What are examples of biofuels?

Answer 1

Biofuel is derived from biomass — recently living organisms or their metabolic byproducts, such as feces from cows. It is a renewable energy source, unlike other natural resources such as petroleum, coal, and nuclear fuels. Agricultural products specifically grown for use as biofuels include corn and soybeans, primarily in the United States; flaxseed and rapeseed, primarily in Europe; sugar cane in Brazil; palm oil in South-East Asia; and jatropha (though not an agricultural product) in India. Biodegradable outputs from industry, agriculture, forestry and households can be used; examples include straw, timber, manure, rice husks, sewage, biodegradable waste, and food leftovers; they can be converted to biogas through anaerobic digestion. Biomass used as fuel often consists of underutilized types, like chaff and animal waste. The quality of timber or grassy biomass does not have a direct impact on its value as an energy-source.

Answer 2

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Answer 3

To start answering your question, is important to know that biofuels are any fuel comprised of organic matter that is available on a renewable or recurring basis.

I think that the use of biofuels is excellent because, for example, their use in transportation can help our society to reduce air pollution, greenhouse gas emissions, and its dependence on foreign oil while creating new jobs and helping to grow the economy.

Another huge advantage of biofuel over most other fuel types is that it is biodegradable, and so it is relatively harmless to the environment if spilled. In addition, Biofuels show the potential to provide many of the same benefits as renewable hydrogen but could be available and affordable in a much shorter period of time.

As you asked, here are examples of biofuels (know that some of them are still under development):

1. Biologically produced alcohols (ethanol, methanol, propanol and butanol)

2. wood or dried waste (including dung)

3. Landfill gas (LFG)

4. Biodiesel

5. Biogas

6. biomass-to-liquid (BTL)

7. Vegetable oil

8. BioHydrogen

9. Bio-DME

10. Biomethanol

11. HTU diesel

12. Fisher-Trpsch diesel (FT)

Answer 4

Biofuel is derived from biomass — recently living organisms or their metabolic byproducts, such as feces from cows. It is a renewable energy source, unlike other natural resources such as petroleum, coal, and nuclear fuels. Agricultural products specifically grown for use as biofuels include corn and soybeans, primarily in the United States; flaxseed and rapeseed, primarily in Europe; sugar cane in Brazil; palm oil in South-East Asia; and jatropha (though not an agricultural product) in India. Biodegradable outputs from industry, agriculture, forestry and households can be used; examples include straw, timber, manure, rice husks, sewage, biodegradable waste, and food leftovers; they can be converted to biogas through anaerobic digestion. Biomass used as fuel often consists of underutilized types, like chaff and animal waste. The quality of timber or grassy biomass does not have a direct impact on its value as an energy-source.

Biofuels are currently significantly less carbon neutral than other forms of renewable energy due to the high use of fossil fuels in the production of biofuels. The combustion of biofuels produce carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. The carbon in biofuels is often taken to have been recently extracted from atmospheric carbon dioxide by plants as they have grown. The potential for biofuels to be considered to be "carbon neutral" depends upon the carbon that is emitted being reused by further plant growth. Clearly however, cutting down trees in forests that have grown for hundreds, or thousands of years for use as a biofuel, without the replacement of this biomass would not have a carbon neutral effect. Many people believe that a way to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere is to use biofuels to replace non-renewable sources of energy.

Answer 5

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Answer 6

From Wikipedia:

First Generation Biofuels

'First-generation fuels refer to biofuels made from sugar, starch, vegetable oil, or animal fats using conventional technology'[5]

Biofuels are commonly used throughout the world. The most common use for biofuels is automotive transport. Essentially a biofuel can be produced from any short term carbon cycle organic compound; due to this there is a high variety of resources and therefore many types of biofuels, below is a list of the more commonly used biofuels.

Vegetable oil

Main article: Vegetable oil used as fuel

Vegetable oil used as a fuel is produced using the same methods as vegetable oil used for consumption. The quality of the oil may be a lot lower for fuel use. Vegetable oil can be used in many older diesel engines (equipped with indirect injection systems), but only in the warmest climates. Usually it is turned into biodiesel instead. No engine manufacturer explicitly allows any use of vegetable oil in their engines.

