Biofuel
Biofuels are a wide range of fuels which are in some way derived from
biomass. The term covers solid biomass, liquid fuels and various
biogases.[1] Biofuels are gaining increased public and scientific attention,
driven by factors such as oil price spikes, the need for increased energy
security, and concern over greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuels.
Bioethanol is an alcohol made by fermenting the sugar components of
plant materials and it is made mostly from sugar and starch crops. With
advanced technology being developed, cellulosic biomass, such as trees
and grasses, are also used as feedstocks for ethanol production. Ethanol
can be used as a fuel for vehicles in its pure form, but it is usually used
as a gasoline additive to increase octane and improve vehicle emissions.
Bioethanol is widely used in the USA and in Brazil.
Biodiesel is made from vegetable oils, animal fats or recycled greases.
Biodiesel can be used as a fuel for vehicles in its pure form, but it is
usually used as a diesel additive to reduce levels of particulates, carbon
monoxide, and hydrocarbons from diesel-powered vehicles. Biodiesel is
produced from oils or fats using transesterification and is the most
common biofuel in Europe.
Biofuels provided 1.8% of the world's transport fuel in 2008. Investment
into biofuels production capacity exceeded $4 billion worldwide in 2007
and is growing.[2]
[edit] Liquid fuels for transportation
Most transportation fuels are liquids, because vehicles usually require
high energy density, as occurs in liquids and solids. High power density
can be provided most inexpensively by an internal combustion engine;
these engines require clean burning fuels, to keep the engine clean and
minimize air pollution.
The fuels that are easiest to burn cleanly are typically liquids and gases.
Thus liquids (and gases that can be stored in liquid form) meet the
requirements of being both portable and clean burning. Also, liquids and
gases can be pumped, which means handling is easily mechanized, and
thus less laborious.
[edit] First generation biofuels
'First-generation biofuels' are biofuels made from sugar, starch,
vegetable oil or animal fats using conventional technology.[3] The basic
feedstocks for the production of first generation biofuels are often seeds
or grains such as sunflower seeds, which are pressed to yield vegetable
oil that can be used in biodiesel, or wheat, which yields starch that is
fermented into bioethanol. These feedstocks could instead enter the
animal or human food chain, and as the global population has risen their
use in producing biofuels has been criticised for diverting food away
from the human food chain, leading to food shortages and price rises.
The most common biofuels are listed below.
[edit] Bioalcohols
Neat ethanol on the left (A), gasoline on the right (G) at a filling station
in Brazil.
Biologically produced alcohols, most commonly ethanol, and less
commonly propanol and butanol, are produced by the action of
microorganisms and enzymes through the fermentation of sugars or
starches (easiest), or cellulose (which is more difficult). Biobutanol (also
called biogasoline) 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 is the most common biofuel worldwide, particularly in
Brazil. Alcohol fuels are produced by fermentation of sugars derived
from wheat, corn, sugar beets, sugar cane, molasses and any sugar or
starch that alcoholic beverages can be made from (like potato and fruit
waste, etc.). The ethanol production methods used are enzyme digestion
(to release sugars from stored starches), fermentation of the sugars,
distillation and drying. The distillation process requires significant
energy input for heat (often unsustainable natural gas fossil fuel, but
cellulosic biomass such as bagasse, the waste left after sugar cane is
pressed to extract its juice, can also be used more sustainably).
The Koenigsegg CCXR Edition at the 2008 Geneva Motor Show. This is
an "environmentally friendly" version of the CCX, which can use E85
and E100.
Ethanol can be used in petrol engines as a replacement for gasoline; it
can be mixed with gasoline to any percentage. Most existing car petrol
engines can run on blends of up to 15% bioethanol with
petroleum/gasoline. Ethanol has a smaller energy density than gasoline,
which means it takes more fuel (volume and mass) to produce the same
amount of work. An advantage of ethanol (CH3CH2OH) is that it has a
higher octane rating than ethanol-free gasoline available at roadside gas
stations which allows an increase of an engine's compression ratio for
increased thermal efficiency. In high altitude (thin air) locations, some
states mandate a mix of gasoline and ethanol as a winter oxidizer to
reduce atmospheric pollution emissions.
