Table of Contents
Biofuel
- Biofuel are the fuel that produces by using agricultural crops and other biomass material within a short period of time.
- Common commercial used biofuel are bioethanol, biodiesel, and bio methanol.
- Bioethanol made from sugarcane, sugar beet, and algae.
- Biodiesel is made from vegetable oil, animal fats and algal lipid and from nonedible crops.
- Bio methanol made from organic waste agricultural waste.
Types of Biofuel
- Biogas
- Bioethanol
- Bioethanol
- Biofuel
Image Source: European Biofuel Portal
Classification of Biofuel
1. First Generation Biofuel
- Also called conventional biofuel
- Made from sugar, starch and vegetable oil animal fats
- Bio-alcohol
- biodiesel
- biogas
2. Second Generation Biofuel (Also called Advance Biofuel made from nonedible
- Straw
- Grass
- Jatropha plants
- Pongamia plants
- Waste vegetable
3. Third Generation Biofuel
- Made from Algae and microbes
- Algae Species
- Alaria esculenta
- Palmaria palmata
Raw Material
- Sugarcane
- Sugar beet
- Corn
- cassava
- Canola oil
- Sunflower
Corn as Biofuel
Composition
- Starch – 61%
- Corn oil- 3.8%
- Protein- 8.0%A
- Fiber-11.2%
Sugarcane as Biofuel
- Milling of sugarcane for separation of juice and bagasse
- Fermentation of Sugarcane into Alcohol
- Distillation and separation of Alcohol 95%
- Dehydration to remove water content
Rice as biofuel
Composition
- Starch (70-72%)
- Hull (20%)
- Rice bran (7%)
- Embryo (2-3%)
- Rice bran contain oil (15- 23%)
Facts about rice as biofuel
- The straw of rice consist of cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin
- Cellulose embedded in lignin matrix thus pre-treatment to convert cellulose to glucose by popping method
- Similar to water impregnated steam explosion method,
- sudden explosion with chemical effect from hydrolysis in high temperature
- Microthermal explosion with help of so3 gas
- Dilution with alkaline to remove lignin
- Filtration to remove alkaline solution
- Addition of water to form cellulosic mash
- Enzyme hydrolyses
- Fermentation to ethanol
- Biofuel
Jatropha as Biofuel
- Jatropha flowering plant belong to family Euphorbiaceae
- More than 170 species but jatropha curcas important in case of biofuel (diesel production)
- Discover in central America and Mexico
- Now a different country like China, Brazil, India