Biofuels and Global Warming: A Study on Biofuel Consumption and its Impact

This report examines the consumption of biofuels and its contribution to global warming. It discusses the different types of biofuels, their advantages and disadvantages compared to other fuels, and proposes measures to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. The report also focuses on the major types of biodiesel in Australia and their impact on reducing carbon dioxide levels globally.

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Table of Contents
1. Executive summary……………………………….…………………………………….7
2. Background……………………………………….……………………………………..8
3. Research findings and discussion…………...…………………………………………8
i. Biofuel consumption and its contribution to global warming …………….…….8
ii. Possible measures to reduce carbon (iv) oxide emission in biofuel consumption
…..........................................................................................................................…...9
iii. Major types of biodiesel in Australia…..………………………………………….9
iv. Major biofuels in Australia and their contribution to reducing carbon (iv) oxide
levels globally……….……………..……………………………………………....10
v. Advantages of biofuels compared to other fuels………………………………...11
vi. Disadvantages of biofuels compared to other fuels...…………….…......….…...12
4. Recommendations …………………………………….……...………………………12
5. Conclusion……………………………..………………………….…………………...13
6. References …………………………………………………...……….……….……….14
7. Appendix………………………………………...……………………………...……...16
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1. Executive summary
Biofuels forms the base from which bioenergy is produced. Biofuels refers to fuels obtained
from organic compositions that is, biomass either by direct or indirect extraction. The biomass
includes animal wastes and plant material. Total energy demand for bioenergy covers at least 10
percent of the worlds hence making biofuel a considerably relevant to study biofuels and its
global warming effects associated with its production, use and distribution (Bockris, 2010).
Traditionally, unprocessed biomass including animal dung, wood fuel and charcoal accounts for
significant source of energy for much a population especially among developing nations where it
is mainly used in heating and cooking.
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2. Background
Technological innovations presently have made it possible to extract biofuels in much efficient
and advanced ways from plant and animal waste to produce liquid, solid or gaseous biomass
products ("Calendar", 2013). Liquid biofuels for instance have been majorly adopted in
transportation sector to run automotive engines in ships, trains, planes as well as cars.
3. Research findings and discussion
i. Biofuel consumption and its contribution to global warming.
To understand and relevantly dissect the contribution of biofuel to global warming, it should be
noted that biofuels are further classified into primary and secondary biofuels. Primary biofuels
refer to the unprocessed biomass such as fuelwood, pellets etc. in raw form for heating, lighting
and cooking purposes (Holou & Kindomihou, 2017). Secondary biofuels on the other hand result
from processed biomass and include biodiesel, ethanol etc. usable in industries and in automobile
engines.
Biofuels comprise significantly of carbon and hydrogen. Combustion of biofuels to derive
energy produces carbon (iv) oxide, carbon (iv) oxide contributes to global warming. However, it
has been reasoned that biofuels produces less greenhouse gasses (GHG) emissions in comparison
to fuels.
It has been argued that biofuels absorb the carbon (iv) oxide as they grow hence can offset the
emissions produced when they are burned for fuel. However, changes in land use such as
deforestations and concrete construction has continuously reduced land covers for biofuel
growths informs of forests, agricultural practice etc. hence rendering the argument impractical.
As a result, there has been overexploitation of biofuels and eliminations of growth areas hence
only a small proportion of carbon (iv) oxide produced during burning can be reabsorbed back by
plants. This means more carbon (iv) oxide emissions into the atmosphere.
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Also, when considering energy return versus energy investment in biofuels it has been found that
the investments outweighs the returns making biofuels environmentally unfeasible. Majority of
feedstock presently considered for biofuel production requires more energy in production that
can ever be derived. Therefore, if biofuel usage grows more widespread, clearly increased levels
of carbon (iv) oxide would results hence accelerated global warming (Ilic, Dotzauer, Trygg, &
Broman, 2014).
ii. Possible measures to reduce carbon (iv) oxide emission in biofuel consumption.
To reduce level of carbon (iv) oxide emission in biofuel consumption, the following measures
are proposed:
a. More emphasis should be put on ese of secondary biofuels as opposed to primary
biofuels. Primary biofuels produce more greenhouse gas emissions as compared
secondary biofuels.
b. Restrictive legislations and tougher measures be put in place and rallied to prevent
unnecessary exploitation of forest covers for biofuels, e.g. deforestation and
uncontrolled development and encroachment to natural reserves.
c. More alternative energy sources such as solar energy and other renewable
environment friendly alternatives should be encouraged and promoted especially in
developing nations.
Globally, a wide range of biofuels are used. In every locality across the world the kind of biofuel
used majorly depend on availability, economic considerations as well as legislation practices on
land use and nature preservations, just to mention but a few.
iii. Major types of biodiesel in Australia.
