Biofuels
- Any hydrocarbon fuel that is produced from an organic matter (living or once living material) in a short period of time (days, weeks, or even months) is considered a biofuel.
- Biofuels may be solid, liquid or gaseous in nature.
- Solid: Wood, dried plant material, and manure
- Liquid: Bioethanol and Biodiesel
- Gaseous: Biogas
Classification of Biofuels:
1st generation biofuels
- Also called conventional biofuels.
- Made from things like sugar, starch, or vegetable oil.
- these are all food products.
- Any biofuel made from a feedstock that can also be consumed as a human food is considered a first-generation biofuel.
2nd generation biofuels
- Produced from sustainable feedstock.
- The sustainability of a feedstock is defined by its availability, its impact on greenhouse gas emissions, its impact on land use, and by its potential to threaten the food supply.
- No second generation biofuel is also a food crop, though certain food products can become second generation fuels when they are no longer useful for consumption.
- Second generation biofuels are often called “advanced biofuels.”
3rd generation biofuels
- Derived from algae.
- Potential to mitigate most of the drawbacks of 1st and 2nd generation biofuels.
4th generation biofuels
- In the production of these fuels, crops that are genetically engineered to take in high amounts of carbon are grown and harvested as biomass.