Information on Biofuels

What are Biofuels?
Any kind of fuel that is derived from biomass, or plant matter and animal waste such as manure from cows, is known as biofuel, also referred to as agrofuels. Biofuels are also derived from industrial and municipal waste, and forestry and agricultural residues. In other words they are a source of energy from plants. Biofuels can be used as fuels for transportation and fuels for electricity. Biofuels used for transportation are pyrolysis oils, biomethanol, biodiesel, and ethanol.

Unlike other sources of fuel like nuclear fuels, coal, and petroleum, biofuels are renewable sources of energy. The advantage they have is that they are ‘carbon neutral’, which means that even though carbon is released in the atmosphere when they are burned, as plants they have already absorbed that carbon. Biofuels are therefore regarded as ‘CO2 neutral’, that is they do not add to the level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. This is the reason they are touted by environmentalist as a means of reducing CO2 in the atmosphere, by replacing energy sources that are non-renewable with biofuels. Using this type of energy from plants is dependent on various factors, chiefly the feedstock available and the kind of energy that can be utilized locally.

Biofuels are of three types: gas, liquid, and solid. Amongst these, the liquids are used as fuel for vehicles, and the two most common are ethanol, a substitute for petrol, which is made from grain, sugar, or corn, and biodiesel, produced from oil seeds.

Given below are some the types of biofuels that are in use today:

Biogas: The interest in biogas is growing as a substitute for natural gas. It is particularly useful since its composition is almost identical, hence the burners that are used for natural gas can be used for biogas too. Biogas can be made from animal or plant waste, or by combining the two. Various methods are used to produce it, depending on the quantity involved and the starting material. The best method has proven to be a mixture of both. While the vegetable waste produces the hydrogen and carbon necessary, the animal waste generates the nitrogen required for the growth of the bacteria.

Biodiesel: This was perhaps the very first amongst the alternative fuels to have caught the attention of the general public. One of the greatest advantages of this biofuel is that it can used in the in the current vehicles without an adaptation required, or very little of it. For this reason, biodiesel is a compromise, but as far as the energy scales are concerned it balances positively. Higher energy from plants is available which can generate higher yields in kW-hr per area, however the advantage of having a fuel that is completely compatible with current engine and fuel technology makes it particularly attractive.

BioEthanol: This type of biofuel is produced from biomass, sugar cane, or agricultural crops. Cars that run on it are governed by the very same physics laws as those that use gasoline. Which means, due to the process of combustion, both of them produce CO2. However, there is a vital difference. Since burning ethanol actually results in recycling CO2, because the process of photosynthesis while the plant had been growing had already removed it from the atmosphere. Whereas, using diesel or gasoline actually injects additional amounts of CO2, which had been fixed underground in the deposits of oil for millions of years.

Here are some of the benefits of biofuels:

Biofuels have many benefits while also contributing to the achievement of energy security and an economy that is more sustainable.

• Compared to diesel and gasoline, biofuels are much cleaner fuels and do not cause as much pollution.
  
• Since Ethanol, which is used as an additive to gasoline, provides oxygen, it results in gasoline burning more fully, thus creating less smog.
• Biodiesel does not produce any sulfur or any other emissions of toxic matter.
• Biofuels lower the emissions of greenhouse gas, since the carbon contained in them has been absorbed from the soil and air within the natural cycle of carbon of the earth.
• Producing biodiesel and ethanol locally results in reducing the dependence on oil that is imported, thus improving energy security.
• Biofuels help in cushioning the impact of sudden fluctuations in the supply of oil, thus acting as a protective factor against high prices of fuel.
• The plants that produce biofuels create jobs while also offering economic opportunities locally, for R&D and engineering companies, construction crews, feedstock processors, and farmers. The money that is invested in biofuels stays in the region, which results in increasing incomes across the economy.
• Farmers also derive benefits due to new alternatives in crops, which helps in improving their profitability and stability.