In Australia, bioethanol and biodiesel are the major kinds of biofuels being produced, mainly
used instead of gasoline and diesel respectively. Globally, Australia produces about 0.1 % of
biodiesel and 0.2% of bioethanol. In year 2016/2017, at least 0.5% of biofuel were utilized for
transport energy in Australia (Ramakrishnan, 2016). The commercial biofuel productions as of
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2018 was 300 million liters with a sixth of the proportion being biodiesel volumes and the
remaining five-sixths being ethanol volumes. A research in 2005/2006 revealed that at least
900,000 households in Australia depend on firewood as the principal method of heating with an
additional 300,000 using firewood unsteadily (Saoud, 2018).
iv. Major biofuels in Australia and their contribution to reducing carbon (iv) oxide
levels globally.
a. Biodiesel
a. With the increasing concerns on petroleum depleted or depleting reserves, the cost
and supply of petroleum products grows costly and rare respectively.
Identification and exploitation of new reserves is practically costly with high
environmental implications that result from the process ("Chapter 5. Low-
Temperature Flow Properties of Biodiesel", 2015). However, creation of biodiesel
is environmentally friendly and is extracted from plants(primarily). Biodiesel also
is created from recycled plant-based materials hence offering a carbon footprint of
as much as eighty-five percent smaller than petroleum diesel. Compared to
petroleum diesel, biodiesel produce about 80% fewer emissions. Therefore,
biodiesel has a considerable contribution in reducing carbon (iv) oxide levels
globally hence reduced risk and impact of global warming.
b. Bioethanol
a. Bioethanol production requires fossil fuels in almost all aspects of its production
including gas emitting mechanized machines and tractors, combine harvesters,
sprayers based on the scale of production. Industrial farms occasionally include
utilization of fertilizers in bulk. Trucking of the resulting inputs to processing
points additionally uses fossil fuel. Bioethanol when combusted in automobile for
energy output formaldehyde and nitrous oxide, whose percentage could clearly
exceed conventional gasoline. Theoretically, bioethanol reduces carbon (iv) oxide
emission but to low margins since fossil fuels are included I almost every aspect
of its development and extraction (Singh, 2013).
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In Australia, facilities that produce biodiesels utilize feedstocks, recycled yellow grease and a
combinations vegetable oil. Such facilities include; ARfuels Barnawatha, ARfuels Largs Bay,
ARfuels Picton, ASHOIL, Biodiesel Industries Australia, Ecofuels Australia, Ecotech Biodiesel,
Macquarie Oil, among others. Bioethanol production on the other hand is basically conducted by
three producers namely; Nowra in New South wales with a production capacity of three hundred
million liters using wheat waste starch; Dalby in Queensland operated by the United Petroleum
producing about 8 million liters of ethanol using sorghum grain; Wilmar in Queensland which is
a Singaporean based company producing about 60 million liters of ethanol by fermenting
molasses which is a byproduct of sugar production. Apart form the above ways, no other
methods have since been documented through which biofuels are produced with the respective
producers aforementioned.
Biofuels could considerably replace fossil fuels in a number of sectors especially when the input
materials are well availed and processing advanced so as to ensure reliable production quantities
and quality.
There a number of sectors where biofuels are continuously adopted instead of fossil fuels
especially among EU nations. Such sectors include Transportation, Energy, environment and
natural resource as well as industrialization sectors. Biofuels is continuously being used also
heating and cooling, provide electricity and power automotive hence reducing overreliance on
fossil fuel s while reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The use of biofuels has been determined
to reduced carbon (iv) oxide levels at percentages of between 60 to 70 percent (Uzawa, 2017).
No ideal or authoritative research seem to document the real values no specific values exist if
only but theoretical.
v. Advantages of biofuels compared to other fuels.
a. The raw materials and production cost of biofuels is lower than other fuels. This
makes biofuels cheaper.
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b. Biofuels productions include recycling of plant materials hence efficient step in
recycling. Other fuels such as fossil fuels are derived from specific materials such as
oil which after exploitation cannot be recycled.
c. Biofuels are renewable energy sources; fossil fuels however are non-renewable.
d. Biofuels production can be achieved locally hence limits overdependence on foreign
nations for energy.
e. Since biofuels can be produced locally, it directly benefits the economy and creates
employment locally as opposed to fossil fuel whereby only oil rich countries can be
involved in exploitation of such reserves before exporting them to other nations.
f. Biofuels produce lower carbon emissions than fossil fuels hence environmentally
friendly.
vi. Disadvantages of biofuels compared to other fuels.
a. Biofuels have lower energy output than fossil fuels hence less efficient.
b. Possible cause of increased food prices as plant are the feedstock of biofuel production.
c. It results to food shortage especially when agricultural crops are neglected as many turns
to more efficient and alternative plants to harvest biofuel energy.
d. More water is required to water biofuel crops as well as processing the fuel, this could
strain regional and local water resources.
4. Recommendations
When carefully implemented, adoption of biofuels would significantly mitigate global problems
including global warming, acid rai n and greenhouse effects (Lechon, Cabal, Caldes, Santamaria,
& Saez, 2010). Considering the basic inputs and production of biofuel, it can locally be adopted
hence can easily be made available for use in any desired destinations where plant life can
survive. This is basically anywhere within the globe.
