PART – I GENESIS OF BIOFUEL AND ITS PROS AND CONS Biomass 1. Biomass can be defined as “the amount of living matter as in a unit area or volume of habitat” . Use of biomass to generate energy is not new and dated back to ancient times. Woods, animal dung and peat are few of the examples used since ancient times. It is estimated that total biomass of the earth is 560 billion metric tons (approximately) out of which 146 billion tons of biomass is generated by plants . This is a common term used by the biofuel industry to refer to biological materials from living or recently living organisms but not restricted to plants derived materials only. Biomass can be used as a fuel by direct and indirect means that is through burning and chemically or biologically converting it as a fuel. Biofuel and its History Biofuels are fuels that are produced directly or indirectly from organic material which includes plant materials and animal waste. Biofuels can be solid, …show more content…
First generation biofuel is made from food crops or feed stocks that can also be consumed as human food by extracting the oils through fermentation. Crops like wheat, sugarcane, corn, sugar beet and sorghum are some of the main sources of producing biofuel. Since their availability and extraction through conventional means they are termed as conventional biofuels. Most common first generation biofuel includes:- (1) Biodiesel. Extracted from vegetable oils, animal fats, seeds from plants like Soybeans, Canola, and Sunflower are few of the examples. This fuel is commonly used in means of transportation. (2) Ethanol. This is acquired through fermentation process. Sugar cane and starch crops like Corn and Wheat are few of the examples. A litre of ethanol contains about two-thirds as much energy as a litre of gasoline . (3) Biogas. Biogas is a biofuel produced from the anaerobic fermentation of carbohydrates in plant material or waste like food peelings or manure by
In addition, raw sugarcane is a common biofuel that is used as an advantageous renewable energy; however, the greenhouse gas emissions are higher than that of corn (Renouf et al., 2008). The major disadvantage to the use of corn for ethanol fuel production was that starch must be converted to sugar and then converted to ethanol at a slower rate than sugarcane; however, the benefit to using corn was that there was lower carbon dioxide and greenhouse gas emissions than that of sugarcane. Although sugarcane would be more efficient in ethanol production, the environment in the United States favors growing agricultural crops such as corn, instead of sugarcane. The positives to using sugarcane for ethanol fuel production in Brazil include the estimated 19 billion liters of ethanol that were produced in 2007, its expansive territory, and the availability of water (Martinelli et al., 2008). On the other hand, the cons of using sugarcane for ethanol fuel production in Brazil include environmental degradation and the accumulation of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere (Martinelli et al., 2008).
This high production of biomass energy and reusing waste has more potential than just West Texas. Texas contains several farms, waste-water plants, and agricultural land to utilize for biomass energy
Thinking about what ethanol fuel actually is, many may not know. Right now everyone pretty well uses either gasoline or diesel to run their cars. However if we were to switch over to ethanol fuel, using gasoline and diesel would be long gone. As (Nrcan.gc.ca, 2013) states ethanol fuel is a liquid alcohol which has hydrogen, oxygen, and carbon being added to it. However the actual ethanol is not made until a crop such as wheat or corn undergoes the process of fermentation.
It 's impossible to watch a political debate without hearing about conflict. Both parties seem eager to discuss Americas current predicament. Some of they 're solutions appear to be more logical than others. Military vehicles and weaponry are often mentioned in the discussion. Some candidates have suggested that these components are out of date.
We recently did a debate on a major problem in the world today, environmental issues. Two students were given a topic, like landfills, deforestation, wildfires, etc., and had to debate on pros and cons on whether or not it is good for the environment. I did not like the setup of the debate because I could not hear some people and I did not feel fully engaged in the conversation. Overall, I liked how we were free to talk at times and the connections to real life scenarios. This was the first time I heard about Live Google which I thought was a really cool part of the presentation as I was able to expand on an idea more.
The most known commonly known alcohols are Isopropyl and Ethanol they're both used every day for cleaning wounds to be used as fuel for operating an automobile for and kinds of transportation. “Isopropyl is used to help fight bacteria in open cut wounds on humans and animals. ”(Elaine 9) Ethanol is used for alcohol to be consumed to help but also destroy human lives. Ethanol is mainly used and consumed by automotive technology for gasoline and biofuel productions.
They are two crucial aspects to the topic of energy, but are not included by the UN. A determinant reason that millions of people across the globe have to resort to biomass to cook is that the cost associated with modern energy makes it less accessible (Birol, p.1). This unfortunate situation is due to many reasons. A key reason is that many of the resources required to install energy plants are disproportionally controlled by a few geopolitical actors. This causes large fluctuations on the commodity prices all over the globe, making not only modern energy, but also other basic human development targets, such as shelters and transportations less attainable (Regnier, p.2).
When someone thinks about Vermont, they more often than not imagine a sort of rural paradise. Isolated from most of the world, the Green Mountain State that many a person calls their home grew at its own pace, even when the rest of America changed with the times. Even in 1945, when American G.I.s were coming back from World War II, they likened “peaceful Vermont [as] the perfect antithesis of the horrors of war” and an “agricultural paradise” (Jan Albers; Hands on the Land: A History of the Vermont Landscape; pp. 274). An ideal that exists even in the modern times, as it is believed that Vermont has a thriving agricultural economy. But that was back then, as America was coming back from the war.
“Forests are vital for sustainable development and human wellbeing” said Dr. Emily B. Schultz, Associate Professor of Forestry. Nevertheless the decline of forests over the world last decade has led to grave imbalance of earth's green lung. Undoubtedly, one of the major threats behind the forest‘s cover has been forest fires. This essay paper will give you a glimpse about forest fire.
“Renewable energy resources that is naturally regenerated over a short time scale and derived directly from the sun, indirectly from the sun or from other natural movement and mechanisms of the environment. Renewable energy does not include energy resources derived from fossil fuels, waste product from fossil sources, or waste products from inorganic sources.” There are a few types of renewable energy sources. 1) Wind Energy 2) Biomass 3)
Fossil fuels Fossil fuels are NOT a renewable energy resource it will finish up one day As once we 've burned them all, there isn 't any more, and our consumption of fossil fuels has nearly doubled every 20 years since 1900. This is a particular problem for Oil, because we also use it to make plastics and many other products Coal, Oil and Gas are called "fossil fuels" because they have been formed from the fossilized remains of prehistoric plants and animals.
Heating oil and propane are also used a lot, but primarily by Northeastern U.S states that need heating
Chapter 2: Perspectives Fuel and energy are becoming an asset in our world. In the world, the most common energy source is fossil fuel. Fossil fuels form more than 86% of our total energy in the world. Fossil fuels are commonly used throughout the world. Oil, one of the fossil fuels, is used in producing gasoline, jet fuel and diesel fuel.
Imagine a world where the local wildlife is decimated because of increased carbon dioxide in the atmosphere due to waste byproduct disposed of by factories and leaking of oil reserves into rivers. The air we breathe is no longer safe, and everyone must wear oxygen masks. There is no longer access to clean water, and citizens must resort to drinking out of dirty water sources. The energy resources we use today and have used since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution are continually wreaking havoc on our planet. They are terrible for animals, humans, and the atmosphere alike.
these are based on fossil fuels like coal, petrol, diesel, kerosene and natural gases. Fossil fuels are obtained from biologically degradable materials such as plant and animal but undergoing million years of excessive heat, pressure, chemical and biological reactions. Thus formation of these fuels takes very long time. Also they are non-renewable sources of energy.