Territorial level for biofuel production—Case study of an Italian region

An analysis of the biofuel production chain suggests that adapting and optimizing the whole system to an appropriate scale based on the availability of agricultural and/or agro-industrial biomass feedstock is needed. This study of the potential use of these biomass materials is carried out on a regional scale and, in particular, in Apulia, a region in south Italy with a high agricultural vocation. The aims of this paper are to identify the real availability of the residual biomass (particularly lignocellulosic), and form a hypothesis regarding launching new production chains (from biomass to diesel) on a regional scale with appropriate localization in the Apulia territory. According to the methodology (adapted from the European Directive 2009/28/EC on renewable energy sources), the greenhouse gas savings due to the replacement of a share of fossil diesel with BTL diesel produced from inland biomass are evaluated as well. A hypothesis regarding the appropriate scale and localization of BTL plant together with relative costs are presented in the results and discussion section. The conclusion section provides perspectives regarding the BTL diesel and bioenergy system, and the creation of an agro-energy district in the Apulia region.