Reducing Carbon Emissions with Biofuels
An introduction to the renewable energy source, biofuel.
65% of global greenhouse gas emissions come from the carbon dioxide produced from fossil fuel and industrial processes.
The amount of carbon emissions is on of the leading factors of global warming, and believe it or not we have a very limited time before the Earth decides it has had enough as the United Nations states we have only under a decade (9 years) left to prevent irreversible damage from climate change.
So, why not target one of the root causes?
Let’s take advantage of advancing biofuels to begin replacing some fossil fuels. Maybe even all fossil fuels eventually.
But first, what are biofuels?
In short, a biofuel is a fuel that is derived right from biomass. Instead of first mining coal, processing it then making it into fuel, biofuels cut out the processing step as the fuel can be directly taken from the source.
However, this extraction process isn’t just a simple pump sap from a tree and use it as fuel, it actually uses a variety of methods including chemical reactions, fermentation and more (we’ll get into it later).
Two Common Types
The two most common types of biofuels in use today are ethanol and biodiesel, both of which represent the first generation of biofuel technology.
Let’s take a short look at the two:
- Can be made from various plant materials.
- An alcohol used as a blending agent with gasoline to increase octane and cut down carbon monoxide and other smog-causing emissions.
- The common method for converting biomass into ethanol is called fermentation.
2. Biodiesel:
- Liquid fuel produced from renewable sources.
- A cleaner-burning replacement for petroleum-based diesel fuel.
- Nontoxic and biodegradable.
That’s a bit on the common types and what biofuel actually is. Well, how do you produce it?
Making Fuel from Life
There are a whole bunch of methods to producing biofuels but they generally use chemical reactions, fermentation, and heat to break down the starches, sugars, and other molecules in plants. The resulting products are then refined to produce a fuel that cars or other vehicles can use.
For example, much of the gasoline in the United States contains one of the most common biofuels: ethanol. It is made by fermenting the sugars from plants such as corn or sugarcane.
Production Stages
Manufacturing biofuel occurs in a few basic stages. Let’s take the use of standard vegetable oil as an example. These include:
- Filtration: They filter the oil, eliminating all food particles.
- Water Removal: The reactions are faster when you remove water. This is accomplished by boiling at 100°C.
- Titration: A method of chemical analysis to determine the concentration of the analyte present.
- Sodium Methoxide Preparation: Methanol is mixed with sodium hydroxide.
- Heating/Mixing: The results mixture is heated and mixed with care.
- Settling/Separation: As the mixture cools, the biofuel will float on top. You drain the leftover glycerin and use the pure biofuel.
Pretty cool right? You can make your own biofuel right at home! Biofuel is much more than this though. It has the potential to decrease the burden of carbon emissions in the atmosphere!
Helping the Planet
Replacing fossil fuels with biofuels has the potential to reduce some undesirable aspects of fossil fuel production and use, including conventional and greenhouse gas pollutant emissions, resource depletion, and dependence on unstable foreign suppliers. In fact, studies suggest that biofuels reduce greenhouse gases up to 65 percent.
For example, ethanol contains oxygen that helps a car’s engine burn fuel more efficiently, reducing air pollution.
In addition, since most of the sources like manure, corn, switchgrass, soybeans, waste from crops and plants are renewable and are not likely to run out any time soon, it makes the use of biofuels efficient in nature. Also, these crops can be replanted again and again.
So, why aren’t we all using biofuels?
Yes, biofuels have a lot of advantages from an environmental standpoint however wide scaling is not feasible yet economically.
As of now, the interest and capital investment being put into biofuel production is fairly low, but it can match demand.
If the demand increases, then increasing the supply will be a long term operation, which will be quite expensive. Such a disadvantage is still preventing the use of biofuels from becoming more popular.
Unlocking Potential
As prices of crude oil are soaring day by day, people are switching to biofuels to save money and reduce their dependence on oil. To unlock the potential of this renewable source, much more reflection will be needed in the pros and cons of wide scaling it, as well as utilizing the most sustainable sources for this fuel.
Further Reading:
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