Fuzzy Logic-based energy efficiency Life Cycle Assessment with a case study of corn-based fuel ethanol in China

A fuzzy logic based method of energy efficiency assessment of Biomass-based Fuel Ethanol (BFE) production is introduced in this paper. Energy relevant inventory variables are defined and described by fuzzy sets representing the differences in energy inventory data between the BFE system and its reference. A fuzzy reasoning process is developed to derive the energy efficiency from the fuzzificated inventory data. This method distinguishes itself by simple calculation, lower requirements of data accuracy and capability of processing subjectivity. A case study of corn-based fuel ethanol from Northeast China is conducted to demonstrate the application of the proposed method.