Coordination of the debate was carried out by Pierre REBOUL, President of ELENBI, with the presentation of the different speakers:

- Benoît GARBRIELLE, researcher at the center of AGROTECH GRIGNON
- Jean-François GRUSON, Head of the Economic Department at IFP (French Institute of Oil)
- Pierre MACAUDIERE, Person in charge of the Fuel Emissions and Decontamination Department at PEUGEOT CITROEN
- Bernard CHAUD, Director of bio-fuel projects at TEREOS replaced by Jérôme BIGNON, Director in charge of relations with the French and European Administration at CRISTAL UNION and Director of FCB-UCB
- Valérie CALLAUD, Person in charge of the Bio-fuel Mission at TOTAL 


The Typology of Bio-fuels

PEUGEOT CITROEN foresees two networks of bio-fuels with gas and diesel oil. The gasoline is joined with ethanol (EtOH) produced in part from enzymes, beets or grains in Europe or Sugar Cane in Brazil. The diesel is joined with glycerin in the chemical industry (EEAG) or in animal feed (EMAG) whose combustion is not optimized. The second generation of bio-fuels are already under review as the NexBTL (renewable diesel production process) stemming from a hydro treatment taken from vegetable oils and the BtL (Biomass to liquid) is synthesized in part from the biomass solid which are both of excellent quality.


According to TOTAL, the bio-fuel in the world in 2006 represented 12% of the fuels used (on a total of 20Mtep «Megaton fuel equivalent »). The fuel consumed by vehicles is 39% in the USA, 27% in Asia and the rest of Europe.

The advancement of bio-fuels has three objectives which are; the reduction of emissions of Greenhouse Gas, providing markets for agriculture and reducing the dependence on oil.

At present the bio-fuels are used upwards of 2% in the USA, 13% in Brazil and 1.5% in Europe.


Are these bio-fuels responsible for the rise in food prices?

According to TEREOS the principal cause of the rise in food prices is not the development of bio fuels. We recall that fuel prices increased more rapidly than the price of agricultural products, which was not the case in the 70s. Today we are experiencing a period of real crisis and the food supplies are exceptionally low so the prices are on the rise.

According to Georges VERMEERSH, of SOFIPROTEOL, the tax system in Germany has evolved and has equally modified the tax. The evolution of bio fuels might very well have an impact on the rise in food prices but this is explained equally by a strong demand from Asian countries due to bad harvests.

According to INRA (National Institute for Agronomic Research), the impact of bio-fuels on the rise in prices is not completely explained by the rise in the demand for food products from Asian countries. There is a series of factors to take into consideration, such as the consumption of grains and corn, for which prices have increased. It is a fact of the market which is not insignificant to the margin.


Won’t there be other problems in the future? What will become of the industries stemming from petrochemistry?

TEREOS specifies that on the side of the ethanol producers, the market aimed at is clearly that of fuel; therefore the global market of petrochemistry is not completely affected.

According to TOTAL, the demand for bio-fuel is greater and greater, hence the need to find a balance regarding raw materials used.


Energy Efficiency and Production

TEREOS recalls that a billion euros is invested in ethanol fuel in France.
Equivalent of a ton per hectare (unit of land measure equal to ten):
- The sugar cane represents 3.2 points in clean energy and a ratio of 8
- The beet (combustible fossil) represents a yield of 3.2 in clean energy and only a ratio of 2.3
- The renewable combustible beet represents a yield of 3.8 in clean energy and a ratio of 10.5
- The Miscanthus, (grown for energy production) plant said to be of second generation, represents a clean energy of 3.5 with a ratio of 12. This very large perennial plant has a life cycle of about 20 years but needs a large surface and plenty of water.

Standards apply at the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA or Eco-balance) level and what we will retain from the Environment Grenelle research travels is that it is important to better manage the allocation of the soil, to agree with the standards of the protoxydes of oxide and the production of a co-product for animal feed.


What is the balance at the Greenhouse Gas level?

Important conservations are predicted with bio-fuel, at the level of Greenhouse Gas emissions. Knowing that gasoline emissions are estimated at 83.8g of CO2 per MegaJoule (MJ «Mega Newton-meter») whereas in 1 MJ of ethanol we estimate that there are 60% of Greenhouse Gas emissions less than gasoline, the European objective is to decrease the Greenhouse Gas emissions by 35%.


