MyGreenHealth

As people are looking for alternative sources of energy to the traditional sources like fossil fuels, one of the most important areas to develop more is the use of biodiesel.  The terms biodiesel and biofuel are used interchangeably. Both terms refer to fuel that is made totally from plants which are 100% renewable energy source. You harvest them and just grow again. Some plants must be replanted, such as corn, but some plants like switchgrass just grow back with only minimal human intervention.

The main selling point offered by those who propose using biodiesel is that the fuel has no petroleum at all. But biodiesel can be mixed with petroleum products to create a biodiesel blend. Pure biodiesel fuel can be used only in diesel engines, but biodiesel blends can be used in most vehicles that are running on the road today. The most popular blend is 90% gasoline with 10% biodiesel. This can mean at least a 10% decrease in gasoline usage, and it’s an idea whose time is now so ripe for usage.

Pure biodiesel fuel can be used undiluted in diesel engines. That makes it a viable alternative fuel even for farm equipments. This is the reason why increasingly more farmers and ranchers are now looking at biodiesel as a good option to diesel coming from crude oil. The nice thing is that they can actually make the fuel themselves. They can grow a crop like corn or switchgrass, process it and use it in all of their diesel equipment, almost free which is theoretically an appealing idea.

The process to make biodiesel fuel is termed as transesterfication. And there are byproducts generated, including methyl esters and glycerin. But the good news is that no sulfur or carbon byproducts are produced.

Therefore, biodiesel fuel is clean burning, and it exceeds all of the standards set by the 1990 Clean Air Act and Amendments. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) allows biodiesel fuel to be sold and distributed on commercial scale. Other alternative fuels can’t be sold commercially as fuel for cars because they do not meet the EPA’s fuel specifications.

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The Business Of BioFuels

There is no doubt that it would be easy to link the dots from the biofuels promotions to high grain prices to rising food costs. And since I know there is now an emerging great interest in biofuels and its lucrative potential, boy do I have a very attractive deal for you. Without the effort of this admirable lawmaker, this could not have come into fruition so you can shower Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa a lot of gratitude though I don’t think this is what he had in mind when he pushed biofuels to our consciousness.

Sen. Grassley is a model Midwestern Republican who gets top ratings from farmers and the chamber of commerce. He is a diligent worker who has never missed a vote and as a consequence his constituents give him a high rating and good political goodwill. Far from being some left-leaning liberal, he’s not really an environmentalist or longtime energy saver. However, he succeeded to put biofuels on the map in effects. The profit map, I mean.

Sen. Grassley inserted a “Blenders Credit” into the Jobs Act of 2004. It awards a $1 per gallon credit for blending diesel with biofuels. He meant for it to benefit his corn-farming folks back home. The idea has proved so good at encouraging blending that, as of March 2008, the United States is now exporting more bio-blended fuel than it produces. Doesn’t that astonish?

The miracle revival in our oil export game works this way. Someone in another country loads a tanker with 9 million gallons of cheaply produced biofuel and brings it to the United States. Malaysia has been one of the principal origins. And of course, we have Brazil.

Now, once the biofuel load is here, a “blender” pumps in 9,000 gallons of diesel. And voila! You have $9 million dollars in subsidies for blending diesel with biofuel. To make this scam even better, the tanker then sails off to Europe and sells its U.S. subsidized cargo to Europeans which on it face undercuts European producers and farmers. Sounds like another very enterprising operation, right?

Very little of the content comes from the U.S. in this scheme—just .01 content in the extreme case. None of it has to stay here. But the sad thing is that we U.S. taxpayers just spend $9 million to encourage biofuels.

Isn’t this another great moneymaking green idea? You just have to get a tanker.

Capturing Solar Energy

Currently, there are already a lot of viable types of renewable energy as replacement in whole or partial for the traditional fossil fuels. When we say renewable energy, it usually refers to energy from such sources as geothermal heat, sunlight, tides, plants, rain and wind – and all are naturally renewable in nature. As of now, less than 10% of the world’s energy capacity is sourced from natural energy.

