The water footprint in bioenergy - A comparison of four biomass sources to produce biofuels in Argentina

PAULA ARAUJO; ALEJANDRO P ARENA; BÁRBARA CIVIT; SILVIA CURADELLI; SUSANA FELDMAN; EMILIANO JOZAMI; FERNANDO MELE; ROXANA PIASTRELLINI; JORGE SILVA COLOMER

Environmental Water Footprints. Energy and Building Sectors

Springer

Año: 2019; p. 1 - 33

AUTORES POR ORDEN ALFABÉTICO, EX AEQUO. RESUMEN:In Argentina, the use of biomass for the production of biofuels capable of replacing fossil fuels has aroused great expectation. In the last decade, the production of biodiesel has tripled, and the rising trend continues supported by national legislation that soon will increase the blend mandates up to B20 and E25 (being now B10 and E12). However, there could be some environmental concerns associated with land use and especially with water use. In this chapter, we calculate the volume of water used and consumed in the production of rapeseed (Brassica napus) and soybean (Glycine max) for making biodiesel, and the production of sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum) and cordgrass (Spartina argentinensis) to produce bioethanol in different regions of the country. The Water Footprint, as defined by the Water Footprint Network, is used as an indicator of water resources appropriation, and the ISO approach is followed to assess the impacts associated to the use of water. The volume of water associated with the production of cordgrass is lower than figures obtained by traditional sources of biomass in Argentina (soybean and sugarcane). Rapeseed has a high water footprint mainly because of the site where it is produced. Our findings show that results are more dependent on the region where each biomass is rown, than on management practices such as conventional tillage or no-tillage, and amount and type of chemical inputs (fertilizers, pesticides).