Biofuels And Its Related Issues.

Currently the global economy is said to be literally running on

energy which is derived from fossil fuels. However, Patil, Tran and
iselrod !"##$% mentioned the fact that since fossil fuels are finite
resources they are hence not sustainable. In the conte&t of this scenario,
biofuels has been viewed as 'art of the solution to this crisis. According
to (iller !"##$% biofuels com'aratively have the 'otential to re'lace
fossil fuels because they are renewable and sustainable. But nevertheless
let us now ta)e a loo) at what is the definition of biofuels and some of
its related issues.
*hat are biofuels+ Patil et. al !"##$% defined biofuels as , solid,
li-uid, or gas fuel consisting of , or derived from biomass.. Biodiesel
and bioethanol which are 'resently 'roduced on an industrial scale are
e&am'les of li-uid fuels which are made from living organisms li)e
'lants and animals and their by 'roducts. (iller !"##$% mentioned that
agricultural cro's are the main sources of most biofuels and that
different countries s'eciali/e in certain ty'es of biofuels which are
basically influenced by their 'revailing climate. *hile sugar cane is
harvested in Bra/il for biofuel 'roduction, 0outh 1ast Asia on the other
hand is highly de'endent on its 'alm oil with 20A relying on its corn
and soyabeans and 1uro'e on its ra'eseed, wheat, and sugar beet.
However the 'roduction of agro3biofuels has raised issues regarding the
utili/ation of farmland to grow cro's for fuels and the emission of
nitrous o&ide which is said to have im'act on the environment.
*olf !"##$% in his article, , 4ood vs. 4uel+ . strongly critici/ed that
food cro's should not be used to 'roduce bioethanol given the fact that
the world is still facing the 'roblem of hunger and malnutrition and food
riots are an e&'ression of such human necessities. In addition, *olf
!"##$% e&'ressed his concern that biofuels could never be viewed as an
alternative solution to the energy crisis. He cited that , it costs more than
a calorie of 'etroleum to 'roduce a calorie of ethanol . but later he
relented stating that chea'er food 'rices could be attained through
effective ethanol 'roduction5 thereby reducing the cost of fuel. In
contrast, Cru/en, (osier, 0mith and *iniwarter !"##$% raised the issue
of nitrous o&ide !6"7% emissions when 'roducing fuels from agricultural
cro's. These researchers drew the attention that annual cro's li)e
ra'eseed and mai/e are said to demand significant in'uts of nitrogen3
based fertili/ers which in turn leads to much higher nitrous o&ide
emissions. 0uch emissions are said to create a ma8or greenhouse gas
!H% which 'ersists much longer than carbon dio&ide in the
atmos'here. Having said that, Cru/en et. al !"##$% also indicated that the
issue of nitrous o&ide emissions can be solved since not all biofuels are
similar in terms of 6"7 emissions. Cru/en et. al !"##$% also 'ut forward
that biofuels could still be 'roduced through em'loying agricultural
strategies that could reduce the emission of nitrogen o&ide into the
environment as well as im'roving the efficiency of nitrogen fertili/ers.
To attain genuine greenhouse gas reduction, they suggested the 'lanting
of other 'lants such as switch grass, ele'hant grass, lignocellulosic
'lants.
iven the bac)dro' of energy, food and environmental concerns
and issues, (iller !"##$% and Patil et. al !"##$% tal)ed about second
generation biofuels which are said to be derived from non3food
feedstoc) and covering wider range of substances. According to (iller
!"##$%, chi' fat, leftover sweets, chocolate, food waste, manure and
sewage can be bro)en down to create biofuels. Currently microalgae and
other microbial sources are loo)ed u'on as better o'tions as sources of
biofuel 'roduction. (icroalgae, either in fresh or marine water are said
to be able to com'lete an entire growing cycle every few days, thereby
avoiding the use land !Patil et. al, "##$%. The fact that water covers two
thirds of earth9s surface, microalgae seems to hold the )ey towards a
more sustainable 'roduction of biofuels.
In conclusion, it can be said that although initially biofuel
'roduction has raised a number of issues and concerns but nevertheless
biofuels would one day be a reality and a suitable alternative to fossil
fuels. Technological advancements in the sustainable 'roduction of
biofuels would indeed ma)e biofuels commercially viable in the near
future.
REFERENCES
Cru/en, P.:., (osier, A.R., 0mith, ;.A. and *iniwarter, *. !"##$%.
6"7 release from agro3biofuel 'roduction negates global warming
reduction by re'lacing fossil fuels. Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics,
$, <$=3<=>.
(iller,?. *hat are biofuels+ !"##$, (ay "<%. The Guardian.
Patil,?., Tran, ;.@. and iselrod, H.R.!"##$%. Towards sustainable
'roduction of biofuels from microalgae. International Journal of
Molecular Sciences, =, AA$$3AA=.
*olf, C.!"##$%. 4ood vs. fuel+ Bioethics in Brief, =!B%.
Retrieved (arch <, "#A#, from
htt'CDDwww.bioethics.iastate.eduDBioethicsEinEBriefDnov#$.html