Biofuel - 1B

• Biofuels are sourced directly from organic matter which is plant material that was produced by photosynthesis and remove carbon dioxide. (Examples are sugarcane, soya beans, wheat, vegetable oils etc.) There are 3 types of biofuels biogas, biodiesel and bioethanol.
• Biogas


  Made up of organic matter like algae, crops and wood. Which are then broken down by bacteria, an anaerobic process (does not require oxygen) which produce a mixture of gases mainly consisting of carbon dioxide and methane.
• biodiesel


  Biodiesel is a mixture of fatty acid methly-esters.

  It is produced by the transesterification reaction of fats, that come from animal fats and plant oils (sunflower and canola oil) composed of triglycerides. After the transesterification reaction alcohol (usually methanol) is added to the triglyceride with a catalyst (potassium hydroxide) which react to form biodiesel.
• bioethanol


  Is the anaerobic fermentation of glucose (sugar) in organic matter (biomass) by microorganisms (yeast). Which then undergoes distillation sped up by enzymes it removes the water and produces pure bioethanol.

  Ethanol is only considered bioethanol when produced by the fermentation and distillation of organic matter (sugarcane, soy beans and corn.)
• biomass - made of material that comes from living organisms such as plants and animals.
• Biofuels are considered to be renewable because organic matter can be regrown in a relatively short period of time. Therefore biogas, biodiesel and bioethanol can be produced in a relatively short period time, replenishing supplies at a sustainable rate.
• Combustion of bioethanol produces carbon dioxide. The process of crop production offsets (balances) this release by the absorption of carbon dioxide from plants that are undergoing photosynthesis.

  Therefore bioethanol is considered relatively carbon neutral because the processes of transportation, harvesting and production all require energy.
• The whole lifecycle of biofuels are not completely carbon neutral. Production of biofuels should not reduce the amount of food available. Feedstock must be sourced from waste products. We need around 100 million hectares of land to grow enough biofuel that would reduce carbon emissions and shift us to a greener economy in the next 30-40 years. The energy that is required to grow, collect and convert feedstock into useable biofuel should only use a small amount of energy that is available from the combustion of the biofuel.