Biofuels are a common renewable energy source that comes in bioenergy form as derived from organic waste. Organic waste can either be rural or urban. These biofuels also go by the name of agrofuels. They come from organic matter which encompasses plant products such as corn sugar cane, wheat, soya beans, straw, animal fats, vegetable oils, algae, jatropha, and the like. These fuels have huge potential across sectors and industries. However, in the present, they are mainly used in the transportation industry, specifically in the form of liquid biofuels, for the benefits of less pollution and easy fuel storage that they offer. If you look at rural areas, though, the use of biogas is an ideal alternative for its availability and cost. It is often used for cooking in the form of LPG.
Biofuel technology is not entirely a new concept. Its history traces back to the 1800s when Rudolf Diesel utilized peanut oil to operate a compression engine. At the same time, Nicolaus Otto also developed a spark-ignition engine that runs on ethanol. Fast forward to recent years, there are ongoing developments in this technology and its contribution to the future.
When it comes to biofuels, you can classify them into two categories. You have the first-generation biofuels and the second-generation biofuels. First-generation biofuels come from starch, vegetable oil, and sugar. Second-generation biofuels, on the other hand, come from sustainable feedstocks. Some of the common examples of the first-generation biofuels include biodiesel, bio alcohol, vegetable oil, green diesel, biogas, bio-ether, solid biofuels, and syngas. They are typically used for the range of industrial and domestic functions that they offer. Some examples of second-generation biofuels that are still being developed include wood diesel, lignocelluloses, algae fuel, bio-methanol, and cellulosic ethanol. They are developed to improve energy efficiency and increase yields. All these outcomes can be possible through feedstock sustainability and microbiological research.
Two of the primary benefits of liquid biofuels and biofuels as a whole are free from pollution and being cost-effective. Unlike your typical energy sources, biofuels require low economic stimulation, low carbon emissions, easy handling, easy manufacturing, and reduced dependency on fuel sources coming from foreign countries.
To this day, biofuels remain one of the most promising alternatives to obtaining energy from fossil fuels. They help reduce the constant need of this power-hungry and developing world for fossil fuels as their main energy source. While the future of biofuels is still unclear, you have to understand that how you can harness the energy that comes from them matters a lot. Currently, biofuel status does not meet the energy locations because of the lack of proper technology as well as other limitations. More research studies are required to benefit the most from the potential that these renewable sources of energy offer. Of course, their benefits to mankind and the overall environment should be well considered.
Liquid biofuels, in particular, can be obtained from syngas with the use of biological and thermochemical technologies. This combination of processes requires a primary gasification step of transforming wastes into syngas or synthetic gas. The succeeding transformation of the gaseous carbon into organic alcohols and acids then proceeds. Because of the high specific energy required in advanced liquid biofuels, they are often utilized in the aviation industry.