![]() Biofuel production and use must coincide with reductions in the production and use of fossil fuels for these benefits to accrue. It is important to note that biofuel production and consumption, in and of itself, will not reduce GHG or conventional pollutant emissions, lessen petroleum imports, or alleviate pressure on exhaustible resources. Ethanol, in particular, can ensure complete combustion, reducing carbon monoxide emissions (US EPA 2010). 2013).īiofuels may reduce some pollutant emissions. Reducing our demand for petroleum could also reduce its price, generating economic benefits for American consumers, but also potentially increasing petroleum consumption abroad (Huang et al. If biofuel production and use reduces our consumption of imported fossil fuels, we may become less vulnerable to the adverse impacts of supply disruptions (US EPA 2010). Moreover, in the case of waste biomass, no additional agricultural production is required, and indirect market-mediated GHG emissions can be minimal if the wastes have no other productive uses.īiofuels can be produced domestically, which could lead to lower fossil fuel imports (Huang et al. Second and third generation biofuels have significant potential to reduce GHG emissions relative to conventional fuels because feedstocks can be produced using marginal land. Academic studies using other economic models have also found that biofuels can lead to reductions in lifecycle GHG emissions relative to conventional fuels (Hertel et al. While the production of biofuels results in GHG emissions at several stages of the process, EPA’s (2010) analysis of the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) projected that several types of biofuels could yield lower lifecycle GHG emissions than gasoline over a 30 year time horizon. Thus, their production and use could, in theory, be sustained indefinitely. In contrast to fossil fuels, which are exhaustible resources, biofuels are produced from renewable feedstocks. Replacing fossil fuels with biofuels has the potential to generate a number of benefits. Potential economic benefits of biofuel production ![]() ![]() Commercial cellulosic biofuel production began in the US in 2013, while algae biofuels are not yet produced commercially. Third generation biofuels use algae as a feedstock. Second generation biofuels, or cellulosic biofuels, are made from cellulose, which is available from non-food crops and waste biomass such as corn stover, corncobs, straw, wood, and wood byproducts. ![]() There were more than 2300 E85 fueling stations located throughout the US in 2013 (US Department of Energy). Flexible fuel vehicles can use E85, a gasoline-ethanol blend containing up to 85 percent ethanol. Most vehicles can use gasoline-ethanol blends containing up to 10 percent ethanol (by volume). Ethanol is the most widely used bioalcohol fuel. Oils and animal fats can be processed into biodiesel. Sugar and starch crops are converted through a fermentation process to form bioalcohols, including ethanol, butanol, and propanol. policy approaches to support biofuel productionįirst generation biofuels are made from sugar crops (sugarcane, sugarbeet), starch crops (corn, sorghum), oilseed crops (soybean, canola), and animal fats.
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