NRE 501.114

3CR

Instructors - Prof. Bill Currie and Prof. John DeCicco

MW 11:30-1pm

Biofuels are convenient energy carriers produced from biomass such as corn, sugar cane, oil seeds and
other crops, trees, grasses, algae, and organic wastes. Because they can take the form of liquids such as
ethanol, biodiesel or synthetic compounds compatible with existing transportation fuels, biofuels are
seen as crucial substitutes for petroleum. Biofuels are considered renewable because they utilize today's
solar energy and recycle carbon. Policies are being developed to promote their greater use and research
is proceeding to develop them on an industrial scale, but just how sustainable are biofuels? Questions
about their environmental impacts, including net effects on carbon balance at scales from landscapes to
the global, as well as competition for land, water, and food, are widely debated. This course will equip
students to understand and thoughtfully participate in the ongoing scientific and policy discussions
surrounding biofuels. Through a combination of lectures, readings, interactive exercises and discussions,
term projects, assignments and presentations, students will learn about various biofuel options and
their production, applicable methods of analysis (particularly for carbon balance) and comparison to
other carbon mitigation options, policies influencing biofuels use and the views of various stakeholders
in the debate. Students completing the course will have mastered a critical understanding of the
complex, interdisciplinary thinking about this important topic of energy and sustainability.