Biofuel: an alternative to fossil fuels

1. Biofuel: an alternative to fossil fuels

2. Fossil fuels take millions of years to form and reserves are being depleted much faster than new ones are being formed. These fuels are formed from the fossilized remains of dead plants and animals by exposure to heat and pressure in the Earth's crust over hundreds of millions of years and so are non-renewable resources.

3. Not only are fossil fuels non-renewable - and therefore will eventually run out - they harm the environment by contributing to air pollution. An alternative to fossil fuel is biofuel: fuels made from biomass instead. For example, ethanol can be produced from maize, sugarcane, sorghum and many other plants. Currently the most common use of biofuels is for transportation - as an alternative to gasoline.

4. Using biofuels for cars is not a new idea. In fact, Henry Ford originally designed the Ford Model T to run completely on ethanol. But then crude oil became more cheaply available. However, given environmental concerns and the political issues of oil dependency, biofuel is becoming increasingly important. The simplest way to produce ethanol from maize is using the kernels in a process involving fermentation and distillation, in the same way that many alcoholic drinks are made. This process is currently not very efficient, though: to produce each gallon of biofuel, nearly the same amount of energy in fossil fuels is used (for the farm machinery, the factory, etc.)

5. New technologies, called second generation biofuel production could be a more efficient way of producing a biofuel called cellulosic ethanol. This exploits the cellulose in other parts of the plant (e.g. stalk) and can be used in other crops too. However, freeing the cellulose from lignin (which hold plants together and makes them able to stay upright) is a more complex process. More work needs to be done on finding a way to make this process cheap and efficient. One major problem to be overcome is the transport of massive amounts of biomass (for example, corn stalks) to the factory, which in itself requires a lot of fuel.

6. In the US, all cars manufactured since 1988 can use fuels containing 20% ethanol, and with minor modifications up to 85% ethanol. A new “flex-fuel” car, the Dodge Caravan. Switching to biofuels would reduce greenhouse gas emissions, decrease our dependence on other countries for oil, and help create a sustainable fuel supply. For more information, see: Renewable Fuels Association http://www.ethanolrfa.org/ Wikipedia, the free encylopedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page US Dept of Energy http://genomics.energy.gov/

7. References and images: Joel K. Bourne, Jr. October 2007. Green Dreams National Geographic. http://www.nationalgeographic.com/ Wikipedia: the free encyclopedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page Biorefinery image: Genome Management Information System, Oak Ridge National Laboratory. http://genomics.energy.gov http://genomics.energy.gov/gallery/biomass/detail.np/detail-881.html