Liquid biofuels

Solid biofuels Liquid biofuels Gaseous biofuels... 

Biofuel Liquid fuels that are most commonly derived from plant material, such as sugar and starch crops (ethanol), or vegetable oils and animal fat (biodiesel) and used as a replacement for or additive to traditional fossil fuels (petrol). 

Chemical AG = AH- TAS Hydrogen Biofuels Liquid nitrogen Oxyhydrogen Hydrogen peroxide Biological Starch Glycogen Electrochemical Batteries Flow batteries Fuel cells... 

Biofuels are used to create a wide variety of energy sources. Ever since the harnessing of fire, biomass has been used for heating and conking. Residential burning of biomass continues to be a primary source of fuel in less industrialized nations, but also has been used as fuel for electricity generation, and converted to liquid transportation fuels. 

Another emerging area m biofuels is pyrolysis, which is the decomposition of biomass into other more usable fuels using a high-temperature anaerobic process. Pyrolysis converts biomass into charcoal and a liquid called biocrude. This liquid has a high energy density and is cheaper to transport and store than the unconverted biomass. Biocrude can be burned in boilers or used in a gas turbine. Biocrude also can be chemical by altered into other fuels or chemicals. Use of pyrolysis may make bioenergy more feasible in regions not near biomass sources. Biocrude is about two to four times more expensive than petroleum crude. 

Oritz-Canavate, J. V. (1994). Characteristics of Different Types of Gaseous and Liquid Biofuels and Their Energy Balance. Journal of Agricultural Engineering Research 59 231-238. 

Battelle - Oxford Catalysts Offshore gas-to-liquids, biofuels, 50—50000 tons per year... 

The assessment of the sustainability of the cultivation of energy crops includes the input and recycling of nutrients, the application of pesticides, the water-use efficiency, the consumption of fossil fuels and the balance of soil carbon. The aim is to recycle the nutrients, which is simple in the case of anaerobic digestion by applying the digestate to the field. If crops are combusted many of the minerals can be returned via the ash. In the case of liquid biofuels, exported nutrients are lost and have to be replaced. The application of pesticides, mainly herbicides, can often be reduced in comparison to food production, but the energy yield per hectare might be reduced if the share of weeds exceeds certain thresholds. Water use efficiency,... 

Oil becomes scarce by 2040, but more efficient vehicles using liquid biofuels from biomass farms solve this problem with some help from super clean diesel fuel made from natural gas. 

Liquid biofuels in the form of ethanol and biodiesel products can be imported to a maximum of 30%, corresponding to a default case based on solely domestic biofuel supply. 

Second-generation biofuel technologies make use of a much wider range of biomass feedstock (e.g., forest residues, biomass waste, wood, woodchips, grasses and short rotation crops, etc.) for the production of ethanol biofuels based on the fermentation of lignocellulosic material, while other routes include thermo-chemical processes such as biomass gasification followed by a transformation from gas to liquid (e.g., synthesis) to obtain synthetic fuels similar to diesel. The conversion processes for these routes have been available for decades, but none of them have yet reached a high scale commercial level. 

The same holds true for hydrogen however, biomass yields more kilometres when used via hydrogen in fuel-cell cars than liquid biofuels in ICE cars (see Fig. 7.5). Moreover, as hydrogen is produced via gasification, it is equivalent to second-generation biofuels, as it can use feedstock that does not interfere with the food chain. 

While the enthusiasts can legitimately call hydrogen the ultimate fuel , it is also legitimate to see hydrogen as a compromise it is more cumbersome to distribute and use than liquid fuels it is less efficient than electricity, even when used in a fuel cell. Consequently, hydrogen would not have a significant role as an energy carrier, if the scope for biofuels were unlimited , or if the elusive better battery were invented. However, it is prudent to consider the case that neither of these will come to pass. 

The European Commission wants to have a contribution of 12% energy from renewable sources to the energy budget within the EC in 2010. The relative amount of bio-fuels will increase to a level of 5.75%, this is more than twice the corresponding use of oil. The US Department of energy has set goals to replace 30% of the liquid petroleum transportation fuels with biofuels and to replace 25% of industrial organic chemicals with biomass-derived chemicals by 2025 [7]. 

The role of biocomponents in traffic fuel is increasing. The European Union Directive [1] on the promotion of the use of biofuels for transport purposes states that by the end 2005 traffic fuels should have contained 2% of components produced from renewables. The figure rises to 5.75% by the end of 2010 and up to 20% by the end of 2020. This directive defines biofuel as a liquid or gaseous fuel for transport produced from biomass, biodiesel as a methyl ester produced from vegetable or animal oil, of diesel quality, to be used as biofuel and synthetic biofuel as synthetic hydrocarbons or mixtures of synthetic hydrocarbons, which have been produced from biomass. The European Commission also encourages member states to lower tax rates on pure and/or blended biofuels, to the offset cost premium over petroleum-based fuels [1, 2]. 

---