Top Research Papers on Biofuels

The growing use of land in countries like Indonesia to grow biofuels has led to members of indigenous communities like the Orang Rimba having to lose their lands and suffer from starvation. The same situation is happening in many other countries in the global South; and it is important to understand that food sovereignty and sustainable farming cannot succeed unless dangerous policies arescrapped.

This article covers the legal requirements regarding the use of renewable fuel. It covers the environmental impacts of using ethanol, cellulosic ethanol, and biodiese as fuel. It discusses the subsidies provided to encourage the use of biofuel. It concludes that the existing programs to encourage the use of biofuel result in adverse environmental impacts and are costly programs that produce marginal public benefits.

Abstract A biofuel cell (BFC) system can transform chemical energy to electrical energy through electrochemical reactions and biochemical pathways. However, BFC faced several obstacles delaying it from commercialization, such as biofouling. Theoretically, the biofouling phenomenon occurs when microorganisms, algae, fungi, plants, or small animals accumulate on wet surfaces. In most BFC, biofouling occurs by the accumulation of microorganisms forming a biofilm. Amassed biofilm on the anode is desired for power production, however, not on the membrane separator. This phenomenon causes severities...

“Biofuels” are transportation fuels like ethanol and biodiesel that are made from biomass materials. These fuels are usually blended with petroleum fuels namely with gasoline and diesel fuel, but they can also be used on their own. Ethanol and biodiesel are also cleaner burning fuels, producing fewer air pollutants. It has drawn significant attention due to increasing environmental concern and diminishing petroleum reserves. Bio-diesel fuel can be made from renewable vegetable oils, animal fats or recycled cooking oils by trans esterification process. Biodiesel is the fastest growing alternati...

The fiber BFC has first realized power generation in the mouse brain for over a month, exhibiting its promising prospect as an energy‐harvesting device in vivo.

A comprehensive database of known enzymes with proven or potential applications in biofuel production through text mining of PubMed abstracts and other publicly available information is developed and a prediction tool ‘Benz’ was developed to identify and classify novel homologues of the known biofuel enzyme sequences from sequenced genomes and metagenomes.

An emulsified biofuel composition comprising: (A) a continuous phase comprising about 50-95 wt% of at least one liquid oil of vegetable or animal origin or mixtures thereof; (B) a water- containing dispersed phase comprising about 1-50 wt% water; (C) about 1-25 wt% of hydroxyl-containing organic compound selected from the group consisting of mono-, di-, tri- and polyhydric alcohols, provided that when a monohydric alcohol is used there is also present at least one of tert-butyl alcohol, at least one C2-C4 alkylene glycol or a mixture of both; (D) about 0.05-10 wt% of at least one emulsifier; w...

(A) and plant or animal origin, or continuous phase comprising at least one of about 50 to 95 wt% of liquid oil mixtures thereof, and water-containing dispersed phase comprising (B) about 1 to 50% by weight of water, ( C) mono-, di-, tri-, and a hydroxyl-containing organic compound selected from the group consisting of polyhydric alcohols, provided that when the monohydric alcohol is used tert- butyl alcohol, at least one of C2~C4 also present at least one alkylene glycol or a mixture of both, comprises a about 1 to 25 wt% hydroxyl-containing organic compound, and (D) about 0.05 to 10 wt% of a...

Biofuel comprising from agricultural products and a fossil fuel, characterized in that it is present in cylindrical pellets comprising up to 30% by weight of coal and from 60 to 70% by weight of a mixture of at least two from agricultural products.

The production of biofuels in Mexico is a fledging project. Lack of planning, the obstacles presented by PEMEX, and the resistance of small farmers have limited their production. Even at this stage, however, some of its effects are increasingly clear: its socio-environmental violence affects the natural resources of peasants and indigenous communities. In addition, Mexico’s trade relationship with the United States, characterized by strong dependency, has affected its food sovereignty in that corn imports have become more expensive because of the increase in U.S. production of corn-derived eth...

The principal types of biofuels that can be obtained from biorenewable energy sources are analyzed. As these sources, various sorts of biomass, which is accumulated upon photosynthetic conversion of solar energy, are considered. A typical feature of biofuel production is combination of chemical and biotechnological approaches.

Biofuels were humanity’s earliest energy carrier in the form of firewood. Forest biomass energy was the dominant energy form used in the United Kingdom, United States, and other industrialized countries before the Industrial Revolution when coal took over. Traditional biomass energy resources such as firewood and straw still dominate energy consumption today in sub-Saharan Africa, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Cambodia, Guatemala, and Haiti, and it is the largest renewable energy source used worldwide. However, biomass energy sources are not always used sustainably. Since these energy sources are ...

