Biofuels
Biofuels are any kind of fuel made from living things, or from the waste they produce. Biofuel can be produced from any carbon source that can be replenished rapidly e.g. plants. Many different plants and plant-derived materials are used for biofuel manufacture. The two most prevalent biofuels are ethanol, currently produced from sugar or starch crops, and biodiesel, produced from vegetable oils or animal fats Biodiesel was probably the first of the alternative fuels to really become known to the public. Ethanol for fuel is made through fermentation, the same process which produces it in wine and beer.
Plants absorb carbon dioxide as they grow which is released when biofuels are burnt. .Some additional energy is required to grow and process biofuels but the net carbon dioxide emitted is less than the alternative of burning fossil fuels. The great advantage of biodiesel is that it can be used in existing vehicles with little or no adaptation necessary.
With near record oil prices, the future of biofuel—made from plant material—is of keen interest worldwide. Global biofuel production has tripled from 4.8 billion gallons in 2000 to about 16.0 billion in 2007, but still accounts for less than 3 percent of the global transportation fuel supply.
Biofuels are essentially a way to convert solar energy into liquid form via photosynthesis. One of the greatest concerns raised about them, however, is their net energy balance—i.e., whether production of the fuels requires more energy inputs (particularly fossil energy, in the form of fertilizers, tractor fuel, processing energy, etc.) than is ultimately contained in the biofuels themselves. Advances in technology have improved production efficiency, giving all current biofuels a positive fossil energy balance.
Gas combustion engines running on Bioethanol, which is produced from agricultural crops, sugar cane or bio-mass, burn basically the same as gasoline. They both emit CO2 during combustion. But the burning of ethanol recycles the CO2 because it has already been removed from the atmosphere by photosynthesis during the natural growth process. In contrast, the use of gasoline or diesel injects quantities of CO2.
Biofuels are any kind of fuel made from living things, or from the waste they produce. Biofuel can be produced from any carbon source that can be replenished rapidly e.g. plants. Many different plants and plant-derived materials are used for biofuel manufacture. The two most prevalent biofuels are ethanol, currently produced from sugar or starch crops, and biodiesel, produced from vegetable oils or animal fats Biodiesel was probably the first of the alternative fuels to really become known to the public. Ethanol for fuel is made through fermentation, the same process which produces it in wine and beer.
Plants absorb carbon dioxide as they grow which is released when biofuels are burnt. .Some additional energy is required to grow and process biofuels but the net carbon dioxide emitted is less than the alternative of burning fossil fuels. The great advantage of biodiesel is that it can be used in existing vehicles with little or no adaptation necessary.
With near record oil prices, the future of biofuel—made from plant material—is of keen interest worldwide. Global biofuel production has tripled from 4.8 billion gallons in 2000 to about 16.0 billion in 2007, but still accounts for less than 3 percent of the global transportation fuel supply.
Biofuels are essentially a way to convert solar energy into liquid form via photosynthesis. One of the greatest concerns raised about them, however, is their net energy balance—i.e., whether production of the fuels requires more energy inputs (particularly fossil energy, in the form of fertilizers, tractor fuel, processing energy, etc.) than is ultimately contained in the biofuels themselves. Advances in technology have improved production efficiency, giving all current biofuels a positive fossil energy balance.
Gas combustion engines running on Bioethanol, which is produced from agricultural crops, sugar cane or bio-mass, burn basically the same as gasoline. They both emit CO2 during combustion. But the burning of ethanol recycles the CO2 because it has already been removed from the atmosphere by photosynthesis during the natural growth process. In contrast, the use of gasoline or diesel injects quantities of CO2.
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