Biofuel: A Source of Energy that Replaces Petroleum Usage

The holding capacity of the world’s resources is getting progressively pushed to its limits and will continue with the population expected to rise seventy percent by 2050.With the world’s population continuing to rise so too does the consumption of copious amounts of natural recourses including depleting nonrenewable products such as fossil fuels. A combination of alternative energies sources along with the reduction of dependency on fossil fuels can reduce the effects of global warming. In an effort to combat this problem scientists have turned to biofuels as an answer. Biofuels are energy sources that are produced from living organism which can reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the atmosphere. Supporters of biofuels argue that it can reduce greenhouse gas by the growing plants or biomass that remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, emitted by crude oils. However, detractors claim that biofuels pose a threat to a global shortage of food and unpredictable environmental change. Necessary action needs to be set in place to counteract the damages of petroleum to the environment and the upcoming energy crisis surrounding it. Biofuels requires urgent global priory due to forthcoming energy issues in the coming years and cellulosic biomass has the potential to support future energy needs though higher production yields.

Increased energy demands are expected to grow at least fifty percent by 2050 while crude oil means are rapidly diminishing without a feasible replacement. Shifting global dependency away from fossil fuels is a step closer in the management of greenhouse emissions. The U.S department of Energy has set a goal to have thirty percent of its liquid petroleum replaced by biofuels with the intent of encouraging a moveme...

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...ustainable energy. The environmental impacts are more attractive to the ones that petroleum refinement expels into the atmosphere. Biofuels are exceptional for petroleum replacement since the biomass that creates biofuel is removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Biomass can also be planted in poor agricultural condition making the production and conversion process billions of dollars cheaper while increasing revenue yield. Without being in direct competition with food crop land biofuels could not effect food demand. Unlike biofuels, petroleum lacks the sustainability and the ability to end dependence on foreign oil creating a higher economic income. The advantages of biomass converted to cellulosic ethanol is endless by not investing into this new technology will have detrimental effects to the global environment while sending the world into an energy crisis.