 A biofuel is a fuel that contains energy from

geologically recent carbon fixation. These fuels are

produced from living organisms.
 Examples of this carbon fixation occur
in plants and microalgae. These fuels are made by
a biomass conversion (biomass refers to recently
living organisms, most often referring to plants or
plant-derived materials).
 This biomass can be converted to convenient
energy containing substances in three different
ways: thermal conversion, chemical conversion, and
biochemical conversion.
 This biomass conversion can result in fuel
in solid, liquid, or gas form. This new biomass can be
used for biofuels.
 Biofuels have increased in popularity because of
rising oil prices and the need for energy security.
 Most transportation fuels are liquids,
because vehicles usually require high energy
density This occurs naturally in liquids and
solids. High energy density can also be
provided by an internal combustion engine.
 These engines require clean-burning fuels.
The fuels that are easiest to burn cleanly are
typically liquids and gases. Thus, liquids
meet the requirements of being both energy-
dense and clean-burning. In addition, liquids
(and gases) can be pumped, which means
handling is easily mechanized, and thus less
laborious.
 Biodiesel is the most common biofuel in Europe. It is
produced from oils or fats
using transesterification and is a liquid similar in
composition to fossil/mineral diesel. Chemically, it
consists mostly of fatty acid methyl (or ethyl) esters
(FAMEs). Feed stocks for biodiesel include animal fats,
vegetable
oils, soy, rapeseed, jatropha, mahua, mustard, flax, su
nflower, palm oil, hemp, field pennycress, Pongamia
pinnata and algae. Pure biodiesel (B100) currently
reduces emissions with up to 60% compared to
diesel Second generation B100.
Green diesel is produced
through hydro
cracking biological oil feed
stocks, such as vegetable oils
and animal fats. Hydro cracking
is a refinery method that uses
elevated temperatures and
pressure in the presence of a
catalyst to break down
larger molecules, such as those
found in vegetable oils, into
shorter hydrocarbon chains used
in diesel engines.
 Green diesel may also be called renewable diesel,
hydro treated vegetable oil or hydrogen-derived
renewable diesel.
 Green diesel has the same chemical properties as
petroleum-based diesel. It does not require new
engines, pipelines or infrastructure to distribute
and use, but has not been produced at a cost that
is competitive with petroleum.
 Gasoline versions are also being developed. Green
diesel is being developed
in Louisiana and Singapore by ConocoPhillips, Nest
e Oil, Valero, Dynamic Fuels, and Honeywell UOP.
 Also by Preem in Gothenburg, Sweden Evolution
Diesel
In 2013 UK researchers developed a
genetically modified strain of Escherichia
coli which could transform glucose into
biofuel gasoline that does not need to be
blended. Later in 2013 UCLA researchers
engineered a new metabolic pathway to
bypass glycolysis and increase the rate of
conversion of sugars into
biofuel, while KAIST researchers
developed a strain capable of producing
short-chain alkanes, free fatty acids, fatty
esters and fatty alcohols through the fatty
acyl (acyl carrier protein (ACP)) to fatty
acid to fatty acyl-CoA pathway in vivo.
 Straight
unmodified edible veg
etable oil is generally
not used as fuel, but
lower-quality oil can
and has been used for
this purpose. Used
vegetable oil is
increasingly being
processed into
biodiesel, or (more
rarely) cleaned of
water and
particulates and used Filtered waste
as a fuel. vegetable oil
 As with 100% biodiesel (B100), to ensure the fuel
injectors atomize the vegetable oil in the correct
pattern for efficient combustion, vegetable oil fuel
must be heated to reduce its viscosity to that of
diesel, either by electric coils or heat exchangers.
This is easier in warm or temperate climates.
 Big corporations like MAN B&W Diesel, Wärtsilä,
and Deutz AG, as well as a number of smaller
companies, such as Elsbett, offer engines that are
compatible with straight vegetable oil, without the
need for after-market modifications.
 Vegetable oil can also be used in many older diesel
engines that do not use common rail or unit
injection electronic diesel injection systems.
 Bioethers (also referred to as fuel ethers
or oxygenated fuels) are cost-
effective compounds that act as octane
rating enhancers.
 "Bioethers are produced by the reaction of reactive
iso-olefins, such as iso-, with bio butylene
ethanol." Bioethers are created by wheat or sugar
beet
 They also enhance engine performance, whilst
significantly reducing engine wear and toxic
exhaust emissions .
 Though bio ethers are likely to replace petro
ethers in the UK, it is highly unlikely they will
become a fuel in and of itself due to the low energy
density. Greatly reducing the amount of ground-
level ozone emissions, they contribute to air
quality.
 Biologically produced alcohols, most
commonly ethanol, and less
commonly propanol and butanol, are
produced by the action of
microorganisms and enzymes through
the fermentation of sugars or starches
, or cellulose .
 Biobutanol also called bio gasoline is
often claimed to provide a direct
replacement for gasoline, because it
can be used directly in a gasoline
engine .
 Biogas is methane produced by the process
of anaerobic digestion of organic
material by anaerobes. It can be produced either
from biodegradable waste materials or by the use
of energy crops fed into anaerobic digesters to
supplement gas yields. The solid by product ,
digestate, can be used as a biofuel or a fertilizer.
Syngas, a mixture of carbon
monoxide, hydrogen and other hydrocarbons, is
produced by partial combustion of biomass, that is,
combustion with an amount of oxygen that is not
sufficient to convert the biomass completely to
carbon dioxide and water. Before partial
combustion, the biomass is dried, and
sometimes pyrolysed. The resulting gas mixture,
syngas, is more efficient than direct combustion of
the original biofuel; more of the energy contained
in the fuel is extracted.
 When raw biomass is already in a suitable form (such
as firewood), it can burn directly in a stove or furnace to
provide heat or raise steam.
 When raw biomass is in an inconvenient form (such as
sawdust, wood chips, grass, urban waste wood,
agricultural residues), the typical process is to densify
the biomass. This process includes grinding the raw
biomass to an appropriate particulate size (known as hog
fuel), which, depending on the densification type, can be
from 1 to 3 cm (0 to 1 in), which is then concentrated
into a fuel product.
 The current processes produce wood pellets, cubes, or
pucks. The pellet process is most common in Europe,
and is typically a pure wood product.
 The other types of densification are larger in size
compared to a pellet, and are compatible with a broad
range of input feed stocks. The resulting densified fuel is
easier to transport and feed into thermal generation
systems, such as boilers.
Future biofuels will be made
from a wide range of hardy and
fast-growing plants, such as
switch grass, perennial grass
native to American prairies.
1. Do Catalytic converters prevent pollution?
Whilst Catalytic converters don’t actually prevent
pollution, they do help to cut it down. Their purpose is to
convert the poisonous carbon monoxide gas, and other
pollutants produced by cars into carbon dioxide. They
don’t, however, work to full effect on short car journeys
since they only work once they have been warmed up.