A guide to resources on the industrial production and processing of fuel from biomass and its use in agriculture.

本発明は、微細藻類バイオ燃料製造用プラントを提供する。 前記プラントは、内部空間を有するプラント空間部と、前記プラント空間部の内部空間に配置され、外部から提供される微細藻類が含まれた流体を、互いに異なる位置で連続的に循環させて培養する培養部と、前記プラント空間部の内部空間の温度値を、既設定の温度値範囲に含まれるようにする温度調節部を含む。

It is a biojet fuel base containing 90.0% by volume or more of C10 to C12 isoparaffin and 30.0%" of C 10 or C12 at least one isoporaffin.

Progress toward a more sustainable world will require choices between higher and lower priority uses of resources. © 2011 Society of Chemical Industry and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd

Biofuels development has received increased attention in recent times as a means to mitigate climate change, alleviate global energy concerns and foster rural development. Its perceived importance in these three areas has seen biofuels feature prominently on the international agenda. Nevertheless, the rapid growth of biofuels production has raised many concerns among experts worldwide, in particular with regard to sustainability issues and the threat posed to food security. The UN Secretary General, in his opening remarks to the High-level Segment of the 16th session of the UN Commission on Su...

The crops, grasses, trees, algae and cyano-bacteria in the presence of sun perform photosynthesis and store chemical energy in a wide range of feed stocks such as starch, sugars and lipids that can be used for the production of biofuels. The crop plants such as sugar cane, oil palm, sugar beet, rapeseed soyabeans, wheat and corn are extensively used for the production of biofuels such as ethanol, diesel and methane. Due to increasing world population and extensive droughts in major regions pressure on food supplies has resulted in growing concern and has led to a heated food versus fuel debate...

This study analyzes the role of biofuels in different markets. It focuses on the link between volatility in the yields of feedstocks and how these feed through to changes in the prices of biofuel crops under different rules for managing biofuel mandates. Under current mandates the impact seems to be significant, with the greatest being on price of sugar crops, followed by grains and oilseeds. Changes in mandates have different results in the EU, depending on crops and change in yields examined. The paper also looks at the implications of waivers in ‘bad’ years.

The development of alternative, renewable fuels is of global importance due to concerns regarding global warming, environmental protection and diversity and the security of energy supply. Liquid biofuels in particular, such as bioethanol and biodiesel, provide the potential for superior engine performance coupled with reduced particulate emissions, and are increasingly gaining acceptance and market share, particularly in the transportation sector. This chapter provides a concise review of the current knowledge on biodiesel and bioalcohols combustion science and technology. Liquid biofuels prod...

Based on their theoretical predictions, Kliauga, de Gorter, and Just (2008) and de Gorter, Drabik, and Just (2010) argue that the United States and the European Union establish the world ethanol and biodiesel prices, respectively. We test these theories using cointegration analysis and the Vector Error Correction (VEC) model. Weekly price series are analyzed for the major global biofuel producers (European Union, United States, and Brazil) for the period 2002 – 2010. Polices in the United States and Brazil appear to play an equal role in determining ethanol prices in other countries, thus only...

In recent decades, new modes of governance have emerged in which an array of non-nation-state actors (NNSAs) drive norms and behaviors related to the production and consumption of goods and services with potentially large environmental and social impacts. These modes of governance are evident in the governance of biofuels, where intergovernmental organizations, national and subnational governments, corporations, and civil society organizations have recently developed an array of standards, metastandards, and codes of conduct attempting to define the conditions in which crops can be grown, proc...

Globalization, industrialization and urbanization have led to the global energy crisis. There is a great demand for non-renewable energy sources to meet the energy needs. This in turn has led to the exhaustion of fossil fuels. Therefore there is an urgent need to rely on alternative energy sources that can be replenished and also ecofriendly. Researchers are now trying to find an alternative solution to replace the consumption of fossil fuels with alternate energy sources. This has led to the evolution of the generation of biofuels. The present study aims to give an overview of the development...

India, is the fifth largest and one of the fastest growing petroleum consumers in the world, needing to import over 72% of its requirement of crude oil and petroleum products. Price volatility and high crude oil prices has created an opportunity for integration of biofuels in the energy portfolio which may help to counter the security threat of energy supply to India with proper policy interventions. But there are certain issues that plague the growth of Indian biofuel sector. This paper discusses National Biofuel Policy with particular reference to feedstock supply, processing, marketing and ...

