Know The Importance of Biofuels
Biofuels are produced by converting organic matter into fuel for powering our society. We will be using these fuels as a substitute to the fossil fuels that we are currently depending upon for energy source. The biofuels umbrella includes under its aegis ethanol and derivatives of plants such as sugar cane, as well as vegetable and corn oils. But ethanol products are not the only ones developed for gasoline purposes. The International Energy Agency (IEA) tells us that ethanol could comprise up to 10 percent of the world’s usable gasoline by 2025, and up to 30 percent by 2050 but today, the percentage figure is only two percent.
However, we have a long way to go to refine and make economic and practical these biofuels that we are researching and a study by Oregon State University proves this. We still have to develop an alternative to gasoline (from petroleum) that is equally, if not more efficient and practical. The amount of usable energy that we can draw from a certain amount of input energy for our daily needs measures up the energy efficiency. It never occurred that mankind has employed anything that obtained more energy from output than from what was the needed input. The input energy is what it takes to produce the end-product which is the energy that’s essential for our necessities and the process by which these energies are converted and put to use is what greatly matters. According to a study by the OSU, the energy efficiency of corn-derived ethanol was found to be only 20% and that gasoline made from petroleum is 75% energy efficient with 69% energy efficiency for the Biodiesel fuel. However, the study did turn up one positive: cellulose-derived ethanol was charted at 85% efficiency, which is even higher than that of the fantastically efficient nuclear energy.
The Chicago Stock Exchange has a grain futures market which is starting to “steal” investment activity away from the oil futures in NY, as investors are definitely expecting better profitability to start coming from biofuels. In fact it is now believed among scientific circles that by 2030, around thirty percent of the world’s fuel used for transport will be supplied by these fuels. It is believed that our use of diesel and gasoline will dramatically reduce as soon as governments start promoting and investing in these ‘more eco-friendly’ fuels.
some countries have seen the benefits and have decided to set aside land for the growth and development of biofuels. They are now in a position where they produce, each year, 3. Even the US have go in on the act and now produce the second highest amount of biofuels in the world after Brazil. Meanwhile the European Union lags way behind with only four million tonnes per year. Most of this biodiesel fuel is derived from rapeseed oil with some from soybean oil and a little from palm oil which combined make up the remaining twenty percent.
Tags: , biodiesel fuel, cellulose, chicago stock exchange, corn oils, energy efficiency, energy source, ethanol, fossil fuels, futures market, grain futures, input energy, international energy agency, investment activity, nuclear energy, oil futures, oregon state university, organic matter, percentage figure, sugar cane, usable energy