seeking to understand the reasons for different energy return on investment (eroi) estimates for biofuels寻求理解的原因不同的能量对生物燃料的投资回报率(eroi)估计.pdfVIP

Sustainability 2011, 3, 2413-2432; doi:10.3390/su3 122413 OPEN ACCESS sustainability ISSN 2071-1050 /journal/sustainability Review Seeking to Understand the Reasons for Different Energy Return on Investment (EROI) Estimates for Biofuels Charles A.S. Hall 1,*, Bruce E. Dale 2 and David Pimentel 3 1 College of Environmental Science and Forestry, State University of New York, Syracuse, New York, NY 13210, USA 2 Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA; E-Mail: bdale@ 3 Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA; E-Mail: dp18@ * Author to whom correspondence should be addressed; E-Mail: chall@; Tel.: +1-315-470-6870; Fax: +1-315-470-6934. Received: 5 July 2011; in revised form: 17 November 2011 / Accepted: 24 November 2011 / Published: 13 December 2011 Abstract: The authors of this paper have been involved in contentious discussion of the EROI of biomass-based ethanol. This contention has undermined, in the minds of some, the utility of EROI for assessing fuels. This paper seeks to understand the reasons for the divergent results. Keywords: Ethanol; EROI; corn-based; cellulosic 1. Introduction We are in a time of profound transition in how the world will be fueled and fed. The fossil energy resources (petroleum, coal and natural gas) that have powered the world’s economy since the initiation of the industrial revolution are increasingly problematic in terms of their price (and price volatility), security of supply, declining energy return on investment (EROI) and environmental impacts [1]. These issues are well know