Is energy from biofuel a renewable source, totally environmentally friendly?

8/9/2019 Is energy from biofuel a renewable source, totally environmentally friendly?

1/5

EuropeanPupils

MagazineMichelle Hughes

Priestley College, Warrington, United Kingdom

[email protected]

Introduction

Energy is a very important resource which af-

fects the whole of human population. It is needed for

transport, industry and basic needs such as cooking

and heating the home. The main source of energy

today comes from fossil fuels, which is non renew-

able. This resource cannot be created again for the

next generations. As we use this non renewable re-

source we also release gases such as carbon dioxide

into the atmosphere by combustion. Great amounts

of carbon dioxide have been released into the at-

m o s p h e r e

from power

s t a t i o n s ,

travel and

i n d u s t r y .

The buildup of the

carbon di-

o x i d ecauses the

green house

e f f e c t ,

which in-

creases the

global tem-

p e r a t u r e .

The increasein global

temperature

could have

major ef-

fects to the planet.

Climate changeThe global temperature over the past 100 years

has risen 0.74 degrees Celsius. This is a great in-

crease of temperature in a short time. In Earths his-

tory very low and high temperatures have been ob-served within a long period of time. During this

time, the Earths inhabitants have been adapted

along with the environment. Now with the dra-

matic increase in global temperature, which is taking

place so fast, the Earths inhabitants have not had

time to adapt to the changing environment. This

causes loss of species, which could destroy ecosys-

tems. [1] I think this is unfair to the inhabitants of

Earth, as there will be less diversity of species on the

planet.

Scientists have used ice cores form Greenland

to find out the history of the Earths temperature.

The snow present in the ice cores has different ratios

ofoxygen isotopes existing in layers. This can re-

veal how

cold the air

was at the

time of for-

mation. In

the coldersnow the

concentra-

tion of

light oxy-

gen is

h i g h e r .

This is one

of the

m e t h o d s

that can

help usfind out the

t e m p e r a -

ture of the

earth. [4]

The increase in CO2 levels came from around

the time of the industrial revolution. That period

large amounts of fossil fuels were burnt, which re-

leased vast amounts of CO2 into the atmosphere.

The burning offossil fuels is a major contributor to

the rise in CO2levels in the atmosphere [13].

How does global warming occur?Gases which act as green house gasses are meth-

ane, water and carbon dioxide.35

Is energy from biofuel a renewable source,

totally environmentally friendly?

This graph form NASA shows that there is a dramatic increase

in the levels of CO2 now than any other period in history.[3]


2/5

EuropeanPupils

MagazineBiofuel Energy

The increased level of carbon dioxide has an ef-fect on global temperature, as the sunlight rays can

travel through the atmosphere but carbon dioxide

will trap the infra-red radiation heat. The earth needs

a balance of heat radiation from the sun this can be

explained by this equation:

Total power absorbed = Total power emitted [5]

This means that the release of CO2 is a major

factor in climate change

Bio diesel

Bio diesel is produced when vegetable, animal

and waste cooking oils are put though a process

called trans-esterification. This is when methanol

(alcohol) is put with oil and a catalyst is also added

to speed the chemical reaction. The product of this

reaction can be used as fuel.

This method uses a 65 C temperature and con-

verts 98% of the start products to the end products.

[6][8]Chemistry of the production of biodieselIn order to produce bio diesel a chemical reac-

tion has to occur between a triglyceride molecule

(this can be oil) and a molecule of methanol. This

reaction takes place with a sodium hydroxide cata-

lyst. This will produce bio diesel and glycerol.

The glycerol by-product can then be used in

soaps or cosmetics. [9]

Bio ethanol

Bio ethanol is produced when sugar or starchcrops are grown and put through fermentation to

make the alcohol ethanol.

The plants use photosynthesis to produce glu-

cose, this may be stored as glucose and starch in theplant. Plants such as sugar cane have to go through

hydrolysis which breaks down the complex sugars

(starch) into simple sugars with the use ofenzymes.

Yeast orbacteria will be introduced to the solution.

