Disadvantages Of Biofuels

Switching from the expensive oil to alternative fuels has moved from a dream to reality. Today, there are dozens of alternatives to oil that are currently available us to be used. One alternative to oil that is being used more today is ethanol. Derived from plant materials, ethanol can be a cheaper, cleaner alternative to the gasoline that our vehicles run off. When going to gas pumps, one will notice that much of the gasoline is up to 10 percent of ethanol. According to our text, most ethanol in the U.S. is made from corn, yet ethanol can be made from any biomes-- including garbage. (Turk & Bensel, 2011)

Anything containing oil has been an increasing problem to the environment and to people. The toxicants that the oil produce harms people with their health. In the film Fuel, the director Josh Tickell talks about how crops can produce fuel, which produces cleaner air and is safer for the public. There are also other ways that Biofuel could be produced, such as adding human waste onto algae. The way that society utilizes oil is hurting the world, which in fact is affecting the human population and environment, but people only realize it until it is too late. With biofuel people would not be in danger and it could be produced without struggling to find oil.

That fuel source is called corn-ethanol, and a majority of people can see the main ingredient, which is, corn in America 's farm fields. Corn is grown annually and it does not take millions of years to reproduce. Oil is a fuel source that takes millions of years to reproduce. A biofuel is the process of taking any once living plant and abstracting the plant 's energy to make a fuel. People in America are supporting Biofuels, including corn-ethanol because it does not require oil. It also reduces green house gasses, which makes it better for the environment (Cassman 59). The common view of ethanol is that it is just a research project to make the environmentalists happy but that is not true. It has the potential to keep America 's economy rolling, supply a fuel source, and still feed livestock with its byproducts. The key to success as a country is to use what we already have an abundance of in this country. The evidence is all there for this argument many Americans just need to become educated about this topic. The main

Initial research has shown that biodiesel, liter for liter, generates about 90 percent of the heat of traditional fossil fuels, and the resulting air emissions are significantly lower in sulphur, carbon monoxide, and hydrocarbons. Burning these fuels also does not contribute to global warming. Fossil fuels increase the amount of carbon in the atmosphere because the carbon they release upon combustion has been locked away for millennia. The carbon released by the combustion of biodiesel first had to be removed from the atmosphere by the plant that produced the oils it was derived from. Thus, no net gain occurs when said carbon is released. Biodiesel is also safer for people and the environment since it is non-toxic and biodegradable. Oil spills will no longer be multi-million dollar environmental catastrophes.

The featured film Fuel shows various points on fuel ruining the environment, from American children not being able to play in water to huge industries causing “cancer alley” such as the one on Louisiana. The Environmental Protection Agency has put a few standards into play to regulate health hazarda and complete destruction of the environment. Natural events that have been happening since the birth of Earth have created multiple types of ways humans have taken advantage to create fuel for the world. An interesting point brought up while watching this film was the fact that biofuels caught on as fast as it did to actually start to make a difference for the world. When word started to get out on how ecofriendly and cheap it really is,

What if there was an up and coming fuel that has the properties of normal oil, but its side effects were not nearly as bad? Would you support it? Well there is such a thing. It has been around for a few years, but only in the near future does it have the potential to do good on a worldwide scale. This innovation is called algae biofuel. Algae biofuel is a fuel just like gasoline or diesel, but instead of being mined from the ground, causing irreparable damage, it grows in a pond and actually has positive side effects on the environment. Algae Biomass Organization states, “Algae-derived biofuel can reduce life cycle CO2 emissions by 50 to 70 percent compared to petroleum fuels.” Algae biofuel could be one of the solutions to our polluted atmosphere.

Biofuels are biologically derived fuels obtained in a renewable way from organic waste. These organic remains usually come from sugar, wheat, corn or oilseeds. They all reduce the total volume of CO2 emitted into the atmosphere as they absorb it as they grow and emit virtually the same amount as conventional fuels when they burn, resulting in a closed cycle process. Biofuels are often mixed with other fuels in small proportions, 5 or 10%, providing a useful but limited reduction of greenhouse gases. In Europe and the United States, legislation has been in place requiring suppliers to mix biofuels to certain levels. This legislation has been copied by many other countries that believe that these fuels will help to improve the planet through the reduction of gases that produce the so-called 'Greenhouse Effect '.

