Biofuel: Renewable Energy Type

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Table of Contents

Biofuels
Discussion
Conclusion
References

Biofuel, also called agrofuel, is a type of renewable energy fuels derived from biomass – organic material – such as various plant resources and natural waste, instead of non-renewable resources, such as fuels created from fossil fuels and other products of geological processes. Instead, they are created through the use of contemporary organic technologies and agriculture (What are Biofuels n.d.).

Biofuel has an advantage over other types of renewable energy sources, which include solar, geothermal and wind energy, as well as hydropower, because most types of this fuel can be converted directly to liquid. This allows agrofuel to be used in internal combustion engines with slight alterations to accommodate it, meaning that the industries don’t require massive restructuring to be able to use it, as would be the case with solar energy, for example.

While there are examples of hard biofuels, the two most common types are like biodiesel and ethanol. Biodiesel is produced from a combination of alcohol and animal fat, crop oil or recycled cooking oils, and ethanol, which is made by fermenting biomass rich in carbohydrates, such as celluloses or sugars, and is the same alcohol that can be found in vodka or wine.

As a result of these benefits, it is perceived that investment in alternative energy can have a positive impact on global environmental issues.

The purpose of this essay is to discuss this statement and evaluate its accuracy in accordance to the latest studies, as well as the pros and cons of biofuel in general.

Biofuels

Description

Several sources rightfully refer to biofuels as the “original car fuel”. The idea of biofuel has been circulating for over a century. The invention of biofuel is credited to none other than Rudolf Diesel, the inventor of the diesel engine, which originally was designed to work on liquid fuel made from peanut oil. He believed that his engine would make a considerable positive impact on the growth of the agriculture industry in developing countries. In the same vein, Henry Ford intended to fuel his Model T automobiles on ethanol, created through the process of fermentation of sugars by yeasts (Biofuels: The Original Car Fuel n.d).

However, the new type of fuel failed to gain popularity with the customers and the industry leaders, due to the contemporary fossil fuels being a more financially viable option at the time, leading to the diesel engine ending up modified to accommodate for petroleum oil. As a result, biodiesel was pushed aside in favor of crude oil, which caused the demand for it to skyrocket, ushering the automobile age (The History of Biodiesel n.d.).

However, despite seemingly failing as a fuel in its own right, biofuel still has had its uses in the last century. For example, much of the gasoline used in the United States is mixed with ethanol. Additionally, biofuel is steadily gaining more popularity as an alternative to traditional fuels, because of its promise of a decrease in emissions productions (Roos 2012). This is because the crops, such as palm oil, corn, sugarcane and others, used in the creation of biofuels, can absorb the carbon dioxide and other emissions produced as a result of combustion of these fuels (Biofuels: The Original Car Fuel n.d).

Geographical placement

The major world countries are already using biofuel of various kinds and are researching new ways to improve their energy output, to give them a better competitive edge compared to the fossil fuels. Palm oil and rapeseed biodiesel are widely used in Germany, and other European countries and Brazil produces ethanol out of sugarcane (Biofuels Make a Comeback Despite Tough Economy 2011). America and Europe derive fuel from corn and soybeans, Australia and Asia also use palm oil, and South America mostly use Corn and Sugar Cant. Africa and the Middle East are somewhat unique, in that they focus on biofuel made from jatropha and animal excrement (Major Biofuel Producers by Region 2010).

Discussion

Advantages

Most of the proponents of biofuels focus on their potential to produce fewer greenhouse gas compared to fossil fuels when used in internal combustion engines. Together with solar, geothermal, wind, tidal and other types of renewable energies, agrofuel has the potential to replace the non-renewable energy resources such as fossil fuels and decrease the amount of harmful pollution and carbon emissions produced from the usage of the latter (Advantages of Biofuels n.d). E85 – the aforementioned mix of ethanol and gasoline – is notable for creating more than 40 percent less adverse emissions, such as carbon dioxide, than regular fossil fuel gas.

Similarly, biodiesel also burns much cleaner than regular diesel, while giving almost the same output of energy. (Roos 2012).

This is very relevant, especially in the light of the global initiative to decrease the amount of adverse emissions worldwide, which set legally binding goals of planned 20 percent decrease in greenhouse gas emissions, 20 percent of energy coming from renewable sources, and a 20 percent increase in the efficiency of energy use by the year 2020 (2020 climate & energy package n.d).

Another benefit of using biofuels as an alternative to exhaustible fossil fuels is the provision for greater energy security for countries which don’t have sufficient oil reserves to sustain themselves (Biofuels n.d.). This is because almost every country can potentially generate one of the biofuel types, unlike fossil fuels.

