Biofuels
Back when the first cars were made the original plan was for diesel engines to run on peanut oil. However, discoveries of petroleum deposits replaced the peanut oil idea as the former was cheaper, and continued to be so for decades. Due to the rise in price of oil and the concern of excessive carbon dioxide emissions, biofuels have recently regained attention.
Crude oil can be looked at as an ‘ancient biofuel’, considering biofuels are also plant matter, they are just millions of years younger and haven’t been buried underground.
Gasoline is sometimes blended with a biofuel-ethanol. This is the same as an alcoholic drink, except it’s made from heavily processed corn. There are various ways of making biofuels, but they generally use chemical reactions, fermentation and heat to break down starches and sugars. The waste products of these reactions is used to produce fuels that cars can use.
Biofuels are beginning to become popular around the world, different countries using different methods or plants to produce an effective fuel. Brazil, for example, has turned sugarcane into ethanol and some cars there can run purely on ethanol, rather than with the additional fossil fuels.
Biofuels seem like a great solution to the emission of carbon dioxide, increasing price and depleting supply of oil, that petrol engines need to function.
Unfortunately, it’s not that simple. The growing and harvesting of the crops, watering, fertilizing and use of pesticides consumes a lot of energy. Plants reduce the Co2 in the atmosphere and even though they are a renewable resource, with plants being harvested at a fast rate, it won’t be long before there won’t be enough to produce oxygen, and produce fuel.
Crude oil can be looked at as an ‘ancient biofuel’, considering biofuels are also plant matter, they are just millions of years younger and haven’t been buried underground.
Gasoline is sometimes blended with a biofuel-ethanol. This is the same as an alcoholic drink, except it’s made from heavily processed corn. There are various ways of making biofuels, but they generally use chemical reactions, fermentation and heat to break down starches and sugars. The waste products of these reactions is used to produce fuels that cars can use.
Biofuels are beginning to become popular around the world, different countries using different methods or plants to produce an effective fuel. Brazil, for example, has turned sugarcane into ethanol and some cars there can run purely on ethanol, rather than with the additional fossil fuels.
Biofuels seem like a great solution to the emission of carbon dioxide, increasing price and depleting supply of oil, that petrol engines need to function.
Unfortunately, it’s not that simple. The growing and harvesting of the crops, watering, fertilizing and use of pesticides consumes a lot of energy. Plants reduce the Co2 in the atmosphere and even though they are a renewable resource, with plants being harvested at a fast rate, it won’t be long before there won’t be enough to produce oxygen, and produce fuel.