Any biomass fuel—plant or algal material or animal waste.
Any biomass fuel—plant or algal material or animal waste. Any biomass fuel. Because such feedstock can be easily replanted, biofuels, unlike fossil fuels such as petroleum, coal, and natural gas, are viewed as renewable energy sources.
In the backdrop of rising oil price levels and growing concerns over fossil fuels’ impact on global warming, biofuel fuels are often touted as an economical and environmentally sound alternative to petroleums and other fossil fuels.
Some long-term biofuels, such as wood, can be utilized directly to produce heat as a raw material. In turn, heat can be used to generate electricity in a power plant. Many existing power plants burn grass, wood, or other biomass types.
The extensive infrastructure already in place to utilize liquid biofuels, especially for transport, is particularly relevant. The liquid biofuel produced by fermenting starch or sugar in the most significant quantity is ethanol (ethyl alcohol). Among the leading ethanol producers are Brazil and the United States.
Ethanol biofuel in the United States is mainly generated from maize and is often combined with petrol for “gasohol,” a fuel of 10 percent ethanol. Brazil produces mainly sugar cane ethanol biofuel, which is usually utilized as 100% ethanol or in combinations of gasoline containing 85% ethanol.
Cellulosic ethanol of the second generation is derived from low-value biomass with high cellulose content, including wood chips and residues and municipal garbage, in contrast to the biofuel of the first-generation ethanol produced from food crops.
Cellulosic ethanol is generally made using sugarcane bagasse, a sugar waste product, or other grapes are grown on low-quality soil. Since the conversion rate is lower than for the first-generation biofuels, cellulosic ethanol is mainly employed as a fuel additive.
