Biofuel is a product produced from biomass. As the biofuel definition above suggests, this fuel is considered much cleaner than petrol/diesel alternatives.
Biofuel is considered carbon neutral, as the biomass absorbs roughly the same amount of carbon dioxide during growth, as when burnt.
As in many cases, large areas of forest are cut down to make space for the plantation of biofuel suitable crops. This deforestation not only harms the carbon cycle, but also harms surrounding civilizations/tribes who live off the forest.
Many environmentalist argue that biofuel is a disaster in the making, and doesn't offer a significant long-term environmental impact.
Some biofuels currently in use are:
- Biobutanol
- Biodiesel
- Bioethanol
- Biogas
- Vegetable Oil
The use of biofuels can help to reduce the costs associated with the purchasing of mainstream fuels such as petrol and diesel.
It could be argued that biofuel is a product of solar energy, as the sun is needed to grow the biomass crops, which can then be manufactured into usable fuel.
Biofuel sounds like a modern day invention, however, we have used this type of fuel since the discovery of fire. Firewood can be classed as a biofuel, as wood is a biomass product, which can be burnt to released energy in the form of heat.
The types of biofuels mentioned above (Biodiesel, Biogas etc.) relate to the modern day uses of biomass as a fuel energy source.
To provide biofuel for every car, truck, bus, plane, boat, and factory across the globe would require a colossal amount of space to be used for the plantation of renewable biomass crops. This would result in the deforestation as a direct result of biomass plantation becoming out of hand.
Algae fuel might be an alternative to fossil fuel and uses algae as its source of natural deposits. Several companies and government agencies are funding efforts to reduce capital and operating costs and make algae fuel production commercially viable. Harvested algae, like fossil fuel, release CO2 when burnt but unlike fossil fuel the CO2 is taken out of the atmosphere by the growing algae.
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