Fossil fuel plays leading role in upsetting environmental, economical and climate protection. Our earth is at catastrophic risk by the exploitation of fossil fuels. Therefore, pressure is on to find viable alternatives for energy to bring a stable, safe and clean revolution. In that case, bio-fuels make an attractive alternative for energy than fossil fuels. Various provocative questions need discussion that what are the attractive differences between both the fuels? Why fossil fuel dependence is to be actually minimized? What is the scope of bio-fuel for a safer world? How will bio-fuel benefit economically? Above all, It will be conferred that why bio-fuels are better than fossil fuels.

For over forty years now, scientists and researchers have been tirelessly searching for an alternative to fossil fuels. Biofuels have become an interesting contender in the search for the replacement of the non-renewable energy source. Biofuels have been used throughout history for over thousands of years. There is a large debate over biofuels and its true impact on the environment. Those involved in the discussion debating whether biofuels have any real overwhelming benefits compared to fossil fuels could argue for its usage. According to recent research performed by the University of Michigan, biofuels may not be the best alternative for fossil fuels. Regardless of its impact on the environment, biofuels are becoming more popular particularly when the price of oil rises.

In the United States biofuel production has grown a lot over the last two decades. In 1995 production was at 500,000 gallons, by 2005 it was 75 million gallons, and by 2006 it was at 224 million gallons [Biofuels ‘13]. The main plant used in the United States biofuel production was the soybean [Biofuels ‘13]. Currently 4 percent of the world’s demand for primary energy comes from biofuels. The more popular and more well-known hydropower only provides 2 percent of the world’s primary energy demand [Maugeri ‘10]. Most modern cars can use up to a 10 percent biofuel mix in their engines without any modifications, though some cars called flex-fuel can use 100 percent biofuel or gasoline [Maugeri ‘10]. One big advantage to using biofuel is that it produces a higher octane rating than gasoline which helps improve engine performance [Maugeri ‘10]. Biofuels currently cost a little more to make compared to gasoline at about a ten to eight ratio respectively [Sanders ‘10]. Hopefully with more farms producing the components for making biofuels hydroponically it can help drive the price down to where it can be competitive with gasoline and one day completely replace it.

Abstract The purpose of this experiment was to synthesize biodiesel using a green approach in a laboratory setting to create an environmentally safe alternative to petroleum diesel. Sodium Hydroxide was used as a catalyst in order to complete a transesterification reaction. The experiment took place over two days total as the glycerol and biodiesel compounds were given time to separate fully.

In the world of global warming, all kinds of pollution and fuel shortages going on, renewable and clean/ green energy is increasingly the ideal solution of energy related problems we have to solve one way or another. Biofuel is one of the mainstream and highly supported solutions nowadays, an idea to make renewable fuel by living organisms such as fiber, corn, vegetable oil or sugar cane. Unlike nonrenewable fossil fuels over extracted by people causing various environmental problems like generating a considerable amount greenhouse gas, current technology already lets renewable fuel like biofuels to shrink a certain amount of greenhouse gas production, making it a more ‘clean’ source of energy.

Unlike gasoline or diesel, biofuels release little pollution. It can also be used to produce electricity by heating water using biofuels and using the steam produced to rotate a turbine. Another method is to allow the biofuel to decay and produce methane. Methane is commonly used as fuel for car, heating, cooking, and producing electricity.

Consequently, another new challenge which the airline industry is currently undergoing is the ability to find a greener solution to fuel so that aviation is not purely dependent on fossil fuels. Some sources of literature have alleged biofuels to not be the answer to cleaner fuels as although the direct emissions from airplanes powered by a biofuel mix may be reduced, the indirect emissions through producing biofuels are significant. Biofuels create a lot of pressures on carbon sinks through the way they are cropped causing strains on the land and rainforests (Bringezu et al, 2009), which adds to the greenhouse effect, furthermore increasing climate change. Due to the size of land required of biofuel production, it can also threaten biodiversity of flora and fauna and

It seems crazy that it is how we get the crops and different things that can be turned into ethanol like with corn is turned into gas for vehicles.