Where The World Is With Biofuels

1 min read

Biofuels can be explained as fuel derived immediately from living matter. This living matter can be found in biomass, organic matter, plants or biowaste, and hydrocarbons. 

Today, nearly half of all corn produced goes to ethanol production; a biofuel that is mixed with gasoline to produce more sustainable fuels. For the average American, 10% of their car fuel is ethanol. With the world carbon neutral deadlines fast approaching and the pressure to reduce carbon footprint increasing, ethanol and other biofuels are set to form a larger percentage of fuels used.

The primary method of producing ethanol is with yeast, through a process called anaerobic respiration. In this method, yeast is deprived of oxygen. The yeast and bacteria then react to convert sugars to energy and ethanol. Thanks to its abundant supply of corn, the US is the largest supplier or ethanol. When ethanol is produced using corn, the corn is ground into a flour and used as a feedstock to turn into ethanol.

Algae can also be used to produce ethanol. Some algae strains take 6 hours to double their mass, making large-scale biomass production 30 times faster than food crops. This process speeds up even more when CO2 is added to the algae, which also helps solve the carbon emissions problem. The only issue with ethanol produced from algae is that it requires more energy input than the energy that it produces. This makes the process inefficient and unprofitable. Biofuel made from algae costs about $300 - $2 600 per barrel while oil costs about $82 per barrel. Researchers have set a goal to reduce costs to $3 per barrel by 2030. Algae has a higher fat content than plant crops, meaning it can be used to generate green crude fuel with higher energy density than ethanol, where this green fuel can be converted into fuel for transportation vehicles.

Biofuels are a promising source of energy that do not cause too much harm to the environment, but with the current rate of progress it seems as though this might only be reality in the far future.

What do you think of biofuels? Could it play a large role in decarbonising transportation, or will it just be a small helping hand? Share your thoughts by replying to this email!

For more information on biofuels, or any other renewable energy related articles, view the other blog posts on my website and be sure to open my weekly emails every Tuesday at 9AM CAT. Please also share this newsletter with your friends and collogues working in the renewable energy sector.

Interesting Updates 

New University Research Discovery Could Make Biofuels Cost-Effective

Machine learning method speeds up discovery of green energy materials

Next Generation Solar Cell Structure Can Create The Most Efficient Solar Panels