Ethanol is also used to fuel bioethanol fireplaces. As they do not require
a chimney and are "flueless", bio ethanol fires [4] are extremely useful for
new build homes and apartments without a flue. The downside to these
fireplaces, is that the heat output is slightly less than electric and gas
fires.
In the current alcohol-from-corn production model in the United States,
considering the total energy consumed by farm equipment, cultivation,
planting, fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides, and fungicides made from
petroleum, irrigation systems, harvesting, transport of feedstock to
processing plants, fermentation, distillation, drying, transport to fuel
terminals and retail pumps, and lower ethanol fuel energy content, the
net energy content value added and delivered to consumers is very
small. And, the net benefit (all things considered) does little to reduce
un-sustainable[citation needed] imported oil and fossil fuels required to
produce the ethanol.[5]
Although ethanol-from-corn and other food stocks has implications both
in terms of world food prices and limited, yet positive energy yield (in
terms of energy delivered to customer/fossil fuels used), the technology
has led to the development of cellulosic ethanol. According to a joint
research agenda conducted through the U.S. Department of Energy,[6] the
fossil energy ratios (FER) for cellulosic ethanol, corn ethanol, and
gasoline are 10.3, 1.36, and 0.81, respectively.[7][8][9]
Many car manufacturers are now producing flexible-fuel vehicles
(FFV's), which can safely run on any combination of bioethanol and
petrol, up to 100% bioethanol. They dynamically sense exhaust oxygen
content, and adjust the engine's computer systems, spark, and fuel
injection accordingly. This adds initial cost and ongoing increased
vehicle maintenance.[citation needed] As with all vehicles, efficiency falls and
pollution emissions increase when FFV system maintenance is needed
(regardless of the fuel mix being used), but is not performed. FFV
internal combustion engines are becoming increasingly complex, as are
multiple-propulsion-system FFV hybrid vehicles, which impacts cost,
maintenance, reliability, and useful lifetime longevity.[citation needed]
Even dry ethanol has roughly one-third lower energy content per unit of
volume compared to gasoline, so larger / heavier fuel tanks are required
to travel the same distance, or more fuel stops are required. With large
current unsustainable, non-scalable subsidies, ethanol fuel still costs
much more per distance traveled than current high gasoline prices in the
United States.[10]
Fermentation is not the only route to forming biofuels or bioalcohols.
One can obtain methanol, ethanol, butanol or mixed alcohol fuels
through pyrolysis of biomass including agricultural waste or algal
biomass. The most exciting of these pyrolysis alcoholic fuels is the
pyrolysis biobutanol. The product can be made with limited water use
and most places in the world.
[edit] Green diesel
Main article: Green diesel
Green diesel, also known as renewable diesel, is a form of diesel fuel
which is derived from renewable feedstock rather than the fossil
feedstock used in most diesel fuels. Green diesel feedstock can be
sourced from a variety of oils including canola, algae, jatropha and
salicornia in addition to tallow. Green diesel uses traditional fractional
distillation to process the oils, not to be confused with biodiesel which is
chemically quite different and processed using transesterification.
“Green Diesel” as commonly known in Ireland should not be confused
with dyed green diesel sold at a lower tax rate for agriculture purposes,
using the dye allows custom officers to determine if a person is using the
cheaper diesel in higher taxed applications such as commercial haulage
or cars.[14]
[edit] Biodiesel
Main articles: Biodiesel and Biodiesel around the world
In some countries biodiesel is less expensive than conventional diesel.