Biodiesel

Main article: Biodiesel

Biodiesel is the most common biofuel in Europe. It is produced from any oil or fat using transesterification to get a liquid similar to mineral diesel. It can be used in any diesel engine and can be mixed with mineral diesel in any percentage. In some countries manufacturers cover many of their diesel engines under warranty for 100% biodiesel use, although Volkswagen Germany, for example, asks drivers to make a telephone check with the VW environmental services department before switching to 100% biodiesel (see biodiesel use). Many people have run thousands of miles on biodiesel without problem, and many studies have been made on 100% biodiesel. In many European countries, 5% biodiesel blend is widely used and is available at thousands of gas stations[1][2].

Ethanol

Main article: Ethanol fuel

Ethanol is the most common biofuel worldwide. It is an alcohol fuel. It can be produced from wheat, corn and sugar cane and many other biomass stocks. The production methods used are fermentation of the sugars, distillation and dehydration. Ethanol can be used in the petrol engine as a replacement to gasoline; it can be mixed with gasoline to any percentage, see common ethanol fuel mixtures for information on ethanol. However, until the recent introduction of new engines, cars would need to have their engines modified in order to run with 100% alcohol.

Butanol

Main article: Butanol fuel

Butanol is often claimed as a direct replacement for gasoline. It is not in wide spread production at this time, and engine manufacturers have not made statements about its use[verification needed]. While on paper (and a few lab tests) it appears that butanol has sufficiently similar characteristics with gasoline such that it should work without problem in any gasoline engine, no widespread experience exists. Butanol is formed by ABE fermentation (acetone, butanol, ethanol) and experimental modifications of the process show potentially high net energy gains with butanol as the only liquid product. Allegedly, butanol can be burned "straight" in existing gasoline engines (without modification to the engine or car), produces more energy and is less corrosive and less water soluble than ethanol, and can be distributed via existing infrastructures.

Methanol

Main article: methanol

Methanol, which is now produced from natural gas, can also be produced from biomass — although this is not economically viable at present. The methanol economy is an interesting alternative to the hydrogen economy.

Alcohols

Main article: Alcohol fuel

Biologically produced alcohols, most commonly ethanol and methanol, and less commonly propanol and butanol, are produced by the action of microorganisms and enzymes through fermentation.

BioGas

Main article: biogas

Biogas is produced by the process of anaerobic digestion of organic material by anaerobes. It can be produced either from biodegradable waste materials or by the use of energy crops fed into anaerobic digesters to supplement gas yields. The solid byproduct, digestate, can also be used as a biofuel.

Biogas contains methane and can be recovered in industrial anaerobic digesters and mechanical biological treatment systems. Landfill gas is a less clean form of biogas which is produced in landfills through naturally occurring anaerobic digestion. If it escapes into the atmosphere it is a potent greenhouse gas.

Oils and gases can be produced from various biological wastes:

* Thermal depolymerization of waste can extract methane and other oils similar to petroleum.
* GreenFuel Technologies Corporation developed a patented bioreactor system that uses nontoxic photosynthetic algae to take in smokestacks flue gases and produce biofuels such as biodiesel, biogas and a dry fuel comparable to coal.[6]

Solid Biofuels Examples include wood, charcoal, and dried excrement.

[edit] Second Generation Biofuels

'Second-generation fuels are made from lignocellulosic biomass feedstock using advanced technical processes'[5]

Second generation biofuels use biomass to liquid technology. The following second generation biofuels are under development:

* BioHydrogen
* Bio-DME
* Biomethanol
* HTU diesel
* Fischer-Tropsch diesel

Bio-DME, Fischer-Tropsch, BioHydrogen diesel and Biomethanol all use syngas for production. This syngas is produced by gasification of biomass. HTU (High Temperature Upgrading) diesel is produced from particularly wet biomass stocks using high temperature and pressure to produce an oil.

BioHydrogen is the same as hydrogen except it is produced from a biomass feedstock. This is done using gasification of the biomass and then reforming the methane produced. BioHydrogen can be used in fuel cells to produce electricity.

Bio-DME is the same as DME but is produced from a bio-sources. Bio-DME can be produced from Biomethanol using catalytic dehydration or it can be produced from syngas using DME synthesis. DME can be used in the compression ignition engine.

Biomethanol is the same as methanol but it is produced from biomass. Biomethanol can be blended with petrol up to 10-20% without any infrastructure changes. [7]

HTU diesel is produced from wet biomass. It can be mixed with fossil diesel in any percentage without need for infrastructure. [8]

Fischer-Tropsch diesel (FT)diesel is produced using gas-to-liquids technology. FT diesel can be mixed with fossil diesel at any percentage without need for infrastructure change.

Answer 7

im not sure, co2