Corn refers to the main feedstock for U.S. biofuels production and together with soybean oil, as typical biofuel food commodity that can be converted into biodiesel, accounts for over 90 percent of biofuels production in the United States. The paper focuses on the nexus of agri-food and energy markets in U.S. and investigates the interrelationships between the biofuel prices and prices of soybean oil, corn and wheat. Co-integration analysis and vector error correction model are carried out in order to investigate the relationship between the price series. The results show that biofuels and foo...

The study was done on Jatropha bio fuel stove technology. The study deals with comprehensive literature review followed by technical modifications. The wick stove proto type designed for kerosene burning was chosen for the study. The concepts for preliminary design and premodifications were drawn on the basis of observations received during testing of proto type to burn with Jatropha oil. Then final modifications of the wick stove were performed technically to make it compatible with burning Jatropha oil. The proto type after modifications contained 1.5 liters tank with three supporting stands...

- Fossil fuel energy resources are depleting rapidly and most importantly the liquid fossil fuel will be diminished by the middle of this century. Production of biofuel from renewable sources is considered to be one of the most sustainable alternatives to petroleum sourced fuel. Biofuel from algae is an environmentally friendly energy source fuel produced through transesterification with short chain alcohols. The global market for biofuel has been growing rapidly during the past few years, and is poised for explosive growth in the next years. Biofuel production from algae can provide some dist...

Biotechnology advances including genetic and metabolic engineering, well-funded R&D researches and policy support can make microalgal biofuels have a bright future.

The evolution and development of biofuels and biocatalysts for biofuel cells gleaned from recent publications are reviewed, and an overview and discussion on factors limiting the power-generation efficiency of bio fuel cells are presented.

Corn refers to the main feedstock for U.S. biofuels production and together with soybean oil, as typical biofuel food commodity that can be converted into biodiesel, accounts for over 90 percent of biofuels production in the United States. The paper focuses on the nexus of agri-food and energy markets in U.S. and investigates the interrelationships between the biofuel prices and prices of soybean oil, corn and wheat. Co-integration analysis and vector error correction model are carried out in order to investigate the relationship between the price series. The results show that biofuels and foo...

Biomass includes all materials that contain organic carbon bound in the chemical structure of molecules, resulting from the chlorophylline photosynthesis, carried out by autotrophies organisms. Lots of biomass from agricultural, agri-food and forestry sectors can be used for energy purposes, representing an essential renewable energy source that, if appropriately managed, can help to reduce the negative environmental impacts arising from the exploitation of fossil fuels. The possibility of using biomass for a specific production process mainly depends on its physical and chemical properties. Th...

The various aspects associated with the design of algae production units are described, giving an overview of the current state of development of algae cultivation systems (photo-bioreactors and open ponds), and other potential applications and products from microalgae are presented.

Biofuel production is dependent upon agriculture and forestry systems, and the expectations of future biofuel potential are high. A study of the global food production and biofuel production from edible crops implies that biofuel produced from edible parts of crops lead to a global deficit of food. This is rather well known, which is why there is a strong urge to develop biofuel systems that make use of residues or products from forest to eliminate competition with food production. However, biofuel from agro-residues still depend upon the crop production system, and there are many parameters t...

Ethanol as the Leading "First-Generation" Biofuel Introduction Historical Development of Ethanol as a Fuel from Neolithic Times to the Twentieth Century Oil Supply and Oil Price in the Twentieth Century: Necessity and Alternative Fuel Programs Case Study 1: Brazil and Sugarcane Ethanol Case Study 2: Starch-Based Ethanol in the United States Thermodynamic and Environmental Aspects of Ethanol as a Biofuel Summary References Cellulosic Ethanol as a "Second-Generation" Biofuel Introduction Bioethanol and Cellulosic Ethanol: The Rise of Biomass-Based Biofuels Structural and Industrial Chemistry of ...

Where can we obtain energy most ethically? How much energy do we need to live an ethical and good life? The gaps between the rich and the poor with regards to access to and use of energy are critical ethical issues facing global society. The logic of biofuels is simple – namely use of the renewable energy of the sun in photosynthesis to produce plants that can be used as fuel to counter the rising prices of petroleum and oil that our global society depends upon. There has been a lot of rhetoric about biofuels, so let us consider the ethics of decisions made about them. There are a number of et...

The almost completed buyout of the giant Texas electric utility TXU by an improbable concatenation of big investors, environmental organizations, and bankers would kill 8 of 11 projected coal-fired power plants and require the others to meet environmental performance standards.

Een beschrijving van de keten en ketenpartijen in de business van biotransportbrandstoffen waarin biodiesel uit Duits koolzaad geproduceerd in Maleisie en Indonesie anders.

