EU : Cap use and production at 5.5%. (Aiming for 20% by 2020). The E value represents the percentage of bioethanol mixed with petrol. Brazil is the only.
Biofuels: Fuels for the Future Antony Fong, Bárbara Guimarães & Craig Allan This degree was funded by the Scottish Funding Council through the Industrial Biotechnology Innovation Centre.
Why? – For a greener future! State of the art
The world’s population is increasing exponentially, energy consumption is increasing equivalently, fossil fuels are diminishing and greenhouse gasses are accumulating – This must change!
1st generation
● Biogas: Methane gas and carbon dioxide ● Biodiesel: Derived from fats and oils ● Bioethanol: Derived directly from plants and organic waste Methane gas and carbon dioxide are primarily used for everyday heat production; cooking and gas engines. Biodiesel has been commonly used in car fuels and exists in mixtures of biodiesel and fossil fuel-derived diesel. Bioethanol technology has emerged as a promising future for transport fuel.
● Maize ● Sugar-beet Carbon neutral sugar and starch crops can be easily broken down and transformed into bioethanol.
2nd generation ● Cassava plants ● Palm oil Lignocellulose (Grass crops and wood material) are difficult to break down, therefore new methods must be developed to focus on lignin degradation.
Image from: Schmack Biogas AG (Schmack Biogas) - Germany
Current Limitations ● Fuel efficiency ● Food used for fuel arguments Biofuels do not provide as much energy when burned in comparison to fossil fuels. As well as the process of production is not considered cost effective. Additionally, the public see this as using food for fuel and do not agree in doing so, despite the process producing nutritional animal feed.
Future Developments 3rd generation ● Organic and human waste ● Municipal solid waste The break down of these materials is very difficult and costly, however, algae are able to utilize waste, natural sunlight and carbon dioxide, therefore, have the potential to provide an alternative route for biofuel production.
Sustainable Sources Image from: (imaginefires.co.uk)
● Brazil: 80% biofuel use (E100 used, minimum E20) ● USA: 5% biofuel use ● UK : 4% biofuel use ● EU : Cap use and production at 5.5% (Aiming for 20% by 2020) The E value represents the percentage of bioethanol mixed with petrol. Brazil is the only country which uses bioethanol as it’s primary transport fuel, with engines being able to run at E100 bioethanol and a minimal mix of 20% into petrol.
Step-by-step biofuel:
Figure from: (Whitaker et al., 2015).
● First generation: Starch and sugars ● Second generation: Lignocellulose ● Third generation: Organic waste Resources for biofuels vary greatly around the world, this is due to different growing conditions of feedstocks. For example, wheat and sugar beet are commonly used in Europe, maize is the main material used in the USA, and sugarcane is widely available in Brazil due to open fields and warm climates.
● More cost effective fuel ● Better combustion engines ● Genetic manipulation For the future, with the advancements in technologies would ease the extraction of materials from certain resources, develop compatible engines capable of utilizing biofuels as a primary source, even completely designing and creating an organism from scratch; from the development of DNA to growing the organism which would aid in biofuel production. Therefore, we hope the cost of production of biofuels will decrease and that biofuel demands increase.
Research and Development ● Biohydrogen: Ideal to use to generate and store electricity ● Bio-oil: Melted down biomass waste ● Biochar : Developed from burning biomass waste ● Biobutanol: Higher alcohol source that can provide a better energy output, similarly to gasoline, when used as a biofuel Further research is needed to find easier methods of production, storage and potential uses of by-products.
Image from: Steve De Neef – USA. (Imba, Caluya)
References Biomass
Pre-treatment
Hydrolysis
Fermentation
Distillation
Bioethanol
International Institute for Sustainable Development, (2013). Biofuels - At what cost? A review of costs and benefits of EU biofuel policies. Research Report. Li, K., Liu, S. and Liu, X. (2014). An overview of algae bioethanol production. International Journal of Energy Research, 38(8), pp.965-977. Walker, G. (2011). 125th Anniversary Review: Fuel Alcohol: Current Production and Future Challenges. Journal of the Institute of Brewing, 117(1), pp.3-22. Whitaker, W., Sandoval, N., Bennett, R., Fast, A. and Papoutsakis, E. (2015). Synthetic methylotrophy: engineering the production of biofuels and chemicals based on the biology of aerobic methanol utilization. Current Opinion in Biotechnology, 33, pp.165-175.
