Biofuels have started to become one of the major fuel sources from around the world. A biofuel is any fuel that is derived from recently living organisms. It accounts for just over 10% of America’s total gasoline consumption (Solutions and Energy, 2016). We start to move towards these fuels as it is expected that by 2088 we will have run out of all of our fossil fuels (Ecotricity, 2016). There are however various pros and cons that derive from the biofuels in comparison to the fossil fuels. I am firstly going to discuss the environmental factors of the by-products of the biofuels as well as the removal and disposal of the waste of these fuels.
One of the main advantages of biofuels over fossil fuels is that it produces less Carbon Dioxide …show more content…
The 1st generation is the easiest to come across, it is crops which contain cellulose and lignin. Traditionally these were the only organic sources tested to be used for biofuel. Switchgrass, corn and rapeseed are all a part of this category. The 2nd generation consists of by-products from the 1st generation organics sources, these consist of tree bark, needles, shavings and all of the other non-sugar organic sources. The major advantage of these 2nd generation sources is the by using them you will be emptying landfills as well as reducing the petroleum dependency, however the disadvantage of this source is that it is in much less quantity as the 1st generation source. The 3rd generation of biofuels is algae. Algae is extremely cost effective, easy to grow, great for the environment and a very effective fuel(Richard and Tim, 2010), however the major draw backs is the large Capital costs associated with the production of the algae as well as the fact that the algae cannot be grown on a very large scale due to the nature of the …show more content…
As this waste would usually go to landfills, we can only gain energy from this waste by combusting it. This is however very bad on the environment as there are many carcinogens including Dioxins and Furans(WHO, 2016), as well as other heavy metals left over after the incineration. A large majority of those toxins turns into gasses and enters the atmosphere in which we breathe causing for an endless list of diseases which may occur. The rest of the toxins become slag which would need to be disposed of correctly(Speight, 2011). There are methods to incinerate this municipal waste, such as the Waterfall or the Modular Incinerator, however the toxicity of the entire process is way too large to undergo on a large scale. In terms of the crops which can be used for biofuels, switchgrass is one of the best crops available for use inside a coal power plant as it has a very low amount of residue left over and it can be very easily
One of the main advantages of biofuels over fossil fuels is that it produces less Carbon Dioxide …show more content…
The 1st generation is the easiest to come across, it is crops which contain cellulose and lignin. Traditionally these were the only organic sources tested to be used for biofuel. Switchgrass, corn and rapeseed are all a part of this category. The 2nd generation consists of by-products from the 1st generation organics sources, these consist of tree bark, needles, shavings and all of the other non-sugar organic sources. The major advantage of these 2nd generation sources is the by using them you will be emptying landfills as well as reducing the petroleum dependency, however the disadvantage of this source is that it is in much less quantity as the 1st generation source. The 3rd generation of biofuels is algae. Algae is extremely cost effective, easy to grow, great for the environment and a very effective fuel(Richard and Tim, 2010), however the major draw backs is the large Capital costs associated with the production of the algae as well as the fact that the algae cannot be grown on a very large scale due to the nature of the …show more content…
As this waste would usually go to landfills, we can only gain energy from this waste by combusting it. This is however very bad on the environment as there are many carcinogens including Dioxins and Furans(WHO, 2016), as well as other heavy metals left over after the incineration. A large majority of those toxins turns into gasses and enters the atmosphere in which we breathe causing for an endless list of diseases which may occur. The rest of the toxins become slag which would need to be disposed of correctly(Speight, 2011). There are methods to incinerate this municipal waste, such as the Waterfall or the Modular Incinerator, however the toxicity of the entire process is way too large to undergo on a large scale. In terms of the crops which can be used for biofuels, switchgrass is one of the best crops available for use inside a coal power plant as it has a very low amount of residue left over and it can be very easily