Why are Biofuels and Bio-Based Chemicals Potentially Disruptive?
US Department of Energy (DOE) projections indicate that world petroleum demand is set to increase by 42% between 2004 and 2030, primarily in the transportation sector. Oil-importing regionsincluding the United States, Europe, Japan, and Chinaare becoming increasingly dependent upon crude-oil supplies from key OPEC countries, but the future reliability of these supplies is uncertain. Biofuels and bio-based chemicals production technologies represent the only near-term alternatives to conventional gasoline, diesel-fuel, and petrochemical feedstocks. Crop-based biofuels are already in wide use, work in today’s vehicles, and require no major investments in infrastructure for their use (unlike alternatives such as hydrogen). Biofuels also help to address global-warming concerns by reducing net greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from vehicles (on a fuel life-cycle basis). The United States and a growing number of other countries have already begun a transition toward biofuels that could ultimate