2. Is it better for the environment to use bio fuels?

This is not really true because they give off less energy per
quantity than ordinary fuels. There is also the environmental
cost of producing bio fuels; intensive farming of the crops,
fertilizers and pesticides used on them, and then the
conversion of the crops into the fuels
3. What kinds of ethanol-blended fuels are available?

• E10 – 10% ethanol and 90% unleaded gasoline – is the most

common way ethanol is available to motorists.
All automakers approve ethanol blends up to this 10% level by
warranty, no matter the make or model of the
vehicle. About 99% of America’s ethanol is retailed as E10.

• E85 – 85% ethanol and 15% unleaded gasoline – is an

alternative fuel for use in Flexible Fuel Vehicles
(FFVs). FFVs can use unleaded gasoline or any blend of ethanol
up to this 85% level.
4. Will my vehicle run on ethanol-blended fuel?
All vehicles are “ethanol-capable” and can use a blend of up to 10%
ethanol. Since the 1980s all automakers have
covered up to 10% ethanol-blended fuel by warranty, no engine
modifications necessary.

5. Can ethanol blends be used in small engines, such as boats,

lawnmowers, or chainsaws?
Yes – manufacturers of small engines realize that up to a 10% blend
of ethanol is very common in gasoline, so they
make their engines compatible with this fuel.
6. What is biogas?
Biogas is a combustible gaseous fuel that is collected from the
microbial degradation of organic matter in anaerobic
conditions. Biogas is principally a mixture of methane (CH4)
and carbon dioxide (CO2) along with other trace gases.

7. Can biogas be used in place of fossil fuels? How?

Methane is the principal gas in biogas. Methane is also the main
component in natural gas, a fossil fuel. Biogas can be used to
replace natural gas in many applications including: cooking,
heating, steam production, electrical generation, vehicular fuel,
and as a pipeline gas.
8. What is biodiesel ?
Biodiesel is a clean-burning diesel replacement fuel
that can be used in compression-ignition (CI)
engines, and which is manufactured from the
following renewable, non-petroleum-based sources:
Virgin vegetable oils such as soy, mustard, canola,
safflower, rapeseed, and palm oils;
Animal fats such as poultry offal, tallow, and fish
oils;
Used cooking oils and trap grease from restaurants.
9. Can I substitute biodiesel for diesel in my trucks and
equipment?
Biodiesel can be used as a pure fuel or blended with petroleum in
any percentage. B20 (a blend of 20 percent by volume biodiesel
with 80 percent by volume petroleum diesel) has demonstrated
significant environmental benefits with a minimal increase in
cost for fleet operations and other consumers. While a diesel
engine can run on B100, it can clog the filters of older engines
quite rapidly, so operators of older engines should be advised to
change the filter more frequently at first. Low level blends (1%-
2%) of biodiesel can restore lubricity to low-sulphur fuels

10. What is cellulosic ethanol ?

Cellulosic ethanol is made from cellulose rather than starch or
sugars. Cellulose is the most common cellular component in
the plant world, and makes up much of the stem and leaves of
many plants. Tapping the energy in cellulose opens a vastly
expanded supply of low-cost feed stocks that farmers and
ranchers can grow.
 NAME: ANGELA KHURANA
 CLASS: VIII – B
 ROLL NO: 05
 SCHOOL: RYAN INTERNATIONAL SCOOL
 SUBJECT: SCIENCE
 SUBJECT TEACHER: MS. CHAVVI BHATNAGAR
 TOPIC: “BIOFUELS”
 CONTENTS:
1-15 SLIDES = DESCRIPTION OF BIOFUEL
16 -20 SLIDES =QUESTIONS.