DEVELOPMENT OF BIOFUELS PRODUCTION FROM AGRICULTURAL RAW MATERIALS

Abstract

The aim of the article is to assess the dynamics of the development of biofuels production from agricultural raw materials and the share of biofuels in the consumption of the most important agricultural raw materials with particular regard to the situation in Poland.  Data used in the study are derived from OECD statistics as well as CSO statistics.  The analysis covered the period from 2005 to 2016.  The biofuel production on a global scale is increasingly competing with food production.  Between 2002 and 2004, about 2% of harvested cereals were allocated to biofuels, and in 2016 it was almost 8%.  For oil plants, this level reached 15%.  Following a dynamic growth in biofuel production between 2005 and 2010, the growth slowed down considerably - to the level of 7% annually for biodiesel and 4.6% annually for bioethanol production.  For the years 2017-2025, a growth rate of about 1% per year is anticipated.  The slowdown in production growth is due to the reduction of political support for the development of the production of biofuels from first generation raw materials.  Their production leads to competition for land resources with food production, but it has also been found to be characterized by relatively low environmental performance, including a low impact on the reduction of CO₂ emissions.  It is necessary to develop the production of second generation biofuels which now account for only about 7% of the production of liquid biofuels.
Biofuels in Poland are produced from cereals and rapeseed oil.  The production of biofuels in Poland increased from 180 million litres in 2005 to 1.2 billion litres in 2015.  1.3% of arable land was used for bioethanol production and 3.5% for biodiesel production.  Total production of raw materials for biofuels was conducted on 5% of arable land in Poland.  2% of cereals and 60% of the rape crop were consumed for the production of biofuels.  Under Polish agriculture conditions, biofuels production does not compete with food production yet.

Keywords: bioenergy, biofuels, biofuel prices, biomass, energy crops, renewable energy

Article DOI: http://doi.org/10.15544/RD.2017.192