Why Biofuels?

Biofuels are a wide range of fuels which are in some way derived from biomass. The term covers solid biomass, liquid fuels and various biogases. Biofuels are gaining increased public and scientific attention, driven by factors such as oil price spikes, the need for increased energy security, and concern over greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuels. (source: Wikipedia)

It is used mostly now by vehicle owners as drivers are more environmentally conscious and search ways to reduce their carbon dioxide emissions and therefore reduce their negative impact on the environment.

Focusing on vehicles and biofuel’s impact, bit by bit, let’s examine the pros and cons to help you make a better choice. One of the main purposes of producing biofuel is to develop energy that can be used specifically in liquid fuels for transportation.

Plants that naturally produce oils include oil palm, jatropha, soybean and algae. When heated resistance (viscosity) is reduced they can be burned within a diesel engine or they can be processed to form biodiesel.

Sugar crops or starch – These include sugar cane, sugar beet, corn and maize which are then turned into ethanol through the process of yeast fermentation. Woods – By-products from woods can be converted into biofuels including methanol, ethanol and woodgas.

There are many different types of biofuels:

'First-generation' or conventional biofuels are biofuels made from sugar, starch, and vegetable oil.

Bioalcohols - Biologically produced alcohol most commonly ethanol and less commonly propanol and butanol are produced by the action of micro organisms and enzymes through the fermentation of sugars or starches (easiest), or cellulose (which is more difficult). Biobutanol (also called biogasoline) is often claimed to provide a direct replacement for gasoline, because it can be used directly in a gasoline engine (in a similar way to biodiesel in diesel engines). Ethanol fuel is the most common biofuel worldwide.

Alcohol fuels are produced by fermentation of sugars and any sugar or starch that alcoholic beverages can be made from i.e. potato and waste products. The ethanol production methods used are enzyme digestion (to release sugars from stored starches), fermentation of the sugars, distillation and drying. The distillation process requires significant energy input for heat (often unsustainable natural gas fossil fuel, but cellulosic biomass such as bagasse - the waste left after sugar cane is pressed to extract its juice, can also be used more sustainably). Ethanol is used as an alternative for gasoline on petrol engines - it can be mixed with gasoline to any percentage.

Biodiesel - The most common biofuel in Europe. It is produced from oils or fats using transesterification and is a liquid similar in composition to fossil/mineral diesel (source: Wikipedia). It can also be used as diesel engine which is comparatively cheaper than gasoline.

Green Diesel - Also known as renewable diesel, derived from renewable feedstock rather than the fossil feedstock used in most diesel fuels. Variety of oils such as canola, jatropha, salicornia, algae and tallow are the sources of feedstock. Green diesel uses traditional fractional distillation to process the oils, not to be confused with biodiesel which is chemically quite different and processed using transesterification. “Green Diesel” as commonly known in Ireland should not be confused with dyed green diesel sold at a lower tax rate for agriculture purposes, using the dye allows custom officers to determine if a person is using the cheaper diesel in higher taxed applications such as commercial haulage or cars (source: Wikipedia).

Vegetable Oil - Straight unmodified edible vegetable oil is generally not used as fuel, but lower quality oil can and has been used for this purpose. Used vegetable oil is increasingly being processed into biodiesel, or (more rarely) cleaned of water and particulates and used as a fuel.

Bioethers- Also known as oxygenated fuels enhance engine performance while significantly reducing engine wear and toxic exhaust emission. Greatly reducing the amount of ground-level ozone, they contribute to the quality of the air we breathe.

Biogas - is methane produced by the process of anaerobic digestion of organic material by anaerobes (source: Wikipedia). It can be produced from biodegradable waste materials or by the use of energy crops fed into anaerobic digesters to supplement gas yields. The solid by-product can be used as a biofuel or a fertilizer.

The PLUS SIDE:

Biofuels do exist for the purpose of being carbon neutral. They are proven to reduce greenhouse gas emissions when compared to conventional transport fuels.

Another advantage of biofuels is that they save a lot of money when driving. Many government agencies all over the world offered incentives to drivers of ‘green cars’ based on emissions – with reduced taxation dependent on how environmentally friendly their vehicle is.

With continuing and inconsistent oil price hike due to Libya crisis and as well as natural calamities that has been happening worldwide affecting each one of us, renewable energy source should also offer significant savings at the pump in the long term, particularly when biofuels are more readily available.

Therefore biofuels are helping to tackle poverty around the world. It helps to create more jobs, better options on oil usage and a greener environment.

The MINUS SIDE:

There are several concerns about biofuels – this includes biodiversity, crop competition over fuel production, carbon emissions, and biofuel production on not being sustainable.

Environmentalists fear that more usage of land to produce crops used for biofuels means less habitat for animals and wild plants. Rainforests are affected with this kind of activity.

The crop production versus fuel production are also being tackled as this has become more farmers see this opportunity as a great deal of profit rather than crop production. Less food production will increase prices and cause a rise in inflation. It is hoped that this can be countered by second generation biofuels which use waste biomass – though again, this will impact the habitat of many organisms.

Carbon emissions – In 2007, a study was published by scientists from Britain, the USA, Germany and Austria which reported the burning of rapeseed or corn can contribute as much to nitrous oxide emissions than cooling through fossil fuel savings.

The CHOICE:

The choice is yours. It has been a long controversy as to where biofuels is being sustainable or not. And there have been left and right debates on this matter specifically Renewable Energy Agencies worldwide and environmental issue on this matter. On one hand, it appears, biofuels gigantically reduced carbon emissions and it is proven that it can save a lot of money.

However, based from facts that have been gathered, there are also truths that this could lead to rainforests destruction, crop production neglect and question on energy efficiency.

In any situation, anything in excess usage is bad. And for now, what we should do is to pick up the good ones that it is bringing to mankind and limit the use of land as an alternative for biofuel production to protect natural habitat. Besides, it is still a work in progress and that we should develop more alternatives