Three Girls For the Planet

Renewable Energy What Is Biofuel?

Have you ever thought of how much gas you use and buy each year? I'm sure it's a lot especially in this day and age where we are driving, flying and have the opportunity to transport things around the world with just the click of a button. That gas though is polluting, creating bad greenhouse gas emissions, and putting a lot of stress on the environment. Now, yes we do have hybrid and electric modes of transportation, but compared to the number of non electric/hybrid not that many are being used. Therefore lots of gas is still being used, which is not good. So, where is this all headed? Well, gas is also a nonrenewable resource. Once we use it all up, there will be no more. The good news is, that there is biofuel.

Biofuel is a type of fuel that is composed of living matter, like plants, and feedstocks. It is made through chemical reactions, fermentation, and heat, which all help break down starches, sugars, and all the other molecules in living things. Then it gets refined to create a fuel that vehicles can use. Biofuel was created to replace fossil fuels with a renewable fuel. Much of the gas that you use probably contains ethanol (one of the most common types of biofuel). Ethanol contains oxygen that helps a vehicle's engine burn fuel more efficiently, which helps reduce air pollution. For example in the U.S, fuel is generally 90% gas and 10% ethanol, but in Brazil (the second largest ethanol producer in the world) fuel contains 27% ethanol. There are even alternatives for diesel, like diesel made from vegetable oil, animal fat, and recycled cooking grease. Usually, though, these things have to be mixed with regular diesel because 100% pure biodiesel causes issues in older vehicles and it can be affected by cold weather in a negative way.

Good or Bad? Pros and Cons

Biofuel sounds pretty cool, but it comes along with some issues. First off, it requires a very high initial investment because a lot of equipment and money is needed in order to refine biofuels. It also requires investing in more manufacturing plants in order to keep up with the demand of biofuel. They are also not easily available and right now can't compete on price/scale as conventional fuels. They technology needed to produce mass quantities of biofuel is not 100% refined and the few stations that pump out biofuel aren't available to the majority.Another thing is that the energy used in producing the plants and feedstocks that can be used requires a lot of energy, possibly more energy than the actual fuel generates. Going along with that the mass production of crops might cause food prices to rise. The good news though, is that biofuel can be produced locally, is environmentally friendly, it can be made from many different materials, lower our carbon emissions, and in the long run is less expensive than gas.

In Conclusion Solutions & Sources

In conclusion, biofuels are something we need to be spending more time on. It is a great source of renewable energy and something we need to start using more of. We can't continue to keep using gas and fossil fuels forever, and it would be better to do something now rather than later when we don't have that much time left. There are also a lot of jobs in fossil fuel, but there can be just as many jobs in biofuels. We have the resources to do it, we just need to start focusing more of our time on it. There are also other ways to use renewable energy. It's not all biofuel. There's solar power, wind power, geothermal energy, hydropower, and many more. Those are big steps and if you're finding it hard to use/do these things, start small. Recycle, compost, check what you are consuming and try to see if you can cut back. All of it helps. There are even some petitions you can sign, great nonprofits to donate to, and you could also write to your local lawmakers/congressmen.

Sources:

National Geographic Biofuel

Basics on Biofuel

Student Energy

Pros and Cons

The Pros and COns of Biofuel

NREL

EIA

Renewable Energy Sources:

Renewable Energy Explained

Clean Energy

Sunpower