An essay about Environmental, economic and energetic costs and benefits of biodiesel and ethanol biofuels. By Jason Hill et al.
The authors try to determine whether ethanol, produced from corn grain, and biodiesel, produced from soybeans provide benefits over the petroleum-based fuels they displace. To be a viable alternative to fossil fuels, a biofuel (ethanol or biodiesel) should provide a net energy gain, have superior environmental benefits, be economically competitive with fossil fuels and producible in large quantities without reducing the food security.
Both biofuels, ethanol and biodiesel, provide more energy than is needed for the production process, this means they have a positive net energy balance. The net energy balance of corn-based ethanol is small, resulting in 25% more energy than is required for the production process. Corn-based ethanol has a low net energy balance because the process to produce corn and to convert it into ethanol is energy intensive. Soybean biodiesel, on the other hand, has a net energy balance of 93%.
Despite their positive net energy balance both corn-based ethanol and soybean biodiesel have adverse environmental effects, due to the use of fertilizers, especially nitrogen and phosphorus, and pesticides. The fertilizers and pesticides used for the …show more content…
that food-based biofuels are not the best alternative to replace fossil fuels. In my opinion, one should take the environmental effects and the effects on food prices more into account when assessing the qualities of a feedstock for biofuel production. Then it would soon become apparent that the investments made in corn grain ethanol could better go to alternatives such as sugarcane and microalgae, which have a higher energy yield. As mentioned above, in the sugarcane example, biofuels can be economically viable and at the same time environmentally sustainable. So in my opinion biofuels are an important tool in mitigating the global greenhouse
The authors try to determine whether ethanol, produced from corn grain, and biodiesel, produced from soybeans provide benefits over the petroleum-based fuels they displace. To be a viable alternative to fossil fuels, a biofuel (ethanol or biodiesel) should provide a net energy gain, have superior environmental benefits, be economically competitive with fossil fuels and producible in large quantities without reducing the food security.
Both biofuels, ethanol and biodiesel, provide more energy than is needed for the production process, this means they have a positive net energy balance. The net energy balance of corn-based ethanol is small, resulting in 25% more energy than is required for the production process. Corn-based ethanol has a low net energy balance because the process to produce corn and to convert it into ethanol is energy intensive. Soybean biodiesel, on the other hand, has a net energy balance of 93%.
Despite their positive net energy balance both corn-based ethanol and soybean biodiesel have adverse environmental effects, due to the use of fertilizers, especially nitrogen and phosphorus, and pesticides. The fertilizers and pesticides used for the …show more content…
that food-based biofuels are not the best alternative to replace fossil fuels. In my opinion, one should take the environmental effects and the effects on food prices more into account when assessing the qualities of a feedstock for biofuel production. Then it would soon become apparent that the investments made in corn grain ethanol could better go to alternatives such as sugarcane and microalgae, which have a higher energy yield. As mentioned above, in the sugarcane example, biofuels can be economically viable and at the same time environmentally sustainable. So in my opinion biofuels are an important tool in mitigating the global greenhouse