Biofuels as Alternative Sources of Energy
Unlike other renewable energy sources, biomass can be converted directly into liquid fuels, called “biofuels,” to help meet transportation fuel needs. The two most common types of biofuels are ethanol and biodiesel.
Ethanol is an alcohol, the same as in beer and wine (although ethanol used as a fuel is modified to make it undrinkable). It is made by fermenting any biomass high in carbohydrates through a process similar to beer brewing. Today, ethanol is made from starches and sugars, but scientists are developing technology to allow it to be made from cellulose and hemicellulose, the fibrous material that makes up the bulk of most plant matter. Ethanol is mostly used as blending agent with gasoline to increase octane and cut down carbon monoxide and other smog-causing emissions.
Biodiesel is made by combining alcohol (usually methanol) with vegetable oil, animal fat, or recycled cooking grease. It can be used as an additive (typically 20%) to reduce vehicle emissions or in its pure form as a renewable alternative fuel for diesel engines.
Biofuels are produced by converting organic matter into fuel as a source of power. Biofuels are an alternative energy source to the fossil fuels that we currently depend upon. The International Energy Agency (IEA) suggests that ethanol could comprise up to 10 percent of the world\’s usable gasoline by 2025, and up to 30 percent by 2050.
Engineers at the University of Purdue have recently found a way to convert biomass into liquid fuel. The process these engineers call ‘hybrid hydrogen-carbon process,’ or H2CAR was explained by Rakesh Agrawal, Professor of Chemical Engineering at Purdue.
The H2CAR methods provides greater efficiency as carbon atoms present in the starting materials are not lost in this process. In the conventional process, usually 60 to 70 percent of the carbon atoms in the starting materials are lost. So this process reduces the wastage. As the formation of carbon dioxide is also suppressed, it prevents the emission of a greenhouse gas into the atmosphere. The volume of biofuel produced is also three times that produced from the biomass using conventional methods.
Meanwhile, a new 10 year forecast warns that soaring biofuel demand is driving up agricultural prices.
The Agricultural Outlook 2007-2016, jointly published by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, FAO, and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, OECD, blames the recent hikes in farm commodity prices on factors such as droughts in wheat growing regions and low stocks.
The growing use of food crops for fuel is driving up crop prices and, indirectly through higher animal feed costs, the prices for livestock products, said the FAO.
“Most biofuel policies are new and it is not clear which measures are most effective in achieving the mix of objectives such as lower fossil fuel dependence or less greenhouse gas emissions,” the report notes.
The report predicts that annual corn-based ethanol output will double between 2006 and 2016 in the United States.
In Brazil, annual ethanol production is projected to reach some 44 billion liters by 2016 from around 21 billion today.
In the European Union the amount of oilseeds used for biofuels is set to grow from just over 10 million tons to 21 million tons over the same period.
The report pointed out that higher commodity prices are a particular concern for countries classified as net food importing countries, as well as for the urban poor.
