BIOFUELS

VISMAYA JAYAPRAKSH
II nd MSc MICROBIOLOGY
Sir Syed Institute For Technical Studies
 INTRODUCTION
 Biofuel is any fuel that is derived from biomass, recently living
organisms or their metabolic by products, such as manure from
cows.
 It is a renewable energy source, unlike other natural resources such
as petroleum, coal and nuclear fuels.
 Biofuels can be grouped in 'generations', according to the type of
technology they rely on and the biomass feedstocks they convert
into fuel.
 Biofuel is commonly advocated as a cost-effective and
environmentally benign alternative to petroleum and other fossil
fuels.
CLASSIFICATION

 Biofuels can be grouped in 'generations', according to the type of

technology they rely on and the biomass feedstocks they convert
into fuel.
 First Generation Biofuels
 Second Generation Biofuels
 Third Generation Biofuels
 Fourth Generation Biofuels
FIRST GENERATION BIOFUELS

 1st-generation biofuels are biofuels which are produced from

food crops (sugar or oil crops) and other food based feedstock
(e.g. food waste).
 These biofuels are on the market in considerable amounts today
and their production technologies are well established.
 The most important biofuels of the 1st-generation are bioethanol,
biodiesel, and biogas.
a) Bioethanol
 Bioethanol is produced by fermenting sugars from starch and sugar
biomass such as cereal crops( corn or maize and sugarcane).
 It can be used in pure form in specially adapted vehicles or blended
with gasoline in any proportion, provided that fuel specifications are
met.
 Ethyl-tertiary-butyl-ether (ETBE) is synthesized from bioethanol
and isobutylene. It is currently the biggest biofuel contributor in
Europe.
 A litre of bioethanol contains approximately two thirds of the
energy provided by a litre of petrol. When mixed with petrol, it
improves the combustion performance and lowers the emissions of
carbon monoxide and sulphur oxide.
b) Biodiesel

 Biodiesel (FAME) is made from vegetable oils of rapseed, soya,

palm fruits or other oil crops via the reaction of triglycerides with
methanol and alkali or acid (transesterification process).
 It can be used in pure form in specially adapted vehicles or be
blended with automotive diesel in any proportion up to 5%.
 It produces very less amount of harmful gases as compared to
diesel.
 It can be used as an alternative for the conventional diesel fuel.
c) Biogas

 Biogas is obtained by anaerobic treatment of manure and other

humid biomass materials , including food waste, and then
upgraded to biomethane that can be feed-in into the natural gas
grid .
 It can be produced from a variety of biomass and not only from
food crops.
 Major proportion of biogas is methane and carbon dioxide.
 It also has small proportions of hydrogen sulfide, hydrogen,
carbon monoxide and siloxanes.
 Biogas is commonly used for heating, electricity and for
automobiles
SECOND GENERATION BIOFUELS
 These are produced from non-food crops or portions of food
crops that are not edible and considered as wastes, e.g. stems,
husks, wood chips, fruit skins and peeling.
 Thermochemical reactions or biochemical conversion process is
used for producing such fuels.
 Examples include cellulosic ethanol, biooil.
 Though these fuels do not affect food economy, their production
is quite complicated.
 These biofuels emit less greenhouse gases when compared to first
generation biofuels
Cellulosic ethanol

 It is a type of biofuel produced from the cellulose in plant cell

wall.
 It is an alternative to traditional fossil fuels and first generation
biofuels.
 They reduce greenhouse gas emission by upto 90%.
 It reduce the dependence on imported fossil fuels.
 It is widely available from agricultural waste( wheat straw , corn
stover , sugarcane baggase) municipal waste ( organic waste from
from households and industries) forestry waste ( woodchips ,
sawdust)
Bio oil
 It is a liquid fuel produced from the pyrolysis of biomass such as
wood , agricultural waste or algae.
 It’s a promising alternative to fossil fuels , offering a renewable
and sustainable energy source.
 They have a high energy density , similar to diesel fuel.
 Biooil typically has a low sulphur content , reducing emissions.
 It reduce greenhouse gas emission .
 Bio oil can improve energy security by reducing dependence on
imported fossilfuels.
THIRD GENERATION BIOFUELS

 These are produced from micro-organisms like algae.

 Example-algal biofuels , seaweed biofuels.
 Micro-organisms like algae can be grown using land and water
unsuitable for food production, therefore reducing the strain on
already depleted water sources.
 One disadvantage is that fertilizers used in the production of
such crops lead to environment pollution.
Algal biofuels
 Algal biofuels are a promising alternative to traditional fossil
fuels , produced from algal biomass.
 Algae can have oil content upto 80% making them a promising
feedstock for biofuels.
 Some strains of algae used for biofuel production are:
• Chlamydomonas reinhardtii
• Nannochloropsis osculate
• Dunaliella salina
Seaweed biofuels

 Seaweed biofuels are a promising alternative to traditional

fossilfuels , produced from the biomass of seaweed(macro algae).
 Seaweed is a fast growing , renewable resource that can be
cultivated on large scale , offering several advantages .
 It can grow upto 10 times faster than traditional crops making it
highly productive feedstock.
 Seaweed species used for biofuel production:
• Kelp(Laminaria sp.)
• Dulse( Palmaria species)
• Sargassum
FOURTH 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.
 The crops are then converted into fuel using second generation
techniques.
 The fuel is pre-combusted and the carbon is captured.
 Then the carbon is geo- sequestered, meaning that the carbon is
stored in depleted oil or gas fields or in unmineable coal seams.
 Some of these fuels are considered as carbon negative as their
production pulls out carbon from environment.
ADVANTAGES OF BIOFUELS

 Availability: biofuels are produced from biomass and thus are

renewable.
 Source material: Whereas oil is a limited resource that comes
from specific materials biofuels can be manufactured from a wide
range of materials including crop waste, manure, and other by
products.
 Environment Pollution: Biofuels do not release as much carbon
as fossil fuels. Also, biofuels can help in managing the municipal
solid wastes i.e. the waste can be converted into fuel.
 Security: Biofuels can be produced locally, which decreases the
nation's dependence upon foreign energy. By reducing
dependence on foreign fuel sources, countries can protect the
integrity of their energy resources and make them safe from
outside influences.

 Economic stimulation: Because biofuels are produced locally,

biofuel manufacturing plants can employ hundreds or thousands
of workers, creating new jobs in rural areas. Biofuel production
will also increase the demand for suitable biofuel crops,
providing economic stimulation to the agriculture industry
DISADVANTAGES OF BIOFUELS
 Efficiency: Fossil Fuels produce more energy than some of the
biofuels.
 Cost: Pumping fossil fuels from the ground is a difficult and
expensive process leading to high costs. Production of biofuels
require land, this impacts cost of biofuels as well as that of food
crops.
 Food shortages: There is concern that using valuable cropland to
grow fuel crops could have an impact on the cost of food and could
possibly lead to food shortages.
 Water use: Massive quantities of water are required for proper
irrigation of biofuel crops as well as to manufacture the fuel, which
could strain local and regional water resources.
THANK YOU