Abstract:
Biofuels have gained much attention as a potentially sustainable alternative to fossil fuels to tackle climate change and energy scarcity. Hence, the increasing global interest in contributing to the biofuel supply chain (BSC), from biomass feedstock to biofuel production, has led to a huge amount of scientific production in recent years. In this vein, techno-economic analysis (TEA) of biofuel production to estimate total costs and revenues is highly important for transitioning towards a bioeconomy. This research aims to provide a comprehensive image of the body of knowledge in TEA evolution within the BSC domain. To this end, a systematic science mapping analysis, supported by a bibliometric analysis, is carried out on 1104 articles from 1986 to 2021. As a result, performance indicators of the scientific production within the target literature are presented to explain how this literature has evolved. Besides, thematic trends and conceptual structures of TEA of biofuel production are discovered. The results show that (i) biofuel production and consumption need promotion through tax measures and price subsidies, (ii) the development of cost-competitive algal biofuels has faced many challenges over recent years, and (iii) TEA of algal biofuels to identify commercial improvements and increase the economic feasibility is still lacking, which calls for more in-depth investigations. Consequently, current challenges and future perspectives of TEA in the BSC domain are rendered. The provided insights enable researchers and decision-makers involved in BSCs to (i) capture the most influential contributors to the field and (ii) identify major research hotspots and potential directions for further development.
摘要:
作为应对气候变化和能源短缺的化石燃料的潜在可持续替代品,生物燃料已经获得了广泛的关注。因此,全球对促进生物燃料供应链(BSC)的兴趣与日俱增,从生物质原料到生物燃料生产,近年来导致了大量的科学生产。在这种情况下,生物燃料生产的技术经济分析(TEA)来估计总成本和收入对于向生物经济过渡非常重要。这项研究旨在提供BSC领域中TEA进化知识体系的全面图像。为此,系统的科学制图分析,由文献计量分析支持,从1986年到2021年,对1104篇文章进行了研究。因此,在目标文献中提出了科学生产的绩效指标,以解释这些文献是如何发展的。此外,发现了生物燃料生产TEA的主题趋势和概念结构。结果表明:(一)生物燃料生产和消费需要通过税收措施和价格补贴来促进,(二)近年来,具有成本竞争力的藻类生物燃料的发展面临许多挑战,和(iii)藻类生物燃料的TEA,以确定商业改进和增加经济可行性仍然缺乏,这需要更深入的调查。因此,呈现了TEA在BSC领域的当前挑战和未来前景。所提供的见解使参与BSC的研究人员和决策者能够(i)捕获该领域最有影响力的贡献者,以及(ii)确定主要研究热点和进一步发展的潜在方向。