Public Perceptions of Second Generation Biofuels Carla Romo (CHE & PW) Advisor: Professor Lorraine Higgins (Humanities and Arts) Understand perceptions of second generation biofuels circulating in newspapers across the country. Background Biofuels: Fuels derived from living matter that emit less greenhouse gases than regular fuel First Generation: Made from food crops Second Generation: Made from non-food plants and waste Third Generation: Made from algae Types: • Biodiesel • Ethanol • Butanol • Mixture of hydrocarbons 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 Number of articles Positive Arguments: Benefits Frequency of Coverage Acknowledgments I would like to thank Professor Higgins for her support and mentorship throughout the project. I would also want to thank Professor Faber for his guidance during the planning phase of this project. I would also like to acknowledge Professor Timko for his scientific perspective throughout the course of the project . Application: • Ships • Vehicles • Aircraft Feedstocks: • Agricultural waste • Municipal waste • Forestry residues • Non-food plants Conversion processes: • Hydrothermal liquefaction • Gasification • Pyrolisis • Fermentation Content Analysis of News Coverage Find all articles using "biofuel" as the search string between 2008 – 2018 Cull articles which main focus is biofuels Cull articles that focus on second generation biofuels Cull articles published on the even years only Step 1: Step 4: Step 3: Step 2: 4,104 articles 165 articles 325 articles 682 articles 2008 2014 2016 2018 2010 2012 Start of Renewable Fuel Standard Program President Obama gets elected President Obama gets reelected President Trump gets elected • Coverage of second generation biofuels has declined over time. • Absence of coverage suggests that biofuel advocates are not voicing their opinions or newspapers are not covering these topics. Common Themes 0% 15% 30% 45% 60% 75% 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 Appearance in articles [%] Year Appearance of stakeholders in news articles over time Universities Government Start-ups Companies Special Interest 1. Feedstock: Forestry and agricultural waste was the focus of 56% of the articles. 2. Application: Vehicles were discussed in 53% of articles. - The aircraft industry is a growing customer because biofuels are the only option this industry can use to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. 3. Life cycle: Feedstock gathering was discussed in 49% of the articles. - Articles do not inform the public about the methods used to produce biofuels. 4. Stakeholders: Government and companies appeared in over 60% of articles. - Despite the mention of big technological challenges, universities are not mentioned consistently. - Appearance of start-ups declined over time suggesting regulations might be discouraging biofuel investors or entrepreneurs have lost interest over time. 49% Environment 31% Economics 21% Energy Positive impact on the environment Repurpose waste Increase entrepreneurship Less expensive fuel alternative Energy independence Public safety Generation of Jobs • Besides reducing greenhouse gases and waste repurposing, there is a lack of discussion on other important environmental benefits of biofuels. • Biofuels have increased collaboration between private and public industries but there is little discussion on the exact economical impacts. • Energy independence is not the major benefit because currently biofuels only contribute to 2.3% of the energy requirements in the USA. Negative Arguments: Challenges 24% Economic 28% Technology & Research 17% Regulations Unreliable feedstock Slow improvements on technology High demand vs. small supply Ambiguity of long term impacts Need for regulations Public opposition Lack of funding High price of fuel and process Competition with food Lack of education Detrimental environmental effects • Second generation biofuels are still conflated with first generation biofuels indicating a need to educate the public on the differences between these types of fuels. • Regulations related to biofuel’s sustainability, feedstocks, blending volumes, and distribution are needed to encourage and facilitate biofuel production. • Technological problems with scale-up are currently limiting biofuel production. Conclusion • Researchers need to EDUCATE the public and ADVOCATE : - Environmental benefits of biofuels - Current research they are doing - Lobby governments to create new regulations and provide funds • Making production process more efficient and economical at an industrial scale are the TECHNOLOGICAL challenges researchers should address. Works Cited Objective Antizar‐Ladislao, B., & Turrion‐Gomez, J. L. (2008). Second‐generation biofuels and local bioenergy systems. Chichester, UK: John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. doi:10.1002/bbb.97 DOE. (2018d). Renewable fuel standard. Retrieved from https://afdc.energy.gov/laws/RFS. Gauchat, G. (2012). Politicization of science in the public sphere: A study of public trust in the United States, 1974 to 2010. Am Sociol Rev, 77(2), 167-187. doi:10.1177/0003122412438225. Guo, M., Song, W., & Buhain, J. (2015). Bioenergy and biofuels: History, status, and perspective doi://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2014.10.013 Hunter, P. (2016). The communications gap between scientists and public: More scientists and their institutions feel a need to communicate the results and nature of research with the public. EMBO Reports, 17(11), 1513-1515. doi:10.15252/embr.201643379 OSU. (2018). Generations of biofuels. Retrieved from https://smile.oregonstate.edu/lesson/generations-biofuels