 16 environmental indicators that fall into six categories: soil quality, water quality and quantity, air quality, greenhouse gas emissions, biodiversity, and productivity. Indicators are selected to be practical, widely applicable, predictable in response, anticipatory of future changes, independent of scale, and responsive to management. Major differences between algae and terrestrial plant feedstocks, as well as their supply chains for biofuel, are highlighted, for they influence the choice of appropriate sustainability indicators. Algae strain selection characteristics do not generally affect which indicators are selected. The use of water instead of soil as the growth medium for algae determines the higher priority of water- over soil-related indicators. The proposed set of environmental indicators provides an initial checklist for measures of biofuel sustainability but may need to be modified for particular contexts depending on data availability, goals of the stakeholders, and financial constraints. Ultimately, use of these indicators entails defining sustainability goals and targets in relation to stakeholder values in a particular context and can lead to improved management practices.},
doi = {10.1016/j.ecolind.2014.09.028},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/1159402}, journal = {Ecological Indicators},
issn = {1470-160X},
number = ,
volume = 49,
place = {United States},
year = {Wed Oct 01 00:00:00 EDT 2014},
month = {Wed Oct 01 00:00:00 EDT 2014}
}

Journal Article:

Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 29 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

Save / Share:

Works referenced in this record:

Evaluation of the Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) model version 4.5: Sensitivities impacting model performance
journal, December 2007


Bioprospecting for oil producing microalgal strains: Evaluation of oil and biomass production for ten microalgal strains
journal, April 2011


Nutrient recovery from wastewater streams by microalgae: Status and prospects
journal, March 2013


A proposed framework for developing indicators of ecosystem health
journal, July 1993


Quantifying levels of biological invasion: towards the objective classification of invaded and invasible ecosystems
journal, October 2011


Environmental Impacts of Algae-Derived Biodiesel and Bioelectricity for Transportation
journal, September 2011


Environmental Life Cycle Comparison of Algae to Other Bioenergy Feedstocks
journal, March 2010


Hectare-scale demonstration of high rate algal ponds for enhanced wastewater treatment and biofuel production
journal, February 2012


Challenges in the development and use of ecological indicators
journal, August 2001


Indicators for assessing socioeconomic sustainability of bioenergy systems: A short list of practical measures
journal, March 2013


Sustainability evaluation of biodiesel production using multicriteria decision-making
journal, April 2009


Biofuels from algae for sustainable development
journal, October 2011


Environmental Indicators of Biofuel Sustainability: What About Context?
journal, July 2012


Quantitative Measurement of Direct Nitrous Oxide Emissions from Microalgae Cultivation
journal, November 2011


Conversion of CO2 into biomass by microalgae: how realistic a contribution may it be to significant CO2 removal?
journal, August 2012


Methane and nitrous oxide emissions affect the life-cycle analysis of algal biofuels
journal, January 2012


The impacts of combustion emissions on air quality and climate – From coal to biofuels and beyond
journal, January 2009


Simulated hydroclimatic impacts of projected Brazilian sugarcane expansion: IMPACTS OF BRAZILIAN CANE EXPANSION
journal, March 2013


Biodiesel production with microalgae as feedstock: from strains to biodiesel
journal, March 2011


Environmental risks of large scale cultivation of microalgae: Mitigation of spills
journal, July 2013


Biofuels and Biodiversity: Principles for Creating Better Policies for Biofuel Production
journal, June 2008


Volatile Halogenated Organic Compounds Released to Seawater from Temperate Marine Macroalgae
journal, March 1985


Life cycle water use of low-carbon transport fuels
journal, September 2010


4. Geographic distribution of freshwater blue-green algae
journal, October 1996


Protecting climate with forests
journal, October 2008


Unnatural landscapes in ecology: generating the spatial distribution of brine spills
journal, January 2005


Algae biofuels: versatility for the future of bioenergy
journal, June 2012


Synthetic ecology – A way forward for sustainable algal biofuel production?
journal, November 2012


Impact of Algae Biofuel on In-Use Gaseous and Particulate Emissions from a Marine Vessel
journal, September 2012


Toxic cyanobacteria at Nakuru sewage oxidation ponds – A potential threat to wildlife
journal, February 2010


Life Cycle Energy and Greenhouse Gas Emissions for an Ethanol Production Process Based on Blue-Green Algae
journal, November 2010


Indicators to support environmental sustainability of bioenergy systems
journal, September 2011


An Overview of Algae Biofuel Production and Potential Environmental Impact
journal, June 2012


A review of the harvesting of micro-algae for biofuel production
journal, October 2012


Burning Water: A Comparative Analysis of the Energy Return on Water Invested
journal, February 2010


Energy-Water Nexus for Mass Cultivation of Algae
journal, July 2011


Application of Ecological Indicators
journal, December 2004


A GIS based national assessment of algal bio-oil production potential through flue gas and wastewater co-utilization
journal, April 2014


Comparing Scales of Environmental Effects from Gasoline and Ethanol Production
journal, December 2012


Resource demand implications for US algae biofuels production scale-up
journal, October 2011


The promise and challenges of microalgal-derived biofuels
journal, July 2009


The Effect of CO2 on Algal Growth in Industrial Waste Water for Bioenergy and Bioremediation Applications
journal, November 2013


Life cycle analysis of algae biodiesel
journal, June 2010


Sustainability of irrigated agriculture in the San Joaquin Valley, California
journal, October 2005


Production and Emissions of Marine Isoprene and Monoterpenes: A Review
journal, January 2010


Improved Attribution of Climate Forcing to Emissions
journal, October 2009


Industrial-strength ecology: trade-offs and opportunities in algal biofuel production
journal, September 2013


The ecology of algal biodiesel production
journal, May 2010


The effect of species diversity on lipid production by micro-algal communities
journal, January 2011


Flocculation of microalgae in brackish and sea waters
journal, January 1988


Functional habitat area as a reliable proxy for population size: case study using two butterfly species of conservation concern
journal, February 2010


Dewatering of microalgal cultures: A major bottleneck to algae-based fuels
journal, January 2010


Flocculation as a low-cost method for harvesting microalgae for bulk biomass production
journal, April 2013


A GIS Cost Model to Assess the Availability of Freshwater, Seawater, and Saline Groundwater for Algal Biofuel Production in the United States
journal, April 2013


The algae raceway integrated design for optimal temperature management
journal, November 2012


Process energy comparison for the production and harvesting of algal biomass as a biofuel feedstock
journal, February 2014


National microalgae biofuel production potential and resource demand: NATIONAL ALGAE BIOFUEL PRODUCTION
journal, March 2011


Algae Grown on Dairy and Municipal Wastewater for Simultaneous Nutrient Removal and Lipid Production for Biofuel Feedstock
journal, November 2009


Solar spectral conversion for improving the photosynthetic activity in algae reactors
journal, June 2013


Acetic acid-induced programmed cell death and release of volatile organic compounds in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii
journal, February 2012


Works referencing / citing this record:

The Use of the Schizonticidal Agent Quinine Sulfate to Prevent Pond Crashes for Algal-Biofuel Production
journal, November 2015


Sustainability-based optimization algorithm
journal, September 2019


Sustainability assessment in manufacturing organizations: Development of assessment models
journal, April 2018


Avoiding Conflicts between Future Freshwater Algae Production and Water Scarcity in the United States at the Energy-Water Nexus
journal, April 2019


The Use of the Schizonticidal Agent Quinine Sulfate to Prevent Pond Crashes for Algal-Biofuel Production
journal, November 2015