| Biofuel Or Biofool - Can Ethanol Replace Oil? |
| Written by Roger Vanderlely | |
| Friday, 01 October 2010 | |
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The inevitable decline in oil production has already forced us to look for alternative fuel sources. Biofuel has been touted as a substitute, but we need to consider the impacts of this approach. Biofuel proponents suggest that by making fuel from plants we will be able to maintain our current fuel-dependent lifestyle.
The inevitable decline in oil production has already forced us to look for alternative fuel sources. Biofuel has been touted as a substitute, but we need to consider the impacts of this approach. Biofuel proponents suggest that by making fuel from plants we will be able to maintain our current fuel-dependent lifestyle. How realistic is this scenario? We need to consider the costs associated with alternative energy sources. The biofuel concept is that sugars from plants are fermented into alcohols such as ethanol which can be burnt for energy. The sugars that plants produce fall into two broad categories and the treatment of these two types directly affects their profitability. Simple sugars are the first group. These have up to three individual sugar molecules joined together. When we eat plant material, it is these sugars that we readily digest to give us energy. These are the same sugars that we use to sweeten a cup of coffee or tea. Such sugars are found in the fruiting parts of plants such as apples and corn cobs. Making ethanol from these parts of plants is cost effective and quick, as the sugar is easily converted to alcohol by organisms such as yeast. The other sort of sugars in plants is those used to make the plant body. This tough fibrous material is called cellulose. Cellulose is made of the same sugar units as found in the fruiting parts, but they are strongly bonded together and these bonds are tough to break. We are unable to digest these sugars and they are known to most of us as dietary fiber. They can be broken up though, using an enzyme called cellulase. It is possible to produce cellulase commercially but it's an expensive process and cellulase will not give 100% conversion of plant matter into simple sugars. The advantage of it is that any plant matter, whether that's wood, paper or cardboard, can be converted into simple sugars and then into fuel. It is not necessary to use food crops to produce the fuel. Almost all current biofuel production relies on plants rich in simple sugars, like the cob of the corn or the sap of sugar cane. Using these crops to make fuel is not a long term solution. Yes they supplement fuel production, but they do so at the expense of food production. When we consider that global demand for food is rising and there is a limited amount of land fit for crop growing, making fuel from food looks pretty irresponsible. Biofuels may represent a partial solution to our energy needs, but they cannot be produced at the expense of food. Research into improving methods of breaking down cellulose needs to be done. If this can be done efficiently, bioethanol could mean a genuine step toward a clean energy world. The Article Author: Read more about plant based energy substitutes at the What Is Biofuel section of Roger Vanderlely's website. There you can also read about fossil fuels, their production, use, and issues associated with them. |
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