If you’re one of the thousands of people looking to reduce your carbon footprint by using alternative fuels, but unsure where or how to find information, then you’ll want to know the answer to “What is biofuel?”
Biofuel, unlike fossil fuel, is derived from renewable sources such as plants and vegetables and are used to power not only automobiles but also power and cooking equipment. Biofuel helps decrease the amount of carbon produced and released into our atmosphere and helps reduce the production of fossil fuels.
Several vegetable and plants can be used to produce biofuel and are already growing in the U.S.:
- Sugar Cane, sugar beet
- Corn or maize
- Soybean
- Sunflower, safflower and peanut (for oil)
- Wheat
- Flax
- Potato
One way to produce biofuels is to use plants high in sugar and then use fermentation to produce ethanol while vegetable oils can be heated to reduce their viscosity and used in diesel engines.
Through the use of biofuels, diesel engines can burn a cleaner liquid that is safer for the environment and reduces air pollution.
What is biofuel? The First 3 Generations:
Biofuels from the first generation are generated from vegetable oil, animal fats, sugar and starch. First generation biofuels were criticized for taking away food from animals and humans.
Second generation biofuels incorporate non food crops which include the stalks or stems of corn, wheat, and so forth. These non food crops do not interfere with human consumption nor the animal food chain, thus reduce this biomass waste disposal problem. Second generation biofuels currently being developed are biohydrogen, biomethanol and wood diesel.
Biofuels from the third generation use algae and produces greater energy than plants or vegetables, up to 30 times more. These biofuels are also biodegradable, which does not pollute the ground or air if spilled accidentally. Algaculture is of high interest to many bioengineers and scientists since it is easy to grow and could easily replace all petroleum fuel in the U.S. alone. So some day you could be filling up with algae instead of ethanol at the pump and paying much less per gallon.
There is a fourth generation of biofuel which combines biodiesel and vegoil; however, it is still being studied as a useful energy source.
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