The yeast orbacteria uses the glucose for respira-

tion and produces ethanol as a by product. [12]

Are biofuels environmentally friendly?Positives for biofuels

We need renewable energy for the future so we

can have energy for heating, cooking and business

and we need jobs for people, so crime and poverty

rates do not increase. We predominately use non

renewable fossil fuels which will eventually run out

and will need to be replaced. As the fossil fuels run

out then the jobs that go along with the fossil fuel

industry will go, leaving people jobless. If there is

biofuel then new jobs will be created so that people

will have access to new jobs. As biofuel is renew-

able then the jobs created will be a lot more sustain-

able. [27] Thousands of jobs will be created in theproduction ofbiofuels in the U.S. [32] I think this is

a good for the economy creating more jobs and

therefore more money and a better quality of life for

people.

As biofuels are in demand as people are now

more aware of environmental issues farmland is

needed for the crops to be grown. Businesses are

now employing farmers from less economically de-veloped countries. This will give their economy a

boost and improve their quality of life. [15] An In-

dian biofuel company has opened a farm which36

[11]

The picture shows jobs in producing

biofuels for the developing countries.


3/5

EuropeanPupils


will produce biofuel in Ethiopia. This will give jobsto the people improving the economy. Also the

country will not have to import the fuels which can

be expensive. [36]

To continue to develop new ways, to improve

the efficiency of alternative energy resources, we

need to keep producing different biofuels, so that we

can keep learning how to make them more efficient

for the next generation. So future generations can

come up with new improved ways of biofuels pro-

duction. Second and third generation biofuels made

from algae could be a very efficient source of en-

ergy. [7]. Scientists have programmed bacteria to

self destruct, so the biofuels can produce high en-

ergy fats for high energy biofuels. [33]

Fossil fuels are our main source of energy for

heating and powering our

cars. Fossil fuels are also

a non renewable source

ofenergy so it cannot be

created for millions of

years. As fuel is alwaysin demand, biofuel is a

great alterative as it is a

renewable source of en-

ergy which can be pro-

duced quickly for genera-

tions to come, since the

plants that make the bio-

fuel can be grown again.

[26] As biofuels are re-

newable, developing

countries can grow theirown crops, as fossil fuels

are not readily available to them. [34]

The US government is implementing a new law

which will help people, who have environmentally

friendly cars using biofuels, save money. So if your

car has low CO2 emissions you could save money.

As Biofuels are carbon neutral meaning that they

use as much CO2 as is given out, they do not add to

the CO2already in the atmosphere. [14] So consum-

ers can save money. I think this is good initiative as

it indicates that environmentally friendly productsare supported by the government. This law is impor-

tant as it helps support 23,000 environment jobs.[35]

Biofuels are proven that they do not produce as

much pollution as conventional diesel. This will improve the quality of air reducing so respiratory ill-

nesses. [16]

Negatives for biofuel

A model produced by the Argonne National

Laboratory states that biofuels can cut carbon emis-

sions by half. However this did not include land use

change.

Biofuels are carbon neutral, meaning that when

the source of the biofuel (such as a sugar beet plant)

used carbon dioxide from the atmosphere for its

growth, the same amount of carbon dioxide is re-

leased back into the atmosphere when it is used as a

fuel. However this does not include the energy

needed to produce the biofuels, such as the harvest-

ing and transportation

of the biofuels. The

production of the bio-

fuel uses fossil fuels,

therefore making the

production of the bio-fuels not completely

carbon neutral. [17]

This has been proven

by a leading scientist

from Princeton Uni-

versity. He states that

the continual use of

biofuels will increase

the amount of CO2 in

the atmosphere due to

external factors such asirrigation and harvest-

ing. [31] I think this is a very important point as bio-

fuels are being promoted as having no negative ma-

jor effect on the environment, while they do. Biofu-

els are a lucrative product; this is due to the increase

in demand, as the public become more aware of cli-

mate change. It is more profitable to produce biofuel

crops than food crops. The farmers will then use

their land for the biofuel crops meaning there will

be less land for food crops, so less food. This will

drive the cost of the crops up and the cost of thefood for the public. This will affect the consumer as

they will have to pay more for their food. [15]

