Biofuels As Alternative Sources Of Energy

Susan Nelson Hopkins

Biofuels are produced by converting organic matter into fuel for powering our society. These biofuels are an alternative energy source to the fossil fuels that we currently depend upon.

The bio-fuels umbrella includes ethanol and derivatives of plants such as sugar cane, as well as vegetable and corn oils. However, not all ethanol products are designed to be used as a kind of gasoline. The International Energy Agency (IEA) tells us that ethanol could comprise up to 10 percent of the world's usable gasoline by 2025, and up to 30 percent by 2050. Today, the percentage figure is a mere 2 percent.

We have a long way to go to refine and make these biofuels practical and economical. A study by Oregon State University concluded that we have yet to develop biofuels that are as energy efficient as gasoline made from petroleum.

Energy efficiency is the measure of how much usable energy for our needed purposes is derived from a certain amount of input energy. (Nothing that mankind has ever used has derived more energy from output than from what the needed input was. What has always been important is the conversion—the end-product energy is what is useful for our needs, while the input energy is just the effort it takes to produce the end-product.)

The OSU study found corn-derived ethanol to be only 20% energy efficient (gasoline made from petroleum is 75% energy efficient). Biodiesel fuel was recorded at 69% energy efficiency. However, the study did turn up one positive: cellulose-derived ethanol was charted at 85% efficiency.

There are several nations which are seriously involved in the development of biofuels. Brazil is the world's biggest producer of ethanols derived from sugars. It produces approximately three and a half billion gallons of ethanol per year. The United States is already the second largest producer of biofuels, behind Brazil. The European Union's biodiesel production capacity is now in excess of four million (British) tonnes. 80 percent of the EU's biodiesel fuels are derived from rapeseed oil, while soybean oil and a marginal quantity of palm oil comprise the other 20 percent.

Susan Nelson Hopkins is the webmaster for four website collections... the Eyes-Only-Club (includes several family sites), Susan's Gardens (a group of gardening sites), and BirdsnBugsnBees (a sample of planned kids sites). Hopkins-Enterprises is another of her collections, and includes links to family-friendly activities and topics. All websites include material either authored by Susan or adapted by her... including the graphics. AND, the content is always family-friendly.

Biofuels As Alternative Sources Of Energy

More
Alternative Energy
Articles

Related Alternative Energy Products...

More Alternative Energy Articles

Related Alternative Energy Videos (free viewing)