Biofuels

• Benifit of Biofuel
• Advantages and Disadvantages of Biofuel
• Reasion of using Biofuel these days
• Types of Biofuel

What is Biofuel ?

Bio fuel is any fuel sourced derived from biomass, otherwise known as organic matter. This includes any plant or algae material as well as animal waste, liquid, solid, or gaseous fuel produced by conversion of biomass such as bioethanol from sugar cane or corn, charcoal or woodchips, and biogas from anaerobic decomposition of wastes.

Bio fuel is considered to be a source of renewable energy, unlike fossil fuels such as petroleum, like diesel, kerosene. Bio fuel can be produced from plants or from agricultural, domestic or industrial bio waste. The greenhouse gas mitigation potential of bio fuel varies considerably, from emission levels comparable to fossil fuels in some scenarios to negative emissions in others.

The basic technologies to treat biomass for conversion into fuel (or energy) can be logically placed into four general categories:

1. MECHANICAL: Traditional routes for woody debris are strictly mechanical treatments such as chipping or grinding the material. Greater densification takes place by pelletizing the biomass.

2. THERMOCHEMICAL: Combustion converts biomass into energy, while pyrolysis technology converts biomass into fuel. The latter process not only yields greater energy density than mechanical treatment but the fuel properties are chemically and physically more similar to fossil fuels than the original biomass. A related process is gasification which produces syngas which is a platform technology for the production of a variety of liquid biofuel, through the Fischer-Tropsch (FT) process.

CHEMICAL: A route for production of transportation fuels which includes biodiesel, FT and some cellulosic ethanol processes.

4. BIOCHEMICAL: A common route for production of fuel ethanol from sugar or starch fermentation, and the production of biogas (methane) under anaerobic conditions.

Benefits of Biofuel:

• Reduce Import Dependency
• Cleaner Environment
• Health benefits
• Master of Science of Management
• Infrastructural Investment in Rural Areas
• Employment Generation
• Additional Income to Farmers

• Advantages and Disadvantages of Biofuel:

Advantages of Biofuel:

• Renewable - As mentioned above, fossil fuels are a finite source of energy which will eventually run out. Since biofuel can easily be replaced by simply generating more organic matter. They are theoretically renewable.


• Carbon - Since bio fuels are created from organic matter such as plants, and plants remove carbon from the air, they are inherently better for the environment than fossil fuels. However, this argument isn’t quite as convincing as might be expected once the emissions savings are offset by the costs and emissions incurred during the fertilization, transportation and processing are factored into the equation.


• Cost-effectiveness - Producing bio ethanol is cheaper than producing petrol, so combining the two could be a great way to cut expenses in the transportation industry. The same goes for biodiesel and diesel. What’s more, as stocks of fossil fuels run low, their prices will inevitably rise. The sustainable nature of bio fuels makes their pricing more stable. Fuel efficiency In comparison with fossil fuels, bio ethanol and biodiesel contain smaller concentrations of chemicals like chlorine and sulfur. This means that when mixed with petrol or diesel, they can dilute the level of these contaminants in the fuel source and produce cleaner emissions. For more information on how this process works, the article Ensure Accurate Results for Sulfur and Chlorine Analysis in Biodiesels contains much useful information.


• Locality - Finally bio fuels can be produced locally, creating jobs in the same region where they will be consumed and reducing the transportation costs and emissions associated with shipping to them to the point of sale.

Disadvantages of Biofuel

• Resource use - The amount of energy produced by bio fuels is considerably smaller than that generated by fossil fuel combustion, meaning far more land, water and fertilizer is needed to meet the energy demands of the same number of people. That’s especially true with regard to primary bio fuels.


• Delicate ecosystems - The oils needed to produce biodiesels often derive from endangered habitats such as rainforests or other bio diverse locations. Harvesting the land in this way displaces animal populations, destroys ecosystems and discourages biodiversity.


• Suitability - Not all biofuels are suitable for all vehicles. In the UK, this is particularly prevalent, since the engines of many car models are not equipped to handle 100% bio fuel mixes. Meanwhile, biodiesel is not suitable for use in the aviation industry, due to its poor oxidative stability and high freezing point. The article Jet Fuel for Biofuel Contaminants - Safety First gives more information on this particular point.

Types of Biofuel

1. Ethanol - Ethanol is pure alcohol or ethyl alcohol and is probably the most common alternative biofuel used in motor vehicles today.

2. Biodiesel - Biodiesel is becoming more popular, and it mimics the traditional petroleum-based diesel.

3. Biobutanol

4. Methanol

Reason of using biofuel in these days:

Transportation: The main problem with alternatives is that solar, wind and other alternative power is not practical for transportation. Experts believe that efficient breakthroughs in practical technology advances are still decades away. In short, biofuel can be turned into a hydrogen steam that is meant to be used in adjoining fuel-cell. More major car brands have already invested in stations for biofuel-powered vehicles.

Combating climate change Combating climate change forces the world to seek alternative, low-carbon sources of energy and fuel. Since traffic is one of the largest sources of greenhouse gas, i.e. carbon emission substituting fossil fuels with renewable alternatives such as biofuels is an efficient way to reduce these emissions. Biofuels offer a solution to reduce carbon emissions of traffic when other solutions, such as switching to electric vehicles is not an option due to high vehicle costs or lack of vehicle charging network.

Responding to higher energy consumption. The expected increase in world population to 8 or even 10.5 billion by 2050, combined with significant economic growth in emerging economies will result in substantially increasing energy consumption. To be able to respond to this growing demand, we need to use natural resources more efficiently and increase the use of renewable energy, such as biofuels.

Securing energy supplying: Increasing energy demand will pose challenges to security of supply as resources are scattered around the globe. Biofuels help to enhance and safeguard energy security by reducing the world's reliance on fossil energy sources.

Comparison between Biofuels and Fussil fuels:d Modules (Optional)ecnavdA DNARTIGID>

comparison of bio fuels and fossil fuels are under in this table:

Generation of Biofuel:

1.About first generation of biofuel:

First generation biofuel is mainly obtained from consumable food items such as starch, sugar, or any type of vegetable oil. They are also known as conventional biofuels such as ethanol prepared by fermentation of sugarcane or sugar beets. Most commonly known first generation bio-fuels are biogas, biodiesel, and bio alcohols. As mentioned above, the first generation of bio fuels primarily comprise of edible food stocks such as sugarcane/sugar beet hence they are likely to be banned in European Union to secure the food supply.

2.About Second generation of biofuel:

Second generation biofuels are also called “olive green” or “cellulosic-ethanol” fuel, and are mainly obtained from supportable or nonfood feedstocks. Waste vegetable oil, forest residue, industry residue, and sustainable biomass are the primary feedstock for the production of second generation biofuels

3. About Third Generation of biofuel:

Third generation biofuels are also known as “algae fuel” or “oilage” since they are produced from the algae. Algae leads to the production of all types of bio-fuels such as biodiseal, gasoline, butanol, propanol and ethanol with high yield, approximately 10 times higher than the second generation biofuel. Cultivation of third generation biofuel biomass also assists in maintaining environmental balance by consuming the CO2 present in the atmosphere.

4. Forth generation of biofuel:

Produce sustainable energy as well as captured and store CO2 by converting biomass materials, which have absorbed CO2 while growing into fuel.