Biofuels: Powering the Future - By Kenneth Go

Biofuels: Powering the Future - By Kenneth Go

The biofuel industry has been the subject of controversy over the past years. Biofuels are touted to be the answer to the pervasive issue of the decreasing supply of natural resources and the escalating prices of fossil fuels such as petroleum. Biofuel is a carbon neutral fuel which creates less greenhouse emissions as the burning of biofuel is on a par with its capacity to absorb carbon dioxide. History of Biofuels Though the utilization of biofuels may appear as a novel idea, the employment of this environmentally conscientious fuel has been in existence in the early 1900s. Rudolph Diesel and Henry Ford both envisioned vehicles running on plant-based fuels. Rudolph Diesel demonstrated at the World Exhibition in Paris, France in 1900 that an engine could operate with the use of peanut oil. Henry Ford, on the other hand, anticipated his Model T car to run efficiently on ethanol. Unfortunately, sometime in between conception and production of both inventors' vision, came petroleum, which has become until now the most widely used source of fuel. Since then, the idea of using biofuels has been re-examined many times especially in the United States. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) passed the Clean Air Act in the 1970 which paved the way for the development of cleaner-burning fuels. Developments in the Biofuel Industry The rise in the oil crisis in the United States back in the 1970s prompted governments to subsidize researches with regard to the possibility of using biofuels as an alternative to environmentally damaging fossil fuels. However, since oil prices took a nose dive from late 80s to early 90s, the interest in the biofuel industry has waned. Recently, as oil prices are ascending once again, a new interest in the production of biofuels is taking place. From terrestrial plants to marine algae and microorganisms, researchers are looking into every possibility of using biofuel as the main source of energy. The U.S. government and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) have been actively bringing into play once again the wide use of biofuels. The Obama Administration is looking into the prospect of setting up three programs that support the biofuel industry: The USDA's Biorefinery Program, Repowering Assistance Payments Program and the Bioenergy Program for Advanced Biofuels. These programs may be found in the Food, Conservation and Energy Act of 2008, otherwise known as the Farm Bill. The programs are lined up to support large-scale biofuel refineries and replace fossil fuel power systems through loan guarantees and payment incentives. In Brazil, a $702M (1.3 billion reais) biofuel initiative was started to restore the deforested areas of the Amazon with palm trees. The trees in subject are to be planted in the state of Para and would be used for future biofuel production. This will sufficiently supply Brazil with 120,000 tonnes of palm oil biofuel, with excess to be exported to Europe. China, on the other hand, tapped the aviation industry through airline giant Boeing in the establishment of sustainable aviation biofuels. The project encompasses agronomy, lifecycle emissions analysis, infrastructure and government support. A joint research between the Boeing Research & Technology and the Chinese Academy of Science's Qingdao Institute of Bioenergy and Biroprocess Technology (QIBEBT) was also launched for the development of algae-based biofuel. Outlooks and Prospects Although biofuels are regarded as the solution to foiling fossil fuel-produced greenhouse emissions, much has still been said about biofuel corollary with regard to food production, biodiversity, deforestation, soil erosion and water sufficiency. The biggest concern here is the possibility of farmers growing crops for biofuel production instead of food production. There is also the issue surrounding greenhouse emissionsthat while biofuels do not discharge sufficient carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide emitted from the burning of biofuel materials is enough to trigger the greenhouse effect. This brings environmentalists and biofuel producers to look more closely into algae as the next best source for biofuels. Algae can produce biomass far rapidly than terrestrial plants do. BP has actually invested $10M in Martek, an emerging algae producer, to produce algae-based biofuels. Despite issues surrounding the upshots created by the production of biofuel, industry growth is predicted to double from 2009 to 2015.

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