Climate negotiators want developed countries to pay farmers in tropical countries such as Indonesia to stop burning down rainforests. Two years ago, this might have offered a real opportunity for farmers in Europe and the United States. At that time, expansion of cropland in tropical countries undermined world market prices and increased government payments that support farm income. In these past two years, however, biofuel subsidies have complicated this picture, as Europe and the United States already enhance farm prices by subsidizing biofuel production from rapeseed oil and from corn. As a...

Sustainable aviation fuels have been under the spotlight again this year, when the landing of another biofuel powered flight marked the start of September's UN Climate Change Summit. But with scarce investment and limited legislative incentives, it's a chicken-and-egg conundrum, reports Rachel England.

Until last year, biofuels seemed to promise a greener future and a solution to the problems of fossil fuels. Suddenly in 2008, things appeared to be less certain when biofuels became the subject of debate as to whether they were as environmentally friendly as originally thought. Jon Evans reports on the new race worldwide to establish appropriate sustainability criteria. Copyright © 2009 Society of Chemical Industry and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd

This paper highlights the importance trade policy has for the development of the biofuel industry, particularly in developing countries, together with energy and agricultural policy measures. It describes differences between the actions that developed and developing countries might take, considering their negotiating power and their capacity to use international rules currently in force, and to influence trade negotiations. It also shows the extent to which a small country can profit from WTO rules and Doha Round negotiations so as to limit developed countries’ discretion and enhance their opp...

Technology is setting strategic directions for change in the economy and industry and is helping to shape the future of jobs and the economy in the developing world.

Cellulolytic Enzyme Production and Enzymatic Hydrolysis for Second-Generation Bioethanol Production, by Mingyu Wang, Zhonghai Li, Xu Fang, Lushan Wang und Yinbo Qu.- Bioethanol from Lignocellulosic Biomass, by Xin-Qing Zhao, Li-Han Zi, Feng-Wu Bai, Hai-Long Lin, Xiao-Ming Hao, Guo-Jun Yue und Nancy W. Y. Ho .- Biodiesel From Conventional Feedstocks, by Wei Du und De-Hua Liu.- Establishing Oleaginous Microalgae Research Models for Consolidated Bioprocessing of Solar Energy, by Dongmei Wang, Yandu Lu, He Huang und Jian Xu.- Biobutanol, by Hongjun Dong, Wenwen Tao, Zongjie Dai, Liejian Yang, Fuyu...

The rationale for the ethanol program in Brazil is presented, the characteristics of ethanol as a renewable fuel, the future perspectives of the ethanol Program in Brazil followed by a discussion on the possibility of expanding ethanol production from sugarcane and conclusions.

In partial fulfillment for the award of the Degree Of BACHELOR OF ENGINEERING IN MECHANICAL ENGINEERING.

Biofuels for transportation is an essential factor of significant measures to increase fuel security, combat climate change, and promote rural development. The rising amount of greenhouse pollution brought on by the use of fossil fuels is now widely recognized. The energy crisis results from the growing disparity between the energy needs of the industrialized world and the finite amount of energy from fossil fuels. Among energy consumers, the transportation sector is frequently cited as one of the primary pollutant sources. For instance, the second-most polluting industry in the USA in 2014 wa...

European Commission has adopted a series of documents in order to achieve energy policy targets. One of them is Directive 2009/28/EC which promotes the use of renewable energy in transportation. The Directive sets targets for Member States. According to the provisions of Article 11 of the Law on Biofuels for Transport, each county of the Republic of Croatia is obliged to develop a program to encourage the production and use of biofuels in transport and establish the policy of increased production and use of biofuels in transport in the county in accordance with the National Action Plan. The pr...

Modern energy policy aims to ratchet up the manufacture and use of biofuels, i.e. any fuel produced from biological materials. Yet biofuels derived from agricultural crops and residues, wood, forest residues, or other kinds of plant-based biomass feedstocks can be as environmentally and socially devastating as the finite fossil fuel resources they seek to replace. Often overlooked are their globalization impacts on land grabs, food security, greenhouse gas emissions, drought, deforestation, interference with climate change adaption measures, population displacement, desertification, sea level ...

This review describes major features of current research in renewable fuels derived from plants and from fatty acids, andBiofuels and their combustion are compared with combustion features of conventional petroleum-based fuels.

Biofuels could provide up to 27% of total transport fuel worldwide by 2050. The use of transport fuels from biomass, when produced sustainably, can help cut petroleum use and reduce CO2 emissions in the transport sector, especially in heavy transport. Sustainable biofuel technologies, in particular advanced biofuels, will play an important role in achieving this roadmap vision. The roadmap describes the steps necessary to realise this ambitious biofuels target; identifies key actions by different stakeholders, and the role for government policy to adopt measures needed to ensure the sustainabl...