Over time, petroleum prices and Global Warming have become the main concern for governments, Firms and individuals across the globe. It has been proven that petroleum fuelled vehicles have contributed to a high level of pollution in many countries across the globe. Beijing, China for instance may not be the most polluted city in the world, but with a large population and a large number of vehicles being powered by petroleum, thick, grey smog filling the city and millions of residents commuting behind surgical masks for health protection can easily be noticed.
Biofuels such as Ethanol, Biodiesel, Biogas, Biokerosene, Butanol, Other bio-alcohols are being seen as cleaner forms of energy but ethanol and biodiesel however are increasingly
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This brings about the term, Agro-fuels, which refers to fuels like ethanol, which are produced from a percentage of total agricultural output in a region which is solely dedicated to the production of biofuel therefore using agricultural crops as biomass. Although this might bring economic growth, there is a downside. It has been observed that countries that are known for biofuel production have over time had an increases in environmental damage due to deforestation and burning. In some cases, the deforestation occurs as a way to clear the land for new plantation of “Agro-crops” thereby, causing a reduction in the amount of trees and plants that help in controlling CO2. Other social situations like the use of slave labour on the plantations have been spotted in mostly underdeveloped countries like Ghana and Indonesia. Such situations have over time made people ask if production of biofuel is actually a good alternative to petroleum.
2.0 Biofuel Production and Environmental Controversy.
2.1 Features:
Biofuel is a type of fuel that derives energy from biological carbon fixation. This involves the conversion of any biomass, into mainly liquid and gaseous biofuels. Biomass is known to be any form of organic material which includes Plants, agricultural crops, animal wastes, dead
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)
However, despite its many advantages biomass still has many disadvantages. Firstly it is not as efficient as fossil fuels, for example the ethanol produced for cars via biomass is not even close to the efficiency of petrol and does damage to engines over time. It also has the potential to harm the environment through increase of methane gases which are produced as a bi-product if animal and human waste is used. Biomass also requires a large distance away from residential areas in order to burn it and a large amount of fuel in comparison to other energy sources which can have dramatic effects if large portions of forests are cut down to provide lumber.1
Claim of definition: Biofuels are energy sources made from living things, or the waste that living things produce and can be produced from a wide variety of sources such as sugars, starches, oil, and animal fats.
“All Biofuels Are Not Created Equal” is a very informative article that everyone should be aware of. The authors of this article show how biofuels can be made to benefit Earth. Our ecological footprint is so big that everyone requires 2.5 Earths to maintain the same lifestyle. What does this reveal? It reveals that Earth’s resources are being diminished. This means that the world needs to do something to prevent this so Earth can last for future generations. The way that biofuels are being made is not very effective in helping this problem. This is because it either requires deforestation or the burning of fossil fuels, which the world is trying to stop. Instead of using corn or sugar cane as ethanol, alternative crops should be used
Biofuels. A fuel can be defined any such chemical that reacts with oxygen to release energy, in particular heat. Most of the fuels that are in used today are fossil fuels; coal, gas, and oil. They were produced by plants which photosynthesized millions of years ago, mostly in the Carboniferous period. ( ). These chemicals are also important raw material for chemicals such as dyestuffs and detergents. They are finite, which one day they will run out and not be replaced. An alternative is ethanol. By using ethanol, we become
Biofuel is a type of energy which can be derived from biomass, animal waste and most controversially from renewable plants. Biofuel is used as a substitute for oil and other energies. The reasons for the growing fame of biofuel is both negative and positive as it is an alternative form of energy for the government and makes their life easy, on the other hand biofuel has made people life miserable by causing a raise in food prices. Biofuel is currently present in many different forms including Biodiesel, Bioethanol and Biogas.
Thirdly, the cost of biofuel is high because its production and infrastructural cost is humongous. To create biofuel, large tracts of land need to be cleared for setting up the plant. This is not feasible because of global economic meltdown whose one major disadvantage is the rising food prices. If the land that could be better used for producing the much needed food crops, there is no need to use the same land for generating biofuels (FAO 07). Furthermore, the cost of establishing and running a biofuel plant runs into billions. Where would the money come from? Of course, the people have to pay for them, doubly, first for purchasing biofuel and secondly in the form of taxes. Ironically, the common man cannot afford such expenses given the current economic situation, which if not controlled will create more problems in the future like unemployment, an issue more important than debating biofuels and diesel fuels (Stern 07).
The criminal justice system views any crime as a crime committed against the state and places much emphasis on retribution and paying back to the community, through time, fines or community work. Historically punishment has been a very public affair, which was once a key aspect of the punishment process, through the use of the stocks, dunking chair, pillory, and hangman’s noose, although in today’s society punishment has become a lot more private (Newburn, 2007). However it has been argued that although the debt against the state has been paid, the victim of the crime has been left with no legal input to seek adequate retribution from the offender, leaving the victim perhaps feeling unsatisfied with the criminal justice process.
Hence, biofuel is a recent scientific research undertaken in Australia and will be the greatest benefit towards society and the environment. As biofuel can help contribute environmentally through lowering levels of pollution, it also benefits the society by offering economic stimulation as well as
Biofuels are better than traditional fuels because they decrease the national dependency on foreign fuel. The Minnesota biofuel association provides the article “ETHANOL AND REDUCING FOREIGN OIL DEPENDENCY” expressing how the dependency of fuels decrease due to biofuels. “ethanol has helped America lessen its dependency on foreign oil. In fact, increased production of renewable fuels such as ethanol were key components of the Energy”(1). Biofuel contains materials that are found locally. Therefore, there would be no need to find fuels in foreign places. There would be no need to go underground or under the sea to find fuels. It would also decrease the dangers many people put themselves through in order to find the fuel. Also the article “what
Biofuels are fuels made from biomass, which is the organic physical material of an organism that is or was alive. Biomasses can be separated into two categories - liquids and solids. Liquid biomass fuels include biodiesel and ethanol. Solids include charcoal, garbage, wood, and manure. The majority of organic matter contains carbon, oxygen, and hydrogen, the same elements that make up fossil fuels such as petroleum and coal. Biomass can be burned as is or converted into a different fuel that burns more efficiently. The use of biomass for fuel is not a new idea, as humans long ago used whatever could help them survive. Solid biofuels like wood, manure, and charcoal have been used ever since man discovered
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.
Bio-Oil is an organic fuel that contains energy that is made from natural living organisms. They are produced from lipids which are merged with other ingredients which chemically produces Bio-Oil.
The use of biofuels is much higher than predicted. The US demand for biofuels is the highest percentage, and we main biofuel use is corn ethanol. This has caused the price of corn to rise dramatically in other parts of the world. In an attempt to discover cleaner renewable sources for motor fuel, corn production began to make biofuel. This “ethanol” is blended with gasoline. The government gave incentives to the oil companies, and like most other incentives, this was over the top. Therefore, it became a race to see who could gain the most profit. Now most developed countries similar to the US are