Biofuels

Biofuels in the solid form have been used since early humans discovered fire. Wood was the first biofuel used for heating and cooking food. With the discovery of electricity, humans found another way to utilize wood. The heat produced by burning wood was used to boil water in a containment vessel, and the boiling water produced steam, which could push a piston down a tube to power a rotating shaft or spin a turbine wheel on a shaft. Biofuels soon powered steam engines for transportation and for electricity generation. Fossil fuels later replaced wood because of their higher energy content per unit of volume.

Entry of Ethanol

One of the first inventors to convince people to use ethanol as a liquid fuel was a German named Nikolaus August Otto. Another German inventor, Randolph Diesel, invented an internal combustion engine that used peanut oil. Later, Henry Ford designed the Model T car, produced between 1903 and 1926. Its engine was designed to run on a biofuel extracted from hemp seed.

Petroleum soon replaced liquid biofuels during World War I. Biofuels saw a rebirth during World War II as Allied Forces cut off Germany's supply of fossil fuels. Germany and several of its allies were forced to resort to biofuels to continue the war. German scientists developed a process called transesterification to produce biodiesel from vegetable oils and animal fats to fuel their diesel engines. During this period, other European inventors developed fermentation processes to produce alcohols from potatoes and sugar beets and other bio-sources to produce alcohols. They blended these alcohols with petro-based gasoline to increase their fuel supplies.

A serious fuel crisis hit many countries from 1973 to 1979 because of geo-political conflict. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries made heavy cuts in exports, especially to non-OPEC nations. The constant shortage of fuel attracted the attention of various academics and governments to the issue of energy shortages. Biofuels came into focus as a serious replacement or supplement to petroleum-derived fuels when public opinion helped consumers become interested in biofuels, stimulated by the rising price of petroleum, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and investment in rural development.

In the U.S., development of the ethanol and biodiesel industries has been farmer led. Farmer coops secured financing to build production facilities and worked with the U.S. Department of Energy and engine manufacturing companies to test these biofuels in the latest designed engines. Farmers loved the idea of growing their own fuels! Under the direction of DOE, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory has been instrumental in the continued development of renewable energy resources. The NREL has worked with engine manufacturers, renewable fuel producers research organizations to insure all biofuels are energy positive (yields more energy than it takes to produce the fuel) and environmentally sustainable. Improvements in farming techniques and manufacturing process technologies are increasing the net energy yields of today's biofuels.

Ethanol and Biodiesel

In contrast to other renewable energy resources, biomass, an organic material, can be converted directly into burnable fuels, termed as “biofuels,” to assist in meeting transportation fuel demands. The two most widely used types of biofuels are ethanol and biodiesel.

Ethanol, as in beer and wine, is an alcohol modified to utilize it as a fuel and making it undrinkable. Ethanol is produced by fermentation through a method similar to beer brewing of any biomass containing carbohydrates. At the present time, ethanol is derived from starches and sugars; however, there has been considerable research to allow it to be produced from fibrous substances, which make up the bulk of most plant matter - the cellulose and hemicellulose.

Below is a diagram of a corn ethanol plant from http://www.6solutionsllc.com.

Biodiesel is produced by the reaction of a short chain-length alcohol (methanol or ethanol) with vegetable or animal oil/fats or recycled cooking grease in the presence of a strong catalyst. Two reaction technologies are used to break the fat molecules into biodiesel and its co-product glycerin. Below is a diagram of a transesterification process.

Most of the biodiesel producers use the transesterification process technology. The other process is called esterification. This process uses an acid catalyst and requires higher temperatures and pressures to get high reaction completeness. Biodiesel can be blended with petroleum diesel to lessen harmful vehicle emissions, or it can be utilized in its pure form.

Biodiesel and ethanol are both clean, grow-your-own fuels that can be produced on-site in local villages or communities from locally available, renewable resources. Such fuels can fuel equipment that a local workshop can make and maintain. This can make biofuels an economical option to fossil fuels and can aid in strengthening local communities both socially and economically. To the right is a biodiesel process flow flow diagram from www.newenergyandflow.com.

Cleaner burning energy sources lessen the toxic pollutant emissions produced by burning petroleum-based fuels. Another gain is that alternative fuels can be grown or raised, while fossil fuels are a non-renewable resource. As world oil production peaks, it makes sense to search for new alternatives. In addition, a much-hyped reason is that lessening dependence on petroleum will, in turn, reduce dependence on unreliable foreign suppliers.

Biofuels Today

Biofuel is made from agricultural crops developed around the world. Increased utilization of biofuel can generate new markets for American products. New jobs also can be created, especially in rural communities. As a result, it can keep the money circulating all the way through the economy. Moreover, it promotes American energy independence just by generating a percentage of our fuel at home.

More importantly, biofuel is capable of improving the performance of an engine. Biofuel is a “quality” fuel that cleans fuel systems, increasing octane and lessening harmful emissions, all of which help to lengthen the life of a vehicle. As an alternative to this “traditional” diesel fuel, biofuel is expected to yield significant energy security and environmental advantage to its consumers.

One of the most promising bio-resources is growing algae to supply the biomass that we may be short of in the future. Research organizations and universities have built experimental algae farms using both fresh and salt water as growing media. All algae requires for growth is water, carbon dioxide and sunlight. Various forms of algae are being evaluated to determine which species are best for the production of biofuels. Some researchers are even looking at using treated sewage to supply additional nutrients for growing algae. Some of the potential algae benefits are:

• Algae can be grown using land and water unsuitable for plant or food production, unlike some other first- and second-generation biofuel feedstocks.
• Select species of algae produce bio-oils through the natural process of photosynthesis, requiring only sunlight, water and carbon dioxide.
• Growing algae consumes carbon dioxide. This mitigates greenhouse gas production.
• Bio-oil produced by photosynthetic algae and the resultant biofuel will have molecular structures that are similar to the petroleum and refined products used today.
• Algae have the potential to yield greater volumes of biofuel per acre of production than other biofuel sources. Algae could yield more than 2000 gallons of fuel per acre per year of production. Approximate yields for other fuel sources are far lower: p alm — 650 gallons per acre per year; sugar cane - 450 gallons per acre per year; corn - 250 gallons per acre per year; and soy - 50 gallons per acre per year.
• Algae used to produce biofuels are highly productive. As a result, large quantities of algae can be grown quickly, and the process of testing different strains of algae for their fuel-making potential is faster than for other crops with longer life cycles.

The table below from the U.S. Department of Energy shows all of the resources available to produce biofuels.

More About Biofuels

http://www.nrel.gov - National Renewable Energy Laboratory

http://www.nbb.org - National Biodiesel Board

http://ethanol.org - American Coalition for Ethanol

http://www.ethanoirfa.org - Renewable Fuels Association

http://www.oilgae.com - Oil from Algaie