The
fast-receding popularity of fossil fuel and the steadily increasing global
demand for energy has necessitated the generation of alternate fuels in order
to counter the rapidly increasing global deposition of carbon dioxide, which is
leading to drastic global warming.
In this regard, the United States is taking
a lead in biofuels production by virtue of its vast fertile plain area, but
there are other countries, mainly in South America, where biofuel production is
limited due to terrain and climate conditions.
There is also some political
volatility existing over the use of Biofuels in lieu of fossil fuel because the
major exporters of fossil fuel are in China.
The major political opposition in
Brazil to the use of Ethanol was because of the fact, that it was perceived
that it would deplete the country's rain forests and also cause substantial
deforestation.
This issue was again raised during the recent Brazil election
when Dilma, the former Workers' Party president was asked by her opponents,
"What do you plan to do about China?".
Brazil has recently become the center of
attention in world biofuel talks, because during the past few years they have
been producing very high amounts of Ethanol out of Ligna, which is a by-product
of the sugar cane industry.
Brazil has been utilizing Ligna for producing
ethanol since the late 70s, although at that time they produced only small
amounts of biofuel.
The world biofuel debate is based on the theory that
burning of biofuels will cause significant amounts of carbon dioxide to
be released into the air, which will in turn result in catastrophic climate
change, accelerating glacier retreat, and extinctions of some wildlife species.
Although there is substantial controversy over the issue of mitigation of
climate change and the effect it will have on future human societies and
agriculture, Brazil is concerned about the effects of global warming on their
rain forest.
Since Ethanol is derived from biomass, Brazil
has been working hard to diversify their fuel supply, but they still rely on
petroleum as their primary energy source, with Brazil being the 10th largest
producer of petroleum in the entire world.
Brazil's national fuel economy is
centered around petroleum production and they produce 90% of their fuel from
petroleum. Brazilian ethanol producers are trying to tap into new sources of
renewable energy, but so far they have not been successful.
The political
situation in Brazil is currently very unstable and many Brazilians are against
making the leap into biofuel production because of the enormous amount of money
involved.
Biofuels
are made from biomass or plant life such as corn, switchgrasses, and hemp.
There are two main types of biofuel; bio-alcohol and biodiesel.
Biodiesel is a good alternative for petroleum fuels. It contributes an important role in go green in India. Biodiesel is made up of used cooking oil and a source of renewable energy.
India is fighting with the air quality index (AQI), and it is drastically rising every year, which creates a problem for livelihood. Here, Biodiesel can help in the reduction of greenhouse gases and carbon dioxide in our environment. Ge- Energetic Biofuels is formed, keeping a focus on developing society into a green and clean place to live in.
Biomass is
considered better than gasoline for both its economic feasibility and its
environmental sustainability. The biggest challenge for biomass in terms of
being a good replacement for gasoline is how to get it from being bio-archaized
(the process of turning biomass into sugars) to being an aerobic fuel, able to
burn in a typical engine.
This is a big hurdle, but there is hope as recent
technological breakthroughs have enabled the conversion of biomass into bio-alcohol.
To learn more about biofuels
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