Bio-fuels
Biofuels offer an alternative fuel for all types of internal combustion engines running on gasoline, diesel or kerosene, including for use in passenger vehicles, trucks, ships and airplanes. Transport or liquid biofuels tend to be categorized into two pools. Ethanol can be blended with or replace gasoline, and made up 59% of transport biofuel consumption in 2020. Biodiesel can be blended with or replace diesel, and made up 41% of 2020 transport biofuel consumption. Conventional biofuels use food-based crops, compete for land with food, and can have a variety of lifecycle GHG emissions impact, including slight or negligible reductions or even substantial increases. Feedstocks for advanced biofuels include waste streams and residues (from agriculture and industry), woody residues and short-rotation woody crops, and other feedstocks that do not compete with food. Biofuels can also be produced with carbon capture and storage, which addresses GHG goals but not necessarily other sustainability goals. Other advanced biofuels use developing technology such as cellulosic ethanol and biomass-to-liquids. Biodiesel: Conventional biodiesel is produced using the fatty acid and methyl esters (FAME) route (transesterification) from food oil crops, such as rapeseed, palm, soybean, flax, sunflower, mustard and coconut. Advanced biodiesel uses non-food feedstocks such as waste cooking oil, fish oil, algae oil, animal fats, and potentially cellulosic material as well—which generally requires more advanced production methods such as Fischer-Tropsch. Biodiesel can be blended into diesel and used in diesel vehicles with no engine modification, though performance can be compromised at higher blends. Common blending rates are 7% in Europe and 5% in India. Biodiesel blending rates in the US include 2%, 5%, and 20% and 100%, though warranties for many vehicles will not cover blends of 20% or higher. Bio-ethanol: Ethanol is produced by fermenting biomass. Conventional ethanol is made from food energy crops such as corn, wheat, sugar beet, sugarcane, barley and rye. Advanced ethanol is produced using wastes and residues and non-food energy crops. Feedstocks include cellulose and hemicellulose (fibrous material that is abundant in plant matter), such as wheat straw, woody raw materials and agricultural residues. Regardless of feedstock, ethanol can be blended into gasoline and used by conventional gasoline ICEs with no modification, typically at rates of 5% in Europe and China, 10% (and now up to 15%) in the US and Canada, and 5-20% in India.

Application Examples