Biodiesel is the most common biofuel in Europe. It is produced from oils
or fats using transesterification and is a liquid similar in composition to
fossil/mineral diesel. Chemically, it consists mostly of fatty acid methyl
(or ethyl) esters (FAMEs). Feedstocks for biodiesel include animal fats,
vegetable oils, soy, rapeseed, jatropha, mahua, mustard, flax, sunflower,
palm oil, hemp, field pennycress, pongamia pinnata and algae. Pure
biodiesel (B100) is the lowest emission diesel fuel. Although liquefied
petroleum gas and hydrogen have cleaner combustion, they are used to
fuel much less efficient petrol engines and are not as widely available.
Biodiesel can be used in any diesel engine when mixed with mineral
diesel. In some countries manufacturers cover their diesel engines under
warranty for B100 use, although Volkswagen of Germany, for example,
asks drivers to check by telephone with the VW environmental services
department before switching to B100. B100 may become more viscous
at lower temperatures, depending on the feedstock used. In most cases,
biodiesel is compatible with diesel engines from 1994 onwards, which
use 'Viton' (by DuPont) synthetic rubber in their mechanical fuel
injection systems.
Electronically controlled 'common rail' and 'unit injector' type systems
from the late 1990s onwards may only use biodiesel blended with
conventional diesel fuel. These engines have finely metered and
atomized multi-stage injection systems that are very sensitive to the
viscosity of the fuel. Many current generation diesel engines are made so
that they can run on B100 without altering the engine itself, although
this depends on the fuel rail design. Since biodiesel is an effective
solvent and cleans residues deposited by mineral diesel, engine filters
may need to be replaced more often, as the biofuel dissolves old deposits
in the fuel tank and pipes. It also effectively cleans the engine
combustion chamber of carbon deposits, helping to maintain efficiency.
In many European countries, a 5% biodiesel blend is widely used and is
available at thousands of gas stations.[15][16] Biodiesel is also an
oxygenated fuel, meaning that it contains a reduced amount of carbon
and higher hydrogen and oxygen content than fossil diesel. This
improves the combustion of fossil diesel and reduces the particulate
emissions from un-burnt carbon.
Biodiesel is also safe to handle and transport because it is as
biodegradable as sugar, 10 times less toxic than table salt, and has a high
flash point of about 300 F (148 C) compared to petroleum diesel fuel,
which has a flash point of 125 F (52 C).[17]
In the USA, more than 80% of commercial trucks and city buses run on
diesel. The emerging US biodiesel market is estimated to have grown
200% from 2004 to 2005. "By the end of 2006 biodiesel production was
estimated to increase fourfold [from 2004] to more than 1 billion
gallons".[18]
[edit] Vegetable oil
Filtered waste vegetable oil.
Main article: Vegetable oil used as fuel
Straight unmodified edible vegetable oil is generally not used as fuel,
but lower quality oil can be used for this purpose. Used vegetable oil is
increasingly being processed into biodiesel, or (more rarely) cleaned of
water and particulates and used as a fuel.
Also here, as with 100% biodiesel (B100), to ensure that the fuel
injectors atomize the vegetable oil in the correct pattern for efficient
combustion, vegetable oil fuel must be heated to reduce its viscosity to
that of diesel, either by electric coils or heat exchangers. This is easier in
warm or temperate climates. Big corporations like MAN B&W Diesel,
Wärtsilä and Deutz AG as well as a number of smaller companies such
as Elsbett offer engines that are compatible with straight vegetable oil,
without the need for after-market modifications.
Vegetable oil can also be used in many older diesel engines that do not
use common rail or unit injection electronic diesel injection systems.
Due to the design of the combustion chambers in indirect injection
engines, these are the best engines for use with vegetable oil. This
system allows the relatively larger oil molecules more time to burn.
Some older engines, especially Mercedes are driven experimentally by
enthusiasts without any conversion, a handful of drivers have
experienced limited success with earlier pre-"Pumpe Duse" VW TDI
engines and other similar engines with direct injection. Several
companies like Elsbett or Wolf have developed professional conversion
kits and successfully installed hundreds of them over the last decades.
