Bioenergy is the Future: Biofuels as a Replacement for Petroleum-Based Products

The emission of Greenhouses Gases (GHG) has developed adverse effects on the environment. The U.S Energy Information Administration (EIA) (2020) discloses that increasing GHG concentrations in the atmosphere facilitates global warming by increasing the average temperature on earth. High temperature further affects precipitation patterns, sea level, and storm severity, which facilitates climate change. EIA statistics identify that global warming has constantly been rising relative to increasing GHG concentrations, which pose a challenge of adverse weather effects related to global warming. Among the key contributors to GHG gases include emissions from petroleum-engine-based vehicles, which generate a high concentration of CO2 into the atmosphere. However, the environment can be secured through the use of fuels whose products have a limited impact on the environment.

            Do you know that plants can be the solution to the environmental problem posed by petroleum-based fuels? Most individuals are not aware that plants can serve as sources of fuel since they have been entirely reliant on petroleum-based fuel. Plants serve as a key source of environmentally friendly biofuel that serves as a good replacement for environmentally damaging petroleum fuel. Among the commonly used biofuel include ethanol, which is produced through the fermentation of the sugars that are present in the plants. Ethanol is mostly produced from the corn product, which has a high concentration of sugars that can be converted to ethanol. Corn-based ethanol reduces GHG gases by 20% compared to the GHG concentration of petroleum. Also, biofuels can be acquired from other plants such as soyabeans, algae, and other waste crops whose ethanol regulates GHG by 50%. Biofuels have a wide range of advantages compared to petroleum. The various advantages include low environmental risk since ethanol is biodegradable, which regulates its impact in the presence of a spill or a leak in the fuel pipeline. The advantage helps improve the environmental risk related to petroleum spillovers, which generate adverse effects on the ecosystem. For example, an oil spill on the surface clogs the pore, which reduces soil aeration and restricts water infiltrations (Iwan et al., 2015). The effect further affects the suitability of the soil for plant growth. Secondly, ethanol is economically efficient compared to petroleum since it can be cheaply produced by fermenting sugar acquired from plant starch. The prices of ethanol are half the price of petrol (L24: Biofuels). Lastly, biofuels related emissions are considered to be carbon neutral since they release the carbon that had been used by the plant. On the other hand, gasoline is a key source of GHG emissions, which results from the burning of petroleum-based fuels.

 

            Based on the outlined advantages, biofuels serve as a good alternative to petroleum products. In line with this view, the U.S government has developed policies to facilitates the transition from non-renewable fuels to renewable plant-based fuels. The policies are developed under the renewable fuel standard (RFS) that sets the quantity of biofuels that should be used in any given period. The regulation has constantly increased the recommended quantity of biofuels from 4 billion gallons in 2006 to 36 billion gallons of biofuels to be used for transportation in 2022 (L24: Biofuels). As a result, automotive manufacturers have modified car engines to accommodate the use of ethanol as a transportation fuel. The U.S produces 45 million gallons of biofuels and seeks to improve the production by extending fossil production to the use of algae, which produces more advanced fuels. Similarly, researchers seek to utilize cellulose in biofuel production, which will facilitate the conversion of waste products into energy. The changes outline a transition that might oversee the rise of 100% biofuel automotive, which will replace the petroleum-based vehicles.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

References

Iwan et al. (2015). Influence of oil contamination on physical and biological properties of             forest soil after chainsaw use. Water, Air and Soil Pollution, 226(1), 389

L24: Biofuels

U.S. Energy Information Administration. (2020). Energy and the environment explained: Greenhouse gases and the climate. Retrieved from         https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/energy-and-the-environment/greenhouse-gases-          and-the-climate.php