Alternative Energy - Vegetable Based Biofuels

There are two main types of biofuels which are already available to some extent, ethanol and vegetable oils.

Oil based biofuels can be produced from a wide variety vegetable oils such as Castor oil, Coconut oil, Corn oil, Cottonseed oil, False flax oil, Mustard oil, Palm oil, Peanut oil, Radish oil, Rapeseed oil, Ramtil oil, Rice bran oil, Safflower oil, Salicornia oil, Soybean oil, Sunflower oil, Algae oil, Copaiba, Honge oil, Jatropha oil and Jojoba oil. Plants containing a high amount of starch/sugar such as sugar cane, sugar beet, and sweet sorghum can be used to produce ethanol (ethyl alcohol) using a fermentation process.

In fact almost any photosynthetic plants can be used for biofuel production, however some plants yield their biofuels more readily and with greater efficiency than others.

Vegetable oil based biodiesel fuels can be safely blended with conventional petroleum derived diesel fuels and used in most vehicles without modification (although older vehicles that use rubber fuel hoses and pump seals need to have these components replaced, car manufacturers have been using synthetics in place of rubber since the late 80’s). The use of vegetable oil as fuel has beeen shown to extend diesel engine life and has been used in Europe for over 20 years now. In fact the original diesel engine produced by Rudolf Diesel in 1892 ran on peanut oil!

Ethanol type fuels can also be used in many vehicles without modification but only up to a point, 10-15% ehtanol/gas mix seems to be safe for most vehicles, however simple adjustments to the fuelling system can increase these figures greatly. It is worth noting that Henry Ford designed the Model T Ford to run on 100% ethanol! In the US several manufacturers produce flex-fuel vehicles can run on 0% to 85% ethanol mix (in fact they could run on 100% ethanol but this is currently prohibited).

However there is growing controversy surrounding these existing biofuels. In the case of ethanol, it is reported that although the use of ethanol in vehicles reduces CO2, carcinogenic benzene and butadiene emissions, but the levels of formaldehyde and associated compounds such as such as formalin and acetaldehyde are greatly increased generating more ground level ozone (which has led to legislation effectively banning ethanol as a fuel in some states). Then there is the huge food versus fuel debate, diverting crops for biofuel use to the detriment of the food supply is thought to have caused a steep rise in global food prices and increased food scarcity.

It is likely that the future of the biofuel industry lies with non food crops and second generation biofuels (using the residual non-food parts of current crops, such as stems, leaves and husks that are left behind or from other organic waste). The current front runner in the biofuels race has to be algae fuel, described by some as third generation biofuel. Algae straijns such as Botryococcus braunii and Chlorella vulgaris, can be cultivated in vast quantities on non arable land with no fertilsers and very low input energy requirements. Producing over 30 times more energy per acre than conventional food crops algae could well be the future of biofuel, in fact we are already seeing new terminology appearing in technical journals such as algaculture and oilgae!