Oils and fats can be hydrogenated to give a diesel substitute. The
resulting product is a straight chain hydrocarbon, high in cetane, low in
aromatics and sulfur and does not contain oxygen. Hydrogenated oils
can be blended with diesel in all proportions Hydrogenated oils have
several advantages over biodiesel, including good performance at low
temperatures, no storage stability problems and no susceptibility to
microbial attack.[19]
[edit] Bioethers
Bio ethers (also referred to as fuel ethers or oxygenated fuels) are cost-
effective compounds that act as octane rating enhancers. They also
enhance engine performance, whilst significantly reducing engine wear
and toxic exhaust emissions. Greatly reducing the amount of ground-
level ozone, they contribute to the quality of the air we breathe.[20][21]
[edit] Biogas
Pipes carrying biogas
Main article: Biogas
Biogas is methane produced by the process of anaerobic digestion of
organic material by anaerobes.[22] It can be produced either from
biodegradable waste materials or by the use of energy crops fed into
anaerobic digesters to supplement gas yields. The solid byproduct,
digestate, can be used as a biofuel or a fertilizer.
Biogas can be recovered from mechanical biological treatment
waste processing systems.
Note:Landfill gas is a less clean form of biogas which is produced
in landfills through naturally occurring anaerobic digestion. If it
escapes into the atmosphere it is a potential greenhouse gas.
Farmers can produce biogas from manure from their cows by
getting a anaerobic digester (AD).[23]
[edit] Syngas
Main article: Gasification
Syngas, a mixture of carbon monoxide and hydrogen, is produced by
partial combustion of biomass, that is, combustion with an amount of
oxygen that is not sufficient to convert the biomass completely to carbon
dioxide and water.[19] Before partial combustion the biomass is dried, and
sometimes pyrolysed. The resulting gas mixture, syngas, is more
efficient than direct combustion of the original biofuel; more of the
energy contained in the fuel is extracted.
Syngas may be burned directly in internal combustion engines or
turbines. The wood gas generator is a wood-fueled gasification
reactor mounted on an internal combustion engine.
Syngas can be used to produce methanol and hydrogen, or
converted via the Fischer-Tropsch process to produce a diesel
substitute, or a mixture of alcohols that can be blended into
gasoline. Gasification normally relies on temperatures >700°C.
Lower temperature gasification is desirable when co-producing
biochar but results in a Syngas polluted with tar.
[edit] Solid biofuels
Examples include wood, sawdust, grass cuttings, domestic refuse,
charcoal, agricultural waste, non-food energy crops (see picture), and
dried manure.
When raw biomass is already in a suitable form (such as firewood), it
can burn directly in a stove or furnace to provide heat or raise steam.
When raw biomass is in an inconvenient form (such as sawdust, wood
chips, grass, urban waste wood, agricultural residues), the typical
process is to densify the biomass. This process includes grinding the raw
biomass to an appropriate particulate size (known as hogfuel), which
depending on the densification type can be from 1 to 3 cm (1 in), which
is then concentrated into a fuel product. The current types of processes
are wood pellet, cube, or puck. The pellet process is most common in
Europe and is typically a pure wood product. The other types of
densification are larger in size compared to a pellet and are compatible
with a broad range of input feedstocks. The resulting densified fuel is
easier to transport and feed into thermal generation systems such as
boilers.
A problem with the combustion of raw biomass is that it emits
considerable amounts of pollutants such as particulates and PAHs
(polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons). Even modern pellet boilers generate
much more pollutants than oil or natural gas boilers. Pellets made from
agricultural residues are usually worse than wood pellets, producing
much larger emissions of dioxins and chlorophenols.[24]
Notwithstanding the above noted study, numerous studies have shown
that biomass fuels have significantly less impact on the environment
than fossil based fuels. Of note is the U.S. Department of Energy
Laboratory, Operated by Midwest Research Institute Biomass Power and
Conventional Fossil Systems with and without CO2 Sequestration –
Comparing the Energy Balance, Greenhouse Gas Emissions and
Economics Study. Power generation emits significant amounts of
greenhouse gases (GHGs), mainly carbon dioxide (CO2). Sequestering
CO2 from the power plant flue gas can significantly reduce the GHGs
from the power plant itself, but this is not the total picture. CO2 capture
and sequestration consumes additional energy, thus lowering the plant's
fuel-to-electricity efficiency. To compensate for this, more fossil fuel
must be procured and consumed to make up for lost capacity.
