Biofuel is produced directly or indirectly from organic material such as plant material and animal waste. About 10% of the worlds energy demand is covered by biofuels. Most of this is made up of the more traditional unprocessed biofuels such as wood and crops. Biofuels can be made of a variety of agricultural crops, waste, materials, forestry and fishery products. There are two main distinctions between biofuels which includes primary and secondary biofuels. Primary biofuels are used directly from natural resources and are unprocessed while secondary biofuels are processed from biomass. A few examples of secondary biofuels are ethanol and biodiesel. Biofuels are mainly used for homes as a good source of heating. Liquid biofuels for transportation has grown in recent years but only makes up about .2 percent of the world’s total energy consumption.

Biofuels have many advantages over fossil fuels. For starters biofuels are a renewable resource as long as we continue to grow crops. We can continue to grow crops every year to create fuels such as ethanol that cars can run on while there is only a limited amount of fossil fuels available. It provides an alternative energy source to countries that have little or no oil reserves and are dependent on foreign countries. Additionally, biofuels produce less greenhouse gasses when burned compared to fossil fuels. Using biofuels from plants offsets their own CO2 admissions. The plants take up gas during growth that is produced when the fuel from the plants are burned. This one to one relationship has no net impact therefore has no additional impact on global warming.

The production of biofuels from crops comes with several environmental impacts. Producing biofuels has a great effect on agricultural production impacting land, water, and biodiversity. If the demand for crops increases then that means more destruction of land. If large areas of land are being used this will cause a loss of habitat and could even lead to extinction of certain plants and animals. Additionally, with more growing of crops increases the use of pesticides and fertilizers that contaminate water. If biofuels continue to grow then more crops are required increasing agricultural production and its effect on the environment.

Ethanol is a biofuel made from corn and sugarcane. Ethanol is essentially alcohol and it burns extremely hot. In recent years, we have seen ethanol make it into people cars. Have you ever heard of E85 fuel? E85 also known as flex fuel is a high-level ethanol gas blend that contains 50 to 80 percent ethanol. Flex fuel can only be used in flex fuel vehicles which make up a large sum of vehicles today. Flex fuels only problem compared to regular gas is that it tends to get fewer miles per gallon and in some cars, creates moisture in the tank causing rust. In 2011, the United States government approved blends of gas and ethanol for newer car models. Normal engines can use low blends of ethanol and gas without requiring engine modifications. Ethanol does provide many benefits over using regular fossil fuels. Ethanol is not only renewable but domestic countries can produce ethanol on their own avoiding the need of foreign fossil fuels. This also leads to a boost in agricultural economies.

Biodiesel is another renewable biofuel that is manufactured from vegetable oils, animal fats, or recycled grease from restaurants and can be used in diesel vehicles. Biodiesels physical properties are very similar to petroleum diesel but it burns much cleaner. Biodiesel reduces greenhouse gas emissions because the carbon dioxide released when burning it equals the amount absorbed by soybeans and other types of feedstock. Biodiesel also helps improve engine operations by raising the Cetane number in the fuel improving the fuels lubricity. This helps improve engine life because diesel engines rely heavily on the lubricity of the fuel. Diesel engines have so many moving parts that they need to stay lubricated to prevent wear and tear. Additionally, if biodiesel is spilled into the environment it causes much less harm than the traditional petroleum diesel. Biodiesel has a much higher combustible temperature making it safer to handle and transport. Unfortunately, biodiesel also has its negatives. Right now, biodiesel is much more expensive than petroleum diesel. Also, because biodiesel cleans the engine much more than petroleum diesel the gas filter tends to need changed more often filling up with the dirt that is removed by the biodiesel.

Ultimately biofuels are not the best form of renewable energy right now but as scientist continue to develop and find ways to produce biofuels cheaper the clean our future. Biofuels could one day be a great replacement for our traditional fossil fuels that are being over used and release massive amounts of carbon dioxide and greenhouse gases. If we continue to find new and cleaner ways to produce and use fuels the more sustainable our future ahead will be. Getting to a someday sustainable future is not going to happen overnight but hopefully as people continue to work hard trying to develop better forms of renewable energy we will get there one day.

 

 

References

https://www.greenfacts.org/en/biofuels/l-2/1-definition.htm

https://hub.globalccsinstitute.com/publications/statistical-issues-bioenergy-and-distributed-renewable-energy/primary-and-secondary-renewable-energy-sources

http://www.energydigital.com/renewable-energy/types-biofuels-ethanol-biodiesel-biobutanol

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/science/triple_ocr_gateway/beyond_the_microscope/biofuels/revision/4/

http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/bioenergy/tech/biofuels.html

http://biofuel.org.uk/greenhouse-gas-emissions.html

https://www.afdc.energy.gov/fuels/ethanol_e85.html

https://www.afdc.energy.gov/fuels/biodiesel_benefits.html

http://www.berkeleybiodiesel.org/advantages-and-disadvantages-of-biodiesel.html