What is bioenergy?
Bioenergy is renewable energy created accessible from materials derived from biological sources. Biomass is any organic material that has hold on daylight within the form of chemical energy. As a fuel it could contains straw, wood, sugarcane, wood waste, manure, and plenty of alternative byproducts from a range of agricultural processes.
In its narrow meaning, it's an equivalent word to biofuel that is fuel derived from biological sources. The broader sense of bioenergy consist of biomass, the biological material used as a biofuel, as well as scientific, economic, social, and technical fields related to using biological sources for energy.
Types of biofuels
Solid biofuels:
Solid biofuels include manure, wood or charcoal burned as fuel as well as more recent innovations like high-density clean burning pellets. Solid biomass can be burned to produce electricity or heat either as part of a co-firing power plant or by itself. The most important advantages of biomass fuel is that it is most of the time got by waste-product of other processes, product or residue, such as farming, animal husbandry and forestry. In theory this suggests there's no competition between food production and fuel, although this can be not continually the case.
Liquid biofuels:
Disparate other renewable sources of energy, biomass can be converted directly into biofuels for our transportation needs (airplanes, cars, buses, trucks, and trains). The most important types of biofuels are two, which is biodiesel and ethanol.
Corn can be harvested to produce ethanol.
Biodiesel:
Biodiesel is made by integrating vegetable fat, oil animal, or recycled cooking greases with alcohol (usually metha...
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...ydrocarbons directly, without the need for a complex chemical process to break down cellulose.
In the process of extracting energy from the sun, algae may be the best organic intermediary, since they can double their size in a day, making them among the most efficient organisms at converting light energy into biomass. Oil is then extracted from the algae, creating a product almost chemically indistinguishable from light, sweet crude oil, except that it is green in color. From the thousands of algae species, those high in starch are best, since they need a good supply of carbon dioxide to grow at an acceptable clip, and they can feed on nutrients in sewage, raising the appealing prospect of producing fuel while treating sewage. They are aquatic, but can grow isalty or brackish water so they don't have to compete for the land and water needed to grow food crops.
The bottom of the chain and the trophic level that depends upon by all others is the primary producers. These primary producers consist of autotrophs, which are capable of deriving their food and energy source without consuming organisms or substances taken from other organisms. In the Arctic lake of Alaska, one of it’s primary producers consists of aquatic plants and algae. These aquatic and algae contain chlorophyll, which means that they can use light energy from the sun to synthesize glucose and other organic compounds, that they can use for cellular respiration and building material for growth. In other words, called photosynthesis. Photosynthesis requires light energy, but some autotrophs use chemosynthesis, which means they can convert nutrients to organic compounds without light in the presence.
As stated earlier, the burning of fossil fuels to produce energy is one of the largest contributors to global warming. This non-environmentally friendly energy source has to be replaced in order to keep the world going. There is a type of energy source that seems easy to create and doesn’t require radical changes: Biofuels. Biofuels are a greener version of diesel and oil. They are any solid, liquid, or gas fuels produced from organic matter; the range of organic materials used for biofuel production includes plants such as corn, sugar cane, soy, and wheat; vegetable oils and animal fats; ...
All living things fall into two main categories based on how they obtain chemical energy. There are autotrophs and heterotrophs. Autotrophs are “an organism that uses energy from an external source, such as sunlight, to produce its own food without having to eat other organisms or their remains (page g14).” Within the food web, autotrophs are identified as producers because they convert the energy from sun into the energy they need through photosynthesis and are plants, algae and even some bacteria. In contrast, heterotrophs are “an organism that obtains its energy by eating other organisms or their remains (page g4).” Consumers include herbivores, carnivores, and decomposers. While autotroph are recognized by many in the
Introduction:The idea of biofuels is a old concept, reaching as far as the ending of the 19th century. Solid in its idea but flawed in its presentation. Biofuels are a alternative energy to fossil fuels that are made from natural methods such as plants and crops and are key in solving the apparent flaws of fossil fuels. While fossil fuels have been in use for over a century, Biofuels have now risen to the popularity and been exposed to the press. At one point of time biofuel were being considered by some of the most brilliant minds ever in human history such as Henry Ford and Rudolph Diesel who believed that biofuels had the potential to be the new evolution s on only to reappear a century later. Now the world faces the struggles of global warming and the depletion of fossil fuels slowly dimming by day. Throughout the last century biofuels have proven to have a place in our society as a new alternative fuel source. Specializing in Being Natural and healthier than fossil fuels, biofuels have had a rough beginning against its competitor due to key situations such as pricing, Side effects, to fuel power. However the idea was passed on a to the later generations, and continued to pasand prolong usage. However through the last decade they have been highly advertised by politicians and Government officials claiming it to be the future of a powerful working society, and to help in making a new energy free world. Through belief Some even claiming that “By 2050, a new generation of sustainable biofuels could provide over a quarter of the world’s total transport fuel, according to a recent report by the International Energy Agency” (last name). With such improvement biofuels should be the obvious answer to providing a better future to th...
It is believed that the world's supply of oil will last until about 2040. If you think about it, that’s not too far in the distance future. Oil is running out fast and we need to think of an alternate energy source. When we burn oil, we release carbon dioxide into the air which causes the earth’s climate to warm; a temperature rise of 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit could have serious if not devastating consequences. In the United States alone 60 percent of each person’s carbon footprint comes from the goods they buy, while the other 40 percent comes from their energy use at home, driving, and flying. That totals out to be about 10 billion tons a year. There are other energy sources but let’s think about the environmental and energy benefits of algae biofuel. Algae was first explored as a fuel alternative in 1978. Gas prices had skyrocketed, and the government was looking to help ease the crisis. The Aquatic Species Program run by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, researched high oil-output algae for biofuel. After testing 3,000 types of algae, the program concluded that the algae, if...
