Bio-Fuel - Basic Information Bio-Gas, Bio-Ethanol, Bio-Butanol, Bio-Diesel
Bio-Fuel - Basic Information
Bio-Gas, Bio-Ethanol, Bio-Butanol, Bio-Diesel
Biofuel can be defined as solid, liquid, or gas fuel consisting of, or derived from biomass. This information article, however, is principally about biofuel in the form of liquid or gas transportation fuel derived from biomass. Biomass can also be used directly for heating or power.
Biofuel can be produced from any carbon source that can be replenished rapidly e.g. plants. Many different plants and plant-derived materials are used for biofuel manufacture.
Biomass
Biomass is material derived from recently living organisms. This includes plants, animals and their by-products. Agricultural products grown for biofuel production include corn, switchgrass, and soybeans in the United States; rapeseed, wheat and sugar beet in Europe; sugar cane in Brazil; palm oil and miscanthus in Southeast Asia; sorghum and cassava in China; and jatropha in India. Hemp works as a biofuel. Biodegradable outputs from industry, agriculture, forestry and households can be used for biofuel production, including straw, timber, manure, rice husks, sewage, and food waste.
‘First-generation fuels’ refer to biofuels made from sugar, starch, vegetable oil, or animal fats using conventional technology.
The most common first generation biofuels are:
Vegetable oil
Vegetable oil can be used for either food or fuel. In most cases, vegetable oil is used to manufacture biodiesel, which is compatible with most diesel engines when blended with conventional diesel fuel. Used vegetable oil is increasingly being processed into biodiesel, and, cleaned of water and particulates, and used as a fuel.
Biodiesel fuel
Biodiesel is the most common biofuel in Europe. It is produced from oils or fats using transesterification and is similar in composition to mineral diesel. Oils are mixed with sodium hydroxide and methanol (or ethanol) and the chemical reaction produces biodiesel and glycerol.
Biodiesel can be used in any diesel engine when mixed with mineral diesel. Many people have run their vehicles on biodiesel without problems. However, the majority of vehicle manufacturers limit their recommendations to 15% biodiesel blended with mineral diesel. In many European countries, a 5% biodiesel blend is widely used.
Alcohol fuel
Biologically produced alcohols, most commonly ethanol and less commonly propanol and butanol, are produced by the action of microorganisms and enzymes through fermentation.
Butanol fuel
Butanol is often claimed to provide a direct replacement for gasoline, because it can be used directly in a gasoline engine (in a similar way to biodiesel in diesel engines).
Ethanol fuel
Ethanol is the most common biofuel worldwide. This alcohol fuel is produced by fermentation of sugars derived from wheat, corn, sugar beet and sugar cane. Ethanol can be used in petrol engines as a replacement for gasoline; it can be mixed with gasoline to any percentage. All petrol engines can run on blends of up to 15% bioethanol with petroleum/gasoline.
Methanol fuel
Methanol is currently produced from natural gas, a fossil fuel. It can also be produced from biomass.
BioGas fuel
Biogas is produced by the process of anaerobic digestion of organic material. It can be produced either from biodegradable waste materials or energy crops fed into anaerobic digesters. The byproduct contains methane.
Solid Biofuels
Examples include wood, charcoal, and manure.
Second generation biofuels
Second generation biofuels comprise biomass converted to liquid, including cellulosic biofuels from non-food crops.
Biofuel from algae
Microalgae can be used as an energy source, with applications for biodiesel, ethanol, methanol, methane and hydrogen.