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Selection of raw material for biofuel productions sound like a hard task theoretically but it is
realistically the simplest (Igathinathane & Sanderson, 2018). The raw materials are classified
into five namely; edible plant oils, non-edible plant oils, used edible oils, microalgae, and animal
fats.
About 95% of first-generation biodiesel is produced from edible plant oils which are readily
available from agricultural industry. Presently, Canada produces biodiesel form rapeseed,
sunflower in Europe, palm in south east Asia, and soybean in United States.
Second generation biodiesel is however produced from exploitation of the cellulosic components
of non-edible plant oils such as from plant stems, leaves, waste, as well as oil seed s. non-edible
oil plants include castor, cotton, jatropha, moringa, etc. (Lan, 2018).
Used edible oil commonly referred to as waste cooking oil are useful in thermal cracking or
anaerobic digestion instead of being dumped on rivers and landfills where they contaminate and
pollute such waters. The free fatty acid (FFA) content of waste cooking oil basis the
categorization as either yellow grease (free fatty acid less than 15 %) or brown grease (free fatty
acid exceeding 15%) (Jaradat, 2013).
Microalgae converts carbon (iv) oxide, sunlight and water into algal biomass. Microalgae are
further classified as cyanophyceae, Chlorophyceae, Bacillariophyceae, and chrysophyceae
(Igem, 2014). Animal fats used in biodiesel production include tallow, lard, chicken fat and fish
fat. Compared to plant crops, these fats recurrently bid an economic advantage for the reason that
they are frequently priced favorably for conversion into biodiesel.
5. Conclusion.
Of all the above raw materials, edible plant oils produce the most carbon (iv) oxide. Microalgae
as well as animal fats presents a more suitable chemical compositions to reduce carbon (iv) oxide
emissions. Adopting refined carbon filters and anaerobic batch at the end of the process would
efficiently and notably contribute to an improved technological system in biofuel production.
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6. References
Bockris, J. (2010). Global Warming. Global Warming. doi:10.5772/10290
Calendar. (2013). Fuel Processing Technology, 80(1), 99-100. doi:10.1016/s0378-
3820(02)00259-x
Chapter 5. Low-Temperature Flow Properties of Biodiesel. (2015). Biodiesel, 87(5), 80-106.
doi:10.1039/9781849734721-00080
Holou, R. A., & Kindomihou, V. M. (2017). The Biofuel Crops in Global Warming Challenge:
Carbon Capture by Corn, Sweet Sorghum and Switchgrass Biomass Grown for Biofuel
Production in the USA. Frontiers in Bioenergy and Biofuels. doi:10.5772/65690
Igathinathane, C., & Sanderson, M. (2018). Biofuel Feedstock: Challenges and Opportunities.
Green Chemistry for Sustainable Biofuel Production, 15-55. doi:10.1201/b22351-2
Igem, U. I. (2014). Sustainable Next Generation Biofuel Production. doi:10.18258/2814
Ilic, D. D., Dotzauer, E., Trygg, L., & Broman, G. (2014). Integration of biofuel production into
district heating – part I: An evaluation of biofuel production costs using four types of
biofuel production plants as case studies. Journal of Cleaner Production, 69, 176-187.
doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2014.01.035
Jaradat, A. (2013). Sustainable Production of Grain Crops for Biofuels. Biofuel Crop
Sustainability, 31-52. doi:10.1002/9781118635797.ch2
Lan, C. Q. (2018). Cultivation of microalgae for biofuel production. Biofuel Crops: Production,
Physiology and Genetics, 84-101. doi:10.1079/9781845938857.0084
Lechon, Y., Cabal, H., Caldes, N., Santamaria, M., & Saez, R. (2010). Avoided global warming
emissions with the adoption of biofuel policies in Spain. International Journal of Global
Warming, 1(1/2/3), 288. doi:10.1504/ijgw.2009.027095
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Ramakrishnan, A. M. (2016). Biofuel: A Scope for Reducing Global Warming. Journal of
Petroleum & Environmental Biotechnology, 07(01). doi:10.4172/2157-7463.1000258
Saoud, K. (2018). Nanocatalyst for Biofuel Production: A Review. Biofuel and Biorefinery
Technologies Green Nanotechnology for Biofuel Production, 39-62. doi:10.1007/978-3-
319-75052-1_4
Singh, B. (2013). Biofuel Crop Sustainability Paradigm. Biofuel Crop Sustainability, 3-29.
doi:10.1002/9781118635797.ch1
Uzawa, H. (2017). Global Warming and Forests. Economic Theory and Global Warming, 169-
192. doi:10.1017/cbo9780511610165.008
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7. Appendix
Figure 1. Role of biofuel in reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
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Figure 2. Variations from national interests on various energy sources in Australia.
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Figure 3. How biodiesel is made.
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