The immediate economic benefit is that biofuel farmlands can revitalize agriculture and economy in developing countries by creating new job opportunities for the local population (Schneider 2010).

Disadvantages

On the other, investigation into the use of biofuel have shown a number of potential efficiency political, social and economic disadvantages, which notably reduce their benefits, harming the argument for their large-scale use at the current level of related technology.

To begin with, not all of the biofuel types can actually match the energy output of regular fuels. While ethanol, for example, seemingly costs less than traditional gasoline, a gallon of the former provides 80,000 British thermal units, where 1 British thermal unit is comparable to 1055 joules, the same amount of the latter produces 24,800 British thermal units. While the difference may not seem that huge, it would mean that an ethanol run car would need to be refueled almost one-and-a-half times more often than a regular car. This means that, in the long run, the customer would actually be paying more for ethanol.

Also, to achieve significant negation of greenhouse guesses, biomass needs to be produced at the same rate as fuel is burned up. Biomass requires land to be allocated to it, which no longer can be used for growing food crops, which can cause food shortages as a result (Rinkesh n.d). An assessment released in the summer of 2008, by the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development, showed that not only did biofuel farming incur massive spending by the government, which had did not have a significant impact on the reduction of carbon dioxide and other harmful gasses, but it also adversely affected the food markets in the assessed countries.

Additionally, if the same crops are used for food and fuel, growing demand for the latter can cause a significant increase of prices for these yields. This has already affected the worldwide grain prices, causing them to skyrocket, and in general resulting in a heavy hit to the food security in the poorer countries (Rosenthal 2008). In the same vein, production and conversion of the biomass require large quantities of water, which would likely negatively impact the local water resources (Disadvantages of Biofuels n.d.).

The production also is very costly, and can only be refined through massive financial investments. For example, biodiesel has proved to be more expensive to produce than ordinary diesel, and this price gap is further enhanced due to the fluctuating prices for biofuel from which this type of biofuel is produced (Skye 2005).

Finally, several European studies show that biofuels can produce four times as many dangerous emissions through indirect carbon footprint, during general use and during its production when compared to traditional fossil fuels. The study looked at European biodiesel made from rapeseed and ethanol made from sugar beet, and both showed results much higher than the traditional fuels (Harrison 2010).

The report by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development has further noted that only two agrofuels with crops as biomass had clear environmental advantages over gas and diesel, when all of their production and usage lifecycle was thoroughly analyzed. These are sugar cane, due to a much less complex and more efficient conversion process than in other biomasses, and used cooling oil (Rosenthal 2008)

Conclusion

Biofuel as an industry and an energy source is showing much promise, and it is used, research and development is supported by most of the major world countries, with the principle manufacturers being the United States, Brazil, China, Canada, India, France, Germany, and Australia. However, in spite of high praises and expectations, it is clear that, in its current state, biofuel is not a panacea for the world’s fuel needs or a perfect zero-emission energy source.

Currently it still has a lot of disadvantages tied to its use, as well as the question of whether it actually fulfills its goal as a cleaner energy source due to the indirect carbon footprint that results during its production

However, in the face of the inevitable eventual exhaustion of fossil fuels, biofuel is still invaluable an alternative to gas and diesel, along with other renewable energy sources, such as solar, wind power, and the others. In order to prepare the world for eventual end to non-renewable resources, the countries of the world have to explore all available possibilities to them, as seen in the example of the United States and the United Arab Emirates, who invest billions of dollars in the research of better alternatives and their improvement.

In my opinion, agrofuel does not fulfill all of its promises at the present moment, but that does not negate the advantages it offers, and the projected new possibilities in can bring in the future. Thus, I believe that the right investments into biofuel research can create a long-lasting positive impact on the environment.

References

Advantages of Biofuels n.d. Web.

Biofuels n.d. Web.

Biofuels Make a Comeback Despite Tough Economy 2011. Web.

Biofuels: The Original Car Fuel n.d. Web.

Disadvantages of Biofuels n.d. Web.

2020 climate & energy package n.d. Web.

Harrison, P 2010, Once-hidden EU report reveals damage from biodiesel. Web.

Major Biofuel Producers by Region 2010. Web.

Roos, D. 2012, Biofuels vs. Fossil Fuels. Web.

Rosenthal, E 2008, U.N. Says Biofuel Subsidies Raise Food Bill and Hunger. Web.

Schneider, D 2010, Biofuel’s Water Problem. Web.

Skye, J 2005, Advantages and Disadvantages of Biofuels. Web.

The History of Biodiesel n.d. Web.

What are Biofuels n.d. Web.

Rinkesh n.d., What are Biofuels?. Web.

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