Technically, the method is not thought of as a biofuel because it was not produced from a crop. Ethylene is used and it is produced through catalytic cracking. This is an addition reaction that is exothermic and is shown through the equation: CH2=CH2(g) + H2O(g) → CH3CH2OH(l) ΔH = - 45kj
Biodiesel is produced by subjecting the triglycerides found in vegetables oils and fats to transesterification, which is the exchanging of the alkoxy group of an ester compound by another alcohol. This creates an ox...
Biogas has been found to be a sustainable source of energy which is creates less emissions compared to coal and oil (1). Due to everyday needs and wants of the growing populations of the world, natural resources have been used and over used to a point where they are no more as available, such as fossil fuels in Kristianstad(2). This unfortunately creates concern for the future however, an alternative source of energy has been found and is being implemented in the Swedish city so that the strain on the over use of natural resources can be relieved(3). Biogas is produced from biomass and it is the best sustainable plan as a source of energy and a way to be more environmentally conscious(4).
...ch is used to replace natural gas. He also stated that, among the equipment used to burn the biofuel, the suspension burner have the ability to exceed 99% efficiency and whole-tree burner can reduce the cost of harvesting and handling woody fuels by about 35% (Brown, 2003). Moreover, the usage of bio-energy in long term is to provide a degree of ecological balance and climate change, avoid acid rain, reduce soil erosion and minimize water pollution (Gevorkian, 2007). Therefore, biomass is environmental friendly like solar energy. Based on the research that has been carried out regarding the synthesis of gas from biomass, the gas gasifies in the internal combustion engine. The relative energy density of synthesis gas is higher than the fossil fuel under certain conditions. In addition, the relative flame speed of synthesis gas can reduce the time for spark ignition.
What if the world could find a way to dispose of sewage, produce food, and purify bodies of water at the same time? The Aztecs have proven that this idea is possible. Lake Texcoco flowed near the Aztec civilization. The Aztecs disposed of their waste in the lake. The human waste added nitrogen to the water. The nitrogen helped algae to grow, and then the algae performed photosynthesis. Photosynthesis gives off oxygen, and oxygen purifies polluted water. The Aztec's also abstracted the algae from the lake and used it for food. Certain types of algae like red and green algae are edible. Many cultures have eaten seaweed for centuries. Wendy O'Leary Dunn states, "They think of seaweed as a vegetable and eat it as we eat broccoli or spinach" (18). Therefore, when humans dispose of their waste in bodies of water, they help algae grow. Then, the algae cleans the water and they can eat the algae.
The concept of this essay is to stress that biofuels are a viable and sustainable energy source than fossil fuels, showing its advantages but not ignoring its disadvantages which also enlightens us about the cleaner and renewable natural resources. Biofuels is an alternative source of energy which can end the global dependence on fossil fuels.
Renewable energy is energy produced from natural resources such as, wind, sunlight, rain, tides and geothermal heat which can be re-used or replenished. Natural energies (renewable energies) have its advantages and disadvantages. The reliance on fossil fuel is reduced by the sources of renewable energy. Though the use of natural sources has many advantages over the use of fossil fuels, the cost of investment for it can be too high for some people.
With the depletion of fossil fuel resources comes speculations and debates about alternative energy sources. The world, including the Philippines, is practically dependent on a dwindling non-renewable source of energy. Today, experts are debating about and considering three options: Nuclear, Solar, or Wind Energy. Everyone has been accustomed to the bad image of nuclear energy as a result of the Chernobyl and Fukushima incidents above all others. The popular belief is that radiation from a nuclear meltdown is very harmful to humans and other living things—which is true—and that nuclear power plants are very dangerous and not ideal—which is not. According to Smith, et. al (n.d), all the nuclear disasters that ever occurred were caused by human error and natural disasters like tsunamis, not one because of system failure. Putting the false beliefs aside, with proper engineering and adequate maintenance by experts, a nuclear power plant is a very ideal and viable source of energy for the following reasons:
Energy is life. Life on this planet depends upon a fixed amount of energy. The modern industrialized energy sources such as coal and petroleum were originally utilized for their seeming promiscuity and high energies yielded per unit volume. The world has now become painfully aware of how finite petroleum reserves are, not to mention the political complications associated with being dependent upon foreign countries for an energy supply. To add insult to injury, the limitedness of petroleum resources is not the most pressing problem, their polluting byproducts are. The enormous amounts of byproduct waste that finds its way into our environment is having effects which even the most renowned of experts cannot determine in magnitude. Speaking from an economic standpoint, petroleum will soon become more expensive to find and utilize than reasonable alternatives, raising it’s costs far above it’s benefits. Some could already make the point that the social and environmental costs never were weighed appropriately into the cost/benefit analysis of petroleum and that the benefits associated with petroleum combustion have rarely or never outweighed it’s costs. This point will gain a painful clarity in the years to come if the predictions of some meteorologists come true and the effects of global warming are felt. For years developing societies have been taking enormous amounts of potential energy locked within pressurized biomass that took millions of years to store in the Earth’s crust and releasing it into today’s world. The Earth is a relatively closed system and the enormous release of spent energy and its polluting byproducts will have untold effects upon societies for generations to come. The most brazen ...
Using fossil fuels such as coal and oil is inefficient, dangerous, and otherwise a process that is known to eventually fail as a long lasting energy source. Yet, there is hope for the future of energy, this new hope has many shapes and forms, but requires a chance to be fully implemented in our everyday life. Such energy sources like solar energy, wind energy, geothermal energy, and hydro power are the key to our future. These energy sources are proven to be long lasting, safe, more reliable, and the next innovation. In short, all Americans should switch to renewable energy, resulting in a safer and more efficient world.