Taking this into consideration, the global warming potential (GWP),
which is a combination of CO2, methane (CH4), and nitrous oxide (N2O)
emissions, and energy balance of the system need to be examined using
a life cycle assessment. This takes into account the upstream processes
which remain constant after CO2 sequestration as well as the steps
required for additional power generation. firing biomass instead of coal
led to a 148% reduction in GWP.
A derivative of solid biofuel is biochar, which is produced by biomass
pyrolysis. Bio-char made from agricultural waste can substitute for
wood charcoal. As wood stock becomes scarce this alternative is gaining
ground. In eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, for example, biomass
briquettes are being marketed as an alternative to charcoal in order to
protect Virunga National Park from deforestation associated with
charcoal production.[25]
[edit] Second generation biofuels
Main article: Second generation biofuels
Supporters of biofuels claim that a more viable solution is to increase
political and industrial support for, and rapidity of, second-generation
biofuel implementation from non-food crops. These include waste
biomass, the stalks of wheat, corn, wood, and special-energy-or-biomass
crops (e.g. Miscanthus). Second generation (2G) biofuels use biomass to
liquid technology,[26] including cellulosic biofuels.[27] Many second
generation biofuels are under development such as biohydrogen,
biomethanol, DMF, Bio-DME, Fischer-Tropsch diesel, biohydrogen
diesel, mixed alcohols and wood diesel.
Cellulosic ethanol production uses non-food crops or inedible waste
products and does not divert food away from the animal or human food
chain. Lignocellulose is the "woody" structural material of plants. This
feedstock is abundant and diverse, and in some cases (like citrus peels or
sawdust) it is in itself a significant disposal problem.
Producing ethanol from cellulose is a difficult technical problem to
solve. In nature, ruminant livestock (like cattle) eat grass and then use
slow enzymatic digestive processes to break it into glucose (sugar). In
cellulosic ethanol laboratories, various experimental processes are being
developed to do the same thing, and then the sugars released can be
fermented to make ethanol fuel. In 2009 scientists reported developing,
using "synthetic biology", "15 new highly stable fungal enzyme catalysts
that efficiently break down cellulose into sugars at high temperatures",
adding to the 10 previously known.[28] The use of high temperatures, has
been identified as an important factor in improving the overall economic
feasibility of the biofuel industry and the identification of enzymes that
are stable and can operate efficiently at extreme temperatures is an area
of active research.[29] In addition, research conducted at TU Delft by Jack
Pronk has shown that elephant yeast, when slightly modified can also
create ethanol from non-edible ground sources (e.g. straw).[30][31]
The recent discovery of the fungus Gliocladium roseum points toward
the production of so-called myco-diesel from cellulose. This organism
was recently discovered in the rainforests of northern Patagonia and has
the unique capability of converting cellulose into medium length
hydrocarbons typically found in diesel fuel.[32] Scientists also work on
experimental recombinant DNA genetic engineering organisms that
could increase biofuel potential.
Scientists working in New Zealand have developed a technology to use
industrial waste gases from steel mills as a feedstock for a microbial
fermentation process to produce ethanol.[33][34]
Second, third, and fourth generation biofuels are also called advanced
biofuels.
