Bio fuels

What are bio fuels?

· They are any liquid, solid or gaseous fuels made from organic matter (plant or animal matter)

· There are 2 main types of biofuels:bioethanol and biodiesel

· Also known and agrifuel

Which of the bio fuels are we already using?

· Starch and sugary plants such as corn, wheat or sugar cane

· Oily plants such as rape seed, soya beans or jatropha, palm oil

· Vegetable oils and animal fats

What other bio fuels are scientists look at for converting into fuel?

· Microbiological sources

· wood and straw

· Algae

· Organic waste

· canola oil and waste cooking oil and whey in New Zealand

Are bio fuels better for our environment than fossil fuels? Discuss.

· They reduce carbon dioxide emissions better air quality

· Biodiesel is also non-toxic, biodegradable

· Growing crops for biofuel absorbs the carbon that biofuels emit

· Can help to halt and in some cases reverse our current rising levels of greenhouse gas

· It can be made from many sources such as plant material, fungi and algae

· Can be potentially reproduced on a massive scale

· They will end our need to depend on oil from oil producing countries

· Biofuels can also help to stimulate jobs locally

· They are also much safer to handle

· Cause lesser long term health effects on the human body.

Disadvantages

· Machines that are used to cultivate and produce them still have some problems with carbon emissions

· Our technological process to produce biofuels are too costly

· Billions of dollars of research money into having a manufacturing process that will produce them at a cheaper rate.

· We still don't have anywhere near the amount of biofuel converted cars to be able to take advantage of this fuel source.

· Once we are able to build large manufacturing plants we will need to find a way to deal with the very bad smell that is the outcome of the biofuel production cycle

Are bio fuels cheaper than fossil fuels?

No they are not see the points listed above

Bio fuels have risks attached to them. The following quote gives you some idea.

“However, UN-Energy reports that a rapid increase in liquid biofuel production will place significant stress on land and water resources at a time when global demand for food and forest products is already growing rapidly. If biofuel crop production drives additional deforestation--as appears to be the case with palm oil demand in Southeast Asia--bioenergy might not result in GHG reductions relative to fossil fuels. Furthermore, creating biofuels favors large-scale production, and the use of mono-cropping could lead to biodiversity loss, soil erosion and nutrient leaching.

When it comes to societal impacts, the UN report warns that food and land prices could be driven up, thus threatening food security in the developing world. And the potential positive impacts of increased commodity prices on poor, small-scale farmers might not be realized if they are driven from their land by more competitive, large-scale agribusiness.”

Are our food crops under threat?

Will the land currently being used for food production be at risk? Investigate this ‘negative aspect’ to producing bio fuels.

The gold rush has begun. Ditch oil and buy corn - as much as you can. It's a sure-fire investment. At least that's the message you might have picked up from the headlines in recent months. Soon, we're told, corn crops will be as valuable as black gold. Not because tortilla chips are the next big diet fad, but because corn and a handful of other crops are being hyped as the fuel sources of the future.

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