This is true for poor countries such as Mexico,37

Increasingbiodieselin amixturewithconventional

diesel,the amountofharmfulemissionsisreduced

[16]


4/5


5/5

EuropeanPupils


more harm than good from the release ofCO2. Thisextra CO2 comes from the production of the biofu-

els, with machinery which uses fossil fuels. So this

aspect is not environmentally friendly. Along with

the vast water usage for production. The use of the

unsustainable raw materials does not make this way

of getting energy very sustainable, so it is not very

environmentally friendly. The effect of deforestation

is also a major problem, as the loss of species from

the destruction of habitats may ruin whole ecosys-

tems.

I do not think the continual production of biofu-

els will be good for the environment until biofuels,

which do not emit emissions from their production

and therefore be fully carbon neutral, can be pro-

duced. However, it does bring economic benefits

creating new jobs for people, mainly in the develop-

ing countries. So I think improved methods and

technologies for producing energy should be re-

searched in order to find a truly environmentally

friendly energy source.

Bibliography1 http://current.com/search/items/40/loc/false/

q/environment/r/0/s/1/v/1.htm

4 http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/

Features/

Paleoclimatology_IceCores/

5 http://earthguide.ucsd.edu/

virtualmuseum/climatechange1/02_1.shtml

6 www1.eere.energy.gov/biomass/

abcs_biofuels.html

7 www.guardian.co.uk/environment/interactive/2008/jun/26/algae

8 www.esru.strath.ac.uk/EandE/Web_sites/02-03/

biofuels/what_biodiesel.htm

9 www.biodiesel-fuel.co.uk/how-to-make-biodiesel/

12 http://people.bath.ac.uk/np231/

what_is_bioethanol.htm

13 www.wou.edu/las/physci/GS361/Fossil%20fuels/

methane_combustion.jpg

14 www.energy.gov/taxbreaks.htm

15 www.csmonitor.com/Money/2008/0128/p03s03-

usec.html17 http://ezinearticles.com/?Carbon-Neutral---What-

Does-It-Mean?&id=339090

18 www.ecoworld.com/energy-fuels/biofuel-is-not-carbon-neutral.html

19 www.tradeobservatory.org/library.cfm?

refid=100547

20 http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/7309099.stm

21 http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/

uk_politics/7359991.stm

22 www.shell.com/home/content/aboutshell/

our_business/fuels/biofuels/biofuels.html

26 www.therenewableenergycentre.co.uk/biomass-

and-biofuel/

27 www1.eere.energy.gov/biomass/pdfs/

green_jobs_factsheet2.pdf

28 www.independent.co.uk/environment/nature/last-

refuge-of-the-orangutan-401314.html?cmp=ilc-n

29 www.independent.co.uk/news/world/politics/the-

other-global-crisis-rush-to-biofuels-is-driving-up

-price-of-food-808138.html

30 www.sciencedaily.com/

releases/2009/05/090501204627.htm

31 www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/

abstract/115186132 http://gas2.org/2009/03/03/advanced-

biofuels-will-create-thousands-of-

jobs-and-add-billions-to-us-

economy/

33 www.sciencedaily.com/

re-

leases/2009/12/091207173624.htm

34 http://

english.people.com.cn/200511/07/

eng20051107_219624.html

35 www.businessgreen.com/business-green/news/2259444/senate-extends-controversial

36 www.africanews.com/site/list_messages/19907

Iconography3 http://climate.nasa.gov/evidence/

11 www.biofuelsystems.com/chemistry.htm

16 www.ucsusa.org/clean_vehicles/

technologies_and_fuels/biofuels/biodiesel-

basics.html

23 http://shipbright.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/

waterscarcitymap.jpg37 http://static.howstuffworks.com/gif/frozen-fuel-

2.jpg

39

[23]

Is energy from biofuel a renewable source, totally environmentally friendly?

Documents

Transcript of Is energy from biofuel a renewable source, totally environmentally friendly?