[edit] Third generation biofuels
Main article: Algae fuel
Algae fuel, also called oilgae or third generation biofuel, is a biofuel
from algae. Algae are low-input, high-yield feedstocks to produce
biofuels. Based on laboratory experiments, it is claimed that algae can
produce up to 30 times more energy per acre than land crops such as
soybeans,[35] but these yields have yet to be produced commercially.
With the higher prices of fossil fuels (petroleum), there is much interest
in algaculture (farming algae). One advantage of many biofuels over
most other fuel types is that they are biodegradable, and so relatively
harmless to the environment if spilled.[36][37][38] Algae fuel still has its
difficulties though, for instance to produce algae fuels it must be mixed
uniformly, which, if done by agitation, could affect biomass growth.[39]
The United States Department of Energy estimates that if algae fuel
replaced all the petroleum fuel in the United States, it would require only
15,000 square miles (38,849 square kilometers), which is roughly the
size of Maryland,[35] or less than one seventh the amount of land devoted
to corn in 2000.[40]
Algae, such as Botryococcus braunii and Chlorella vulgaris are
relatively easy to grow,[41] but the algal oil is hard to extract. There are
several approaches, some of which work better than others.[42]
Macroalgae (seaweed) also have a great potential for bioethanol and
biogas production.[43]
[edit] Ethanol from living algae
Most biofuel production comes from harvesting organic matter and then
converting it to fuel but an alternative approach relies on the fact that
some algae naturally produce ethanol and this can be collected without
killing the algae. The ethanol evaporates and then can be condensed and
collected. The company Algenol is trying to commercialize this process.
[edit] Fourth generation biofuels
A number of companies are pursuing advanced "bio-chemical" and
"thermo-chemical" processes that produce "drop in" fuels like "green
gasoline," "green diesel," and "green aviation fuel." While there is no
one established definition of "fourth-generation biofuels," some have
referred to it as the biofuels created from processes other than first
generation ethanol and biodiesel, second generation cellulosic ethanol,
and third generation algae biofuel. Some fourth generation technology
pathways include: pyrolysis, gasification, upgrading, solar-to-fuel, and
genetic manipulation of organisms to secrete hydrocarbons.[44]
GreenFuel Technologies Corporation developed a patented
bioreactor system that uses nontoxic photosynthetic algae to take
in smokestacks flue gases and produce biofuels such as biodiesel,
biogas and a dry fuel comparable to coal.[45]
With thermal depolymerization of biological waste one can extract
methane and other oils similar to petroleum.
Hydrocarbon plants or petroleum plants are plants which produce
terpenoids as secondary metabolites that can be converted to gasoline-
like fuels. Latex producing members of the Euphorbiaceae such as
Euphorbia lathyris and E. tirucalli and members of Apocynaceae have
been studied for their potential energy uses.[46][47]
[edit] Green fuels
However, if biocatalytic cracking and traditional fractional distillation
used to process properly prepared algal biomass i.e. biocrude,[48] then as
a result we receive the following distillates: jet fuel, gasoline, diesel,
etc.. Hence, we may call them third generation or green fuels.
[edit] Biofuels by region
Main article: Biofuels by region
Recognizing the importance of implementing bioenergy, there are
international organizations such as IEA Bioenergy,[49] established in
1978 by the OECD International Energy Agency (IEA), with the aim of
improving cooperation and information exchange between countries that
have national programs in bioenergy research, development and
deployment. The U.N. International Biofuels Forum is formed by Brazil,
China, India, South Africa, the United States and the European
Commission.[50] The world leaders in biofuel development and use are
Brazil, United States, France, Sweden and Germany.
See also: Biodiesel around the world
[edit] Issues with biofuel production and use
Main article: Issues relating to biofuels
There are various social, economic, environmental and technical issues
with biofuel production and use, which have been discussed in the
popular media and scientific journals. These include: the effect of
moderating oil prices, the "food vs fuel" debate, poverty reduction
potential, carbon emissions levels, sustainable biofuel production,
deforestation and soil erosion, loss of biodiversity, impact on water
resources, as well as energy balance and efficiency.
