The Rise of Biofuel
By Adam Kahn
With glaciers melting, the ozone layer is depleting, and a shortage of fossil fuels amid a slew of other environmental issues, it feels like the world must be ending. Thankfully, we’re probably a long way away from the apocalypse. However, increasing emissions of greenhouse gases has created much concern in recent years, which has led researchers to look for a new renewable and versatile fuel source. While wind and solar power are usually the first alternative fuel sources that come to mind, scientists and setting their sights on one alternative fuel source that wasn’t even on the radar until quite recently: biofuel.
Biofuel is exactly what it sounds like—fuel produced through biological processes such as anaerobic digestion or agriculture rather than geological processes that obtain fuel from prehistoric organic matter.1 Despite its simple definition, biofuel isn’t black or white. Biofuels can come from a wide variety of biomass such as algae, vegetable oil, plant oil, wood, and even human and animal waste.2
With the demand for more environmentally-conscious vehicles on the rise, researchers and gas companies have started to investigate the properties of biofuels to better understand how to put them to good use. Various biofuel companies such as Amereco Biofuels Corp, Arizona Biodiesel, or Diversified Energy Corporation have identified some of the most effective versions of biofuel, most of which consist of a mixture of gasoline or diesel mixed with vegetable oil or plant oil.3 Another company, Petrosun, has dedicated millions of acres of land in Arizona and New Mexico to growing algae to use as a biofuel source.4 While these and other sources have just begun to be tapped into, there’s significant concern that the energy supplied by biofuel alone will not be sufficient to sustain an entire nation.
In response to this concern, researchers have started to investigate using household by-products such as apple cores, banana peels, and leftover meat as more readily-available sources of biomass. While these waste items may seem negligible, according to the Environmental Protection Agency, almost $160 billion of American produce is wasted per year, with food being one of the most common occupants of American landfills.5 Indeed, countries like Brazil have already started to build a fuel economy around producing ethanol from discarded foodstuffs.
With so much waste, Biofuel might seem like the perfect solution to our energy crisis. However, there are a few cons we need to consider. When converting biomass into fuel, it requires a lot of energy to break down the agricultural products into a usable form. In addition, one of the significant sources of biomass is wood, though this raises the concern of deforestation and the destruction of precious animal habitats around the globe.6 Growing biomass is also requires an unfathomable area of land to meet the world’s energy demands, and this space must be arable and climate controlled. And while scientists have projected the use of “vertical farms” in the future—skyscrapers that are used to grow plants upward to avoid taking up large swaths of land for agriculture—these solutions may generate more population traffic to urban areas, leading to yet more pollution.6
Even the biofuel production process creates ample pollution due to by-products that are released in the conversion process. According to U.S. Energy and Information Agency, it takes about 19.6 pounds of carbon dioxide to produce a unit of biofuel, and 17.6 additional pounds of carbon dioxide are released through the use of that biofuel.7
Given all of these caveats, it seems that biofuels—what some hail as the answer to our global energy needs—may be just as bad as the fossil fuels they are slated to replace. Nevertheless, the increased adoption of biofuels, like any new scientific endeavor, is still in its infancy. Increased research into how better to grow sources of biomass and extract energy from these sources will be pivotal to using biomass as a clean alternative to gasoline and coal. And who knows? With enough time, we may be able to fill up our car using scraps from last night’s dinner.
Works Cited
[1] “Biofuel Uses.” Biofuel.org.uk, biofuel.org.uk/uses-of-biofuels.html.
[2] “Biofuels Basics.” Department of Energy, www.energy.gov/eere/bioenergy/biofuels-basics.
[3] “Biofuels.” Renewable Energy World, www.renewableenergyworld.com/bioenergy/tech/biofuels.html.
[4] Biogas from Biofuel By-Products, biogas.ifas.ufl.edu/etohbiod.asp.
[5] Chandler, Adam. “Why Americans Lead the World in Food Waste.” The Atlantic, Atlantic Media Company, 15 July 2016, www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2016/07/american-food-waste/491513/.
[7] Goldenberg, Suzanne. “Half of All US Food Produce Is Thrown Away, New Research Suggests.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 13 July 2016, www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/jul/13/us-food-waste-ugly-fruit-vegetables-perfect?CMP=share_btn_tw.
