BioFuels as Alternative Sources of Energy

The field of Alternative and renewable sources of energy is full with diverse sources and resources, all of which are replete with manifold promise and potential. One of these is the source of Biofuels,which are produced by converting organic matter into fuel instead of discarding them simply as waste matter. This includes the use of ethanol and derivatives of plants such as soybean, sugar cane, vegetable and corn oils. Of course, it is an important alternative to the current fossil fuels we all rely intently upon-still, all ethanol products are not usable as an alternative energy source. Still, statistics from the International Energy Agency (IEA) postulate that by 2025, up to 10 % and by 2050, up to 30% of the world’s energy needs (in terms of being used mostly as gasoline) can be met by ethanol as compared to 2% being met today.

Thus, we need to make a lot of development in this field to utilize the proper economic and practical benefits offered by the biofuels. The most important step is to make the biofuels as energy efficient as gasoline which is made from petroleum. Until and unless we make ethanol as efficient as gasoline, we will only be putting more pressure on our farmlands to grow more biofuel crops and not get adequate returns on our investment. Our efforts which are input have to be made profitable and worthwhile by the sum total of output or else we are on the wrong path, this is the standard on which energy efficiency can be measured. Right now, most of the ethanol is derived from corn and is only about 20% energy efficient and Biodiesel fuel is about 69% energy efficient as compared to 75% efficiency of petroleum derived gasoline. However, a glimmer of hope has arisen with the possibility of charting out more progress in the field of cellulose-derived ethanol which peaks at 85% efficiency, the highest percentage among the current lot of alternative energy probables.

The current economic and political factors-recession, national instability in areas like-middle east, wars and terrorism, uncooperative oil rich nations and so on, has led to the mass awareness of the necessity to shift reliance from oil which in turn has led to a surge among analysts in predicting a boost for and surge in biofuel research, development and availability. This has also led to a shift in the focus of stock market investors as is evident from recent stats which show that they are expecting better profitability to from biofuels and not from oil investments. A worldwide shift indicates that there exists a real possibility of biofuels supplying a major part-as high as 7% – of the world’s need for total transportation fuels by 2030 as demand for diesel and gasoline will dramatically slow down and all the major governments will continue to provide incentives to encourage the use of eco-friendly fuel.

Already, major actions are being taken by nations such as Brazil-which is world’s biggest producer of sugar derived ethanol; United States-which is world’s second largest biofuel producer and even European Union which has jumped on the bandwagon of biodiesel production -mostly from oils of rapeseed, soybean and palm.

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