Title: Biofuels from a strategic standpoint: an overview of the literature

Authors: Marly Monteiro De Carvalho; Ana Paula Vilas Boas Viveiros Lopes; Daniela Santana Lambert Marzagão

Addresses: Department of Production Engineering, University of Sao Paulo, Av. Prof. Almeida Prado, 05508-070 Sao Paulo, Brazil ' Department of Production Engineering, University of Sao Paulo, Av. Prof. Almeida Prado, 05508-070 Sao Paulo, Brazil ' Department of Production Engineering, University of Sao Paulo, Av. Prof. Almeida Prado, 05508-070 Sao Paulo, Brazil

Abstract: The panorama of fuel production began to undergo transformations as of 1973 pursuant to global oil crisis, which is the world's main fossil fuel. The purpose of this work is to revise and analyse the literature on biofuels from a strategic standpoint, outlining the scope of research into this subject and of how the theme has evolved over time. The methodological approach was based on a bibliometric study involving a content analysis of the publications and citations in the period of 1999 to 2010. The findings reveal the growing interest in the subject as of 2006, and a strong increase in the number of published studies. The themes of greatest research interest have been alternative energy sources and their possible impacts on agriculture, followed by substitute fuels and biomass, as well as analyses of their impact on performance and gas emissions. A link was also found in collaborative studies among the England, Germany and Malaysia.

Keywords: biofuels; bibliometrics; content analysis; strategy; literature review; alternative energy; agriculture; biomass; performance; greenhouse gases; GHG emissions; collaborative studies; UK; United Kingdom; Germany; Malaysia.

DOI: 10.1504/LAJMSD.2015.067472

Latin American Journal of Management for Sustainable Development, 2015 Vol.2 No.1, pp.64 - 82

Received: 08 Nov 2013
Accepted: 28 Dec 2013

Published online: 14 Feb 2015 *

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