The most popular renewable energy sources currently are: Wind energy. Hydro energy. Tidal energy. Geothermal energy.

Artificial enzymes are capable of mimetics catalytic sites and generate renewable energy. Artificial enzymes have applications in energy production as biohydrogen or biofuels.

Biomass is renewable organic material that comes from plants and animals.

You also probably know the other major sources of biofuel too: corn, sugarcane, wheat, palm oil and soya beans….The seven strangest sources of biofuel

1. Human Liposuction Fat. Yep, biofuel derived from unwanted human flubber.
2. Cheese.
3. Jatropha.
4. Algae.
5. Wine Lakes.
6. Nappies.
7. Kale.

Six of the best biofuels

• Sugar cane. Sugar can provide high-energy fuel for machines as well as people.
• Palm oil. This is extracted from the fruit of the oil palm tree, which is cultivated in south-east Asia, South America and Africa.
• Oilseed rape.
• Algae.
• Soybeans.

The United States

The companies below are listed in alphabetical order, and all numbers and figures were current as of market close on July 20, 2020.

• Aemetis (NASDAQ:AMTX)
• Gevo (NASDAQ:GEVO)
• Green Plains (NASDAQ:GPRE)
• Green Plains Partners (NASDAQ:GPP)
• Pacific Ethanol (NASDAQ:PEIX)
• Renewable Energy Group (NASDAQ:REGI)

Ironbridge

The authors found that most (21 out of 26) biofuels reduce greenhouse emissions by 30 per cent compared with than fossil fuels. However, nearly half of the biofuels have greater environmental costs than petrol. These all had low reductions in greenhouse gas emissions and high negative environmental impact.

According to these researchers, production of biofuel actually contributes to global warming, doing more harm than good. It goes into the air as carbon dioxide and contributes to global warming.” “Any biofuel that causes the clearing of natural ecosystems will increase global warming,” he continued.

Biofuels, when produced from plants, can balance their CO2 production since they use carbon dioxide gas during growth. In The idea is that if there is a one-to-one short, since the gas produced is the same as the gas taken in, therefore, there is no net impact on global warming.

Disadvantages of Biofuels

• High Cost of Production. Even with all the benefits associated with biofuels, they are quite expensive to produce in the current market.
• Monoculture.
• Use of Fertilizers.
• Shortage of Food.
• Industrial Pollution.
• Water Use.
• Future Rise in Price.
• Changes in Land Use.

Fuels such as biodiesel made from rapeseed oil or ethanol made from corn were once viewed as the apex of future low-carbon transport. In 2011, the International Energy Agency forecast that biofuels could make up 27 percent of global transportation fuels by 2050. Transport fuels have a 14 percent target to hit by 2030.

The unaccounted for environmental problems that indirectly arise from biofuel use are significant: 1) direct conflicts between land for fuels and land for food, 2) other land-use changes, 3) water scarcity, 4) loss of biodiversity, and 4) nitrogen pollution through the excessive use of fertilizers.

Algae-derived oils have the potential to replace 17 percent of the nation’s imported oil for transportation, according to a study published in Water Resources Research. But growing algae – or any other biofuel source – can require a lot of water.

Potential economic benefits of biofuel production Replacing fossil fuels with biofuels has the potential to generate a number of benefits. Second and third generation biofuels have significant potential to reduce GHG emissions relative to conventional fuels because feedstocks can be produced using marginal land.

FACT: Biofuels burn cleaner than gasoline, resulting in fewer greenhouse gas emissions, and are fully biodegradable, unlike some fuel additives. Use of ethanol can increase emissions of some air pollutants because fossil energy is used during the farming of biomass crops and during biofuel production.

The production cost is high because of the energy required to circulate gases and other materials inside the photo bioreactors where the algae grow. It also takes energy to dry out the biomass, and Solix uses far less water than other companies (see Cutting the Cost of Making Algae by 90%).

The main benefit of biofuels over fossil fuels is that burning them puts less of the greenhouse gas, carbon dioxide, into the atmosphere. It’s all to do with the carbon cycle. In biofuels the plants, or products derived from them, are burned and the carbon dioxide enters the atmosphere once more.

From an environmental point of view, the answer is Yes, Biofuels are indeed better than fossil fuels. All biofuels (only hydrocarbons considered here) generate CO2 upon combustion and could therefore be classified as generating greenhouse gas and contributing to global warming similarly to fossil fuels.

Although direct emissions from biofuel are lower than fossil fuels – burning enough biofuel to generate one megajoule of energy gives off the equivalent of 39g of CO2, whereas for fossil fuels that figure is 75.1g. Palm oil is one of the biggest offenders in carbon emissions when used to make biofuel.

‘Biofuels’ or ‘Agrofuels’ are fuels that are made from living plants (rather than the “fossilised” ones that make up oil and coal). The theory is that because these fuels absorb as much CO2 when they grow, as they emit when they are burnt, they are basically ‘carbon neutral’.

Biodiesel blends are shown to be stable for 3 years in stable storage conditions. Stability loss prior to fuel degradation can be indicated by induction time.

Using plant-based materials for fuel in cars and trucks was until recently heralded as the answer to the need to reduce carbon emissions from petrol and diesel fuels. He also has worries about the displacement of food crops by biofuel crops. …

Here is how. First, plants use carbon dioxide, the major GHG of concern, to grow and produce food. Biofuels, when grown from plants, can thus offset their CO2 admissions because they take up the gas during growth that is produced when the fuel is burned.

Biofuels reduce greenhouse gas emissions Because of their compatibility with the natural carbon cycle, bio- fuels offer the most beneficial alternative for reduc- ing greenhouse gases from the transportation sector.

Although the burning of biodiesel produces carbon dioxide emissions similar to those from ordinary fossil fuels, the plant feedstock used in the production absorbs carbon dioxide from the atmosphere when it grows. After the biomass is converted into biodiesel and burned as fuel the energy and carbon is released again.

Advantages and disadvantages of biofuel