With glaciers melting, the ozone layer is depleting, and a shortage of fossil fuels amid a slew of other environmental issues, it feels like the world must be ending. Thankfully, we’re probably a long way away from the apocalypse. However, increasing emissions of greenhouse gases has created much concern in recent years, which has led researchers to look for a new renewable and versatile fuel source. While wind and solar power are usually the first alternative fuel sources that come to mind, scientists and setting their sights on one alternative fuel source that wasn’t even on the radar until quite recently: biofuel.
Biofuel is exactly what it sounds like—fuel produced through biological processes such as anaerobic digestion or agriculture rather than geological processes that obtain fuel from prehistoric organic matter.1 Despite its simple definition, biofuel isn’t black or white. Biofuels can come from a wide variety of biomass such as algae, vegetable oil, plant oil, wood, and even human and animal waste.2
With the demand for more environmentally-conscious vehicles on the rise, researchers and gas companies have started to investigate the properties of biofuels to better understand how to put them to good use. Various biofuel companies such as Amereco Biofuels Corp, Arizona Biodiesel, or Diversified Energy Corporation have identified some of the most effective versions of biofuel, most of which consist of a mixture of gasoline or diesel mixed with vegetable oil or plant oil.3 Another company, Petrosun, has dedicated millions of acres of land in Arizona and New Mexico to growing algae to use as a biofuel source.4 While these and other sources have just begun to be tapped into, there’s significant concern that the energy supplied by biofuel alone will not be sufficient to sustain an entire nation.
In response to this concern, researchers have started to investigate using household by-products such as apple cores, banana peels, and leftover meat as more readily-available sources of biomass. While these waste items may seem negligible, according to the Environmental Protection Agency, almost $160 billion of American produce is wasted per year, with food being one of the most common occupants of American landfills.5 Indeed, countries like Brazil have already started to build a fuel economy around producing ethanol from discarded foodstuffs.
With so much waste, Biofuel might seem like the perfect solution to our energy crisis. However, there are a few cons we need to consider. When converting biomass into fuel, it requires a lot of energy to break down the agricultural products into a usable form. In addition, one of the significant sources of biomass is wood, though this raises the concern of deforestation and the destruction of precious animal habitats around the globe.6 Growing biomass is also requires an unfathomable area of land to meet the world’s energy demands, and this space must be arable and climate controlled. And while scientists have projected the use of “vertical farms” in the future—skyscrapers that are used to grow plants upward to avoid taking up large swaths of land for agriculture—these solutions may generate more population traffic to urban areas, leading to yet more pollution.6
Even the biofuel production process creates ample pollution due to by-products that are released in the conversion process. According to U.S. Energy and Information Agency, it takes about 19.6 pounds of carbon dioxide to produce a unit of biofuel, and 17.6 additional pounds of carbon dioxide are released through the use of that biofuel.7
Given all of these caveats, it seems that biofuels—what some hail as the answer to our global energy needs—may be just as bad as the fossil fuels they are slated to replace. Nevertheless, the increased adoption of biofuels, like any new scientific endeavor, is still in its infancy. Increased research into how better to grow sources of biomass and extract energy from these sources will be pivotal to using biomass as a clean alternative to gasoline and coal. And who knows? With enough time, we may be able to fill up our car using scraps from last night’s dinner.
Works Cited
[1] “Biofuel Uses.” Biofuel.org.uk, biofuel.org.uk/uses-of-biofuels.html.
[2] “Biofuels Basics.” Department of Energy, www.energy.gov/eere/bioenergy/biofuels-basics.
[3] “Biofuels.” Renewable Energy World, www.renewableenergyworld.com/bioenergy/tech/biofuels.html.
[4] Biogas from Biofuel By-Products, biogas.ifas.ufl.edu/etohbiod.asp.
[5] Chandler, Adam. “Why Americans Lead the World in Food Waste.” The Atlantic, Atlantic Media Company, 15 July 2016, www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2016/07/american-food-waste/491513/.
[7] Goldenberg, Suzanne. “Half of All US Food Produce Is Thrown Away, New Research Suggests.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 13 July 2016, www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/jul/13/us-food-waste-ugly-fruit-vegetables-perfect?CMP=share_btn_tw.
