6 best biofuel types

Science magazine New Scientist UK has introduced 6 best biofuels in the future.

Biofuels - formed from plant-animal-derived compounds - are hailed as a safe and clean energy source for future pollution reduction. But do they really bring full benefits?

Let's look at the latest figures from some of the major crops that provide biofuels:

1. Sugar cane

Sugarcane is grown mainly in tropical regions, a source of raw materials for sugar processing plants. Distillation of sugar water from sugarcane produces bioethanol, which can provide fuel for vehicles. Moreover, bagasse is also burned to produce bio-electricity.

Brazil is the world's largest exporter of sugarcane. In this country, the production of petroleum requires at least 22% of bioethanol, towards this country it also encourages more bioelectric use.

According to the Brazilian Sugar Industry Association (UNICA), Brazil produces over 487 million tons of sugarcane during the 2007-2008 harvest period on 7.8 million hectares of sugarcane - accounting for about 2% of all available cultivated land. country.

2. Oil palm tree

Palm oil is extracted mainly from the fruit of oil palm - a plant grown popular in Southeast Asia, South America and Africa. Oil palm has many uses: food, feed in livestock, processing soap and biofuel.

Currently, an estimated 47 million tons of palm oil is produced annually, of which Malaysia and Indonesia account for 85% of global palm oil production. Last year, Malaysia had more than 5 million hectares of oil palm plantations and produced 18.9 million tons of crude palm oil.

Unfortunately, environmental activists are arguing and worrying that Malaysia has cut down rain forests to expand oil palm plantations and this poses a serious threat to the orangutan at risk. extinction.

3. Rapeseed

In 2006 there were 47 million tons of canola - extracted from rapeseed - produced worldwide. In which the European Union (EU) produces more than 1/3 of the oil, while China, Canada and India are at the top of the production.

Canola oil is used in animal feed and today is also for humans. This oil is also being improved to convert into biodiesel that can be used in most types of diesel engines.

However, scientists worry that biofuel production will produce high levels of nitrogen oxide - a greenhouse gas 300 times stronger than CO2. In general, compared to fossil fuels, they generate 70% more greenhouse gases.

4. Wood

In Europe there are a number of wood biomass power plants that use wood fuel sources, such as Lockerbie town, southwestern Scotland. The power plant uses 450,000 tons of wood a year and can produce 44MV - enough to power about 70,000 homes.

5. Soybean tree

In the US, up to 4 billion liters of biodiesel are produced in 2011, three times more than in 2010. In it, up to 90% of all vegetable oils are made from soybeans.

Soybeans can be used as a food source for animals and for processing drinking water for humans. In addition, soybean oil is also utilized to develop the paint and ink industry.

As a protein-rich crop, beans are often grown in alternating seasons with corn, also popular for producing bioethanol.

6. Algae

Although not a commercially produced biofuel source, algae is currently being deployed in NASA's OMEGA project with the main method of capturing carbon and producing biofuels.

The single-celled green algae Chlorella vulgaris is well-developed in wastewater and is of interest to the aquaculture industry. NASA declares the main advantage of algae compared to other biofuel crops that do not require soil and fertilizer.