The continuous depletion of fossil fuel resources and their increased demand has changed the outlook from ancient resources of fuel to new resources especially biomasses of plant origin. Plant biomass is a promising raw material for fuel generation to sustain fuel requirements in the modern age. Basically biofuel these days can be divided into first generation and second generation depending upon the type of biomass used. Biofuel derived from sugars, oils, cereals, sugarcane and starch are categorised in first generation fuel while use of lignocellulosic biomass like soft and hardwood, agricultural wastes, straw and corn stover provides second generation fuels [1].
NREL (National Renewable Energy Laboratory), USA reported that in 2010 there was approximately 5 billion gallons/ annum ethanol was produced using food grains and production of 8 billion gallons/ annum ethanol is expected in 2015 with the use of lignocellulosic biomass. Major constituents of biomass containing polymers of sugars are cellulose and hemicelluloses whereas lignin forms a protective covering against various in...
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; ...
There is a lot of talk about the world’s source of energy going on these days and people are starting to ask questions about our sources of energy. Is it environmentally friendly? Does it make sense economically? For years the world has been highly dependent on fossil fuels that are extracted from the ground. These fuels power things from power plants, cars, plains, and many of the other modern conveniences that we enjoy. There is a lot of energy expended in the extraction and transport of these fuels as well as many negative environmental impacts. Scientists are busy finding alternative ways to power our world that are cost efficient and ecofriendly. One idea that is being explored as an effective replacement is producing oil from algae. Algae have a high content of oil, about 50 percent of its weight, and science is finding a way to use it as a clean fuel source.
Ethanol production was developed in hopes of severing our ties with fossil fuels in favor of alternative energy, such as biofuels. Although, VOCs emissions are released during production of ethanol in a factory, the quality of air is greatly improved when burning ethanol versus fossil fuels. Burning ethanol instead of fossil fuels reduces the amount of cancer-causing greenhouse gases that go into the atmosphere. Ethanol production ranks at the bottom of industrial water usage, but is still not out of the woods with the abundance of water usage needed in corn feedstock and ethanol manufacturing and processing facilities. Many acres of land are needed to grow corn crops, however, many corn farmers are successful in growing more corn on less acreage.
Cushman, Lynd, Nichols, Wyman. “Fuel Ethanol from Cellulosic Biomass.” Science. March 1991. Vol 251 (4999):1321
With the ever‐rising prices of fossil fuels and the realization that our supply is severely limited, the need for an alternative energy source is rising steadily. Clearly the most efficient of the alternative options lies in bio fuels because they are naturally grown and thus have an unlimited supply, have virtually zero emissions, and can be us...
“The fuel is produced in a thermal/mechanical processor called a biomass fractionator. In a matter of minutes, the fractionator converts biomass like crop residues, algae, soft wood chips and rapid growth crops like switchgrass into multiple gas streams and into biochar. The gas can be upgraded to gasoline In a one-step catalytic conversion process.” (Rocke 1). The idea of this fuel source is also very cheap. It runs for about $1.50 per gallon. Finally, the use of Biochar can be shipped at in gallon tanks very easily. Aside from the cost and shipping efficiency, ‘According to one prominent study (Woolf et al, 2010), sustainable biochar implementation could offset a maximum of 12% of anthropogenic GHG emissions on an annual basis. Over the course of 100 years, this amounts to a total of roughly 130 petagrams (106 metric tons) of CO2-equivalents. The study assessed the maximum sustainable technical potential utilizing globally available biomass from agriculture and forestry. The study assumed no land clearance or conversion from food to biomass-crops (though some dedicated biomass-crop production on degraded, abandoned agricultural soils was included), no utilization of industrially treated waste biomass, and biomass extraction rates that would not result in soil erosion” (International Biochar Initiative
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.
A series of sampling techniques were used in the field in order to estimate the amount of biomass that an area contained. The experiments were conducted at the Bisley Park on a Saturday.
...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.
Energy, especially from fossil fuels, is a key ingredient for all sectors of a modern economy and plays a fundamental role in improving the quality of life in less developed economies. In 2007, India is ranked fifth in the world in terms of energy demand; accounting for 3.6% of total energy consumed, and is expected to grow at 4.8% in the future. India imports 70% of the oil it uses, and the country has been hit hard by the increasing price of oil, uncertainty and environmental hazards that are concerned with the consumption of fossil fuels. In such context, bio energy constitutes a suitable alternative source of energy for India, as large amounts of raw material are available to be harnessed.
The composition of biomass as raw material provides a convincing explanation for the general use way which is renewable, available and biodegradable (21). Bioplastic produced of biomass have generally three main opportunistic include, the economy, the environment and medical application.
Biomass gasification is a process by which biofuel is produced. It has been used for over 180 years but in the last decades it has been reconsidered as an interesting technique due to the fact that oil supplies are decreasing. As mentioned before, gasification is a thermal process. Heat is added up in order to convert the organic mass to biofuel. The biomass usually undergoes drying, pyrolysis, partial oxidation and reduction. Nowadays the configurations used for gasification are three: fixed bed gasifier, fluidized bed gasifier and entrained bed gasifiers. The simplest configuration is the
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.
The world depends heavily on fossil fuels such as coal, oil, and natural gas for energy, and while the world's population and energy consumption continue to increase, the non-renewable resources we need to produce energy will eventually be depleted. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the supply of oil left in the world will last us twenty five more years. One may say that twenty five years is a long time, and by then new sources of fuel will surely have replaced the nonrenewable sources we currently use to meet our energy demands. This, however, should not be the approach the world takes to solve this issue. Instead of hoping that the problem will solve itself in the years to come, it is our duty as a planet to take this matter into our own hands and to change the ways we acquire our energy before we run out of resources and suffer an energy crisis. Renewable energy sources, such as biomass, can be the solution to securing reliable energy in the future. Unlike coal, oil, or gas, biomass always replenishes itself, and can easily be converted into energy through numerous processes. In addition to being renewable, biomass is a "clean" source of energy that has a less negative impact on the environment than today's fossil fuels.
Froass, P. M., Ragauskas, A. J., & Jiang, J. (2008). Chemical structure of residual lignin from kraft pulp. Journal of Wood Chemical and Technology, 16(4), 347-365.