Wind power is considered to be the cleanest and the most proficient kind of renewable energy. Consequently, this is steadily gaining worldwide popularity. In Europe, there is a tremendous surge of wind power usage as many countries are investing money in constructing off shore wind farms. And it is nothing to wonder about as only a light breeze is the main requirement to generate this very efficient power.

Aside from companies and organizations investing in large-scale renewable energy production, some technologies behind renewable energy can also be adopted to small-scale grid and even that of residential use type. Just take a look at solar power. As the sun is available for half of the day, it can easily complement other energy sources. Buoyed by government subsidies and promotion, the cost of solar cells is steadily dropping which prompts businesses and individuals to take advantage of the free sun power.

An old renewable energy is coming from raging water which is hydropower. This is already very popular as this has been used for many decades with the use of dams. You might be familiar with Hoover Dam, the world’s largest hydropower. With water speedily flowing from a high spot to a low spot, it generates energy which is transformed into electricity. Hydropower is also possible even without using dams as long as there is a constant current or tide.

Courtesy of the recent oil crisis, biofuels like bioalcohol or bioethanol came into focus. This fuel is produced from the process of fermentation using corn, soy or sugarcane. In its pure form, it can then be used as a substitute to gasoline. Biodiesel can also be made from animal fat, vegetable oils and even recycled grease. Though these fuels can still produce emissions, they are considered as much cleaner and quite beneficial to the machine using.

Renewable energy is here to stay as we know that the conventional fossil fuels will soon be depleted and quite detrimental to our environment.

Bus Running On Soybean Biodiesel

Biofuels are considered to be another promising sources of energy. They are created by processing organic matters into fuel to be use for power. Already getting popular these days, biofuels are good substitute energy source to fossil fuels we heavily depend on.

When we talk about biofuels, we usually refer to ethanol and other derivatives from plants like sugar cane, vegetable oil, coconut oil and corn oils. But then, with the current technology available not all ethanol products can be used as a type of gasoline. In fact, ethanol comprises only a mere 10 percent of the world’s gasoline supply projection for the year 2020 and probably up to 30 percent by 2040. Currently, the figure is estimated at only five percent, though it is growing steadily.

It will still take many years before a new refinement process will be available to make biofuels economically viable and practical for the end users. There are some studies proving this point and projection. The reality is that we have not yet developed biofuels that are at par with the fossil gasoline. Energy efficiency is the gauge of how much usable energy for our desirable purposes is gained from an amount of input energy.

The most important factor to consider is the conversion—the resulting energy is the one useful for our needs — while the input energy is effort needed to produce the end-product. Ethanol from corn is only 20% energy efficient – compared to petroleum’s 75% efficiency.

In recent years, biofuels affected oil futures in the trading floors of New York Stock Exchange. It was due to some analysts who predicted a rush in biofuel use and availability. Meanwhile, in the Chicago Stock Exchange the grain futures market “steal” investment movements away from the popular oil futures. Investors are looking forward for better prosperity courtesy of the biofuels.

It is clearly projected by different analysts that demand and supply for biofuels is heading upwards. One market analyst stated that growth in the demand for diesel and gasoline could significantly slow down if governments all over the world increase their subsidies to firms making and distributing biofuels. Promotion and marketing both from the public and private sectors could also push biofuels development further.

As of now, there are already countries that are seriously bent on biofuels development. The prime example is Brazil – the world’s largest producer of sugar-derived ethanols. Brazil generates around four billion gallons of ethanol per year – a world record on its own.

The second largest biofuels producer is United States — while also the world’s supreme oil-guzzler.

As for the European Union, its biodiesel generation figure is now over four million tonnes. And majority (80 percent) of it is derived from rapeseed oil while the other 20% is coming from soybean oil and palm oil.

Will there be a future for biofuels? Experts are suggesting there is – if only it is not a competitor for food production.

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