Do we have a consensus on the Life Cycle Assessment (Eco-balance)?

According to TEREOS, it is clearly definite that we intend to prioritize an energy allocation. For AGROTECH GRIGNON, an environmental balance is estimated because for the use of a hectare of biomass farming we must clear 0.8 hectare of the Savane (park in Martinique, France). This poses other problems which are of an environmental nature.

TEREOS does not challenge this environmental balance but recalls, as an example, that 14 million tons of sugar is produced in Europe instead of 22 million previously in order to help Countries in Development. We must work on the restoration of neglected sites for the production of bio-ethanol.


Second Generation Bio-Fuels: BTL (Biomass to Liquid) or Synthetic Fuel

AGROTECH GRIGNON explains that to produce bio-fuels, we will use agricultural and forested residuals which, modified by a thermo-chemical method, will result in a synthetic gas that we can then transform into hydrocarbon and a diesel oil blend. We can equally use a bio-chemical method of processing with dedicated cultures where we will, for example, ferment sugar to make ethanol and a gas mixture.

According to PEUGEOT CITROEN, there is no difference between first and second generation ethanol because it remains ethanol. The new synthetic fuels are of excellent quality, do not contain fillers and have a very good combustion. There is a need of standardization for first generation products and for justification of prices for second generation products.

AGROTECH GRIGNON makes it clear that a significant palette of lignocellulosic plant matter is usable for bio-fuels like Sorghum, Miscanthus, beets, algae, and crop residue or agro forestry.
The predictable yield of the Miscanthus in winter will be from 12 tons of dry matter per hectare with a TEP (Ton Equivalent of Oil) of 4.0/ha (hectare) and 25 tons in the fall with a TEP of 6.2/ha.


What are the constraints?

For all that, we must take the area and solutions that are already considered to reduce the pressure on the surfaces. As for the solution, we can increase the yields, use the whole plant, make the plant produce the least elaborate raw materials to maximize its conversion yield, expand the base of the available resource, use the same plot for several uses (example: agro forestry, water purification and growing willows…), use of unsuitable soils for food production and glamorize waste / co-products.

According to the IFP (French Institute of Oil), we cannot believe that agricultural waste will furnish sufficient resources in bio-energy to replace oil. We must grow plants on dedicated soils, knowing that all the residuals should not be harvested for the regeneration of the soil.
Today, we remember that 43 million tons of fuel is used in France and the biomass is far from supplying such quantity.


Why not create fuel in the form of gas?
 
According to the IFP (French Institute of Oil), liquid remains one of the simplest elements to use and to transport in comparison with gas which would further necessitate a specific network which does not exist at this current time. TOTAL adds that there exists two means of transporting gas, namely by way of the pipeline and by liquefaction, thus returning to the liquid format.

PEUGEOT CITROEN specifies that there exists an autonomy problem with the gas load (about 150km) with a very high number and dissatisfied customers.


The State of Public Politics

According to PEUGEOT CITROEN we should have a transitional period for another ten years, where the internal combustion engine will still mainly be used. Having said this, we are pushed hard by Europe which imposes a CO2 emissions of 120/gkm between now and January 1, 2012.
Thus, motors are constantly being improved to reach a CO2 emission of around 130g/km with eventually 10g/km which can come from additional measures not measurable on the cycle like bio-fuels, air conditioning or the GSI.
In case of non-compliance with European legislations, heavy sanctions have been predicted with penalties of 20 euros per gram of CO2 exceeded in 2012, 35 euros in 2013, 60 euros in 2014 and 95 euros in 2015.

PEUGEOT CITROEN with its 140 g/km of CO2 expelled per vehicle remains at the highest level in Europe by comparison with the other automobile builders.

According to TOTAL, the European Directive of 2003 has given 5.75% PCI (gross calorific value) of bio-fuels from now to 2010 with, in parallel, 27 distinct legislations. It is necessary to have a harmonization of European Legislation in favor of bio-fuels, which would thereby allow lowering the cost. At this current time there is a much divided situation which is damaging to the consumer.