Biofuels the abbreviated term for bioorganic fuel is any plant or animal substance that can burn (Wikipedia, 2008).Wikipedia also says that biofuels are an alternative to fossil fuels. Biofuels can come in many forms including first generation, second generation, and third generation. While all generations use different sources they are all natural. First generation biofuels as said by Shell and Wikipedia are biofuels made from a food crop. Examples of this include vegetable oil and bioalchohols (Wikipedia, 2008; Shell, 2007). Second generation biofuels are biofuels that are made without food crops (Wikipedia, 2008; Shell, 2007). Shell also says that the main advantage of using non food crops is that there is no competition between the food and biofuels crops. Third generation biofuels are made from algae which is biodegradable meaning that it will disappear in a short amount of time as says Wikipedia. Wikipedia also says that third generation biofuels have 30 times more energy than land. This would mean that to replace the all of the fossil fuels in the US we would need 38,b849km².

top

Problems with biofuels

Although biofuels can be quite beneficial they can also cause some problems. The production of ethanol requires corn which made the food prices in the UK rise 3 times faster than the previous year (Macalister, 2008). Another problem caused primarily by ethanol is the dead zone. This zone which is now 20500km² is inhabitable by aquatic life (Boyle, 2008). At the farm the corn is fertilized by nitrogen. This nitrogen then spills into the Mississippi River which leads to the Gulf of Mexico. Boyle says that the nitrogen causes the growth of algae. When the algae die they take the oxygen out of the water. Boyle also says that rivers that carry the nitrogen can use a process called denitrification which transforms the liquid nitrogen into nitrogen gas. This gas rises out of the water and makes air which is 78.084% nitrogen (Lide, 1997). Another problem with biofuels is that they take large amounts of land to cultivate the crop. Recently rainforests are being removed to make way for fields for the production of biofuels (Macalister, 2008). Macalister also says that by removing natural habitats to grow crops for biofuels releases 17 - 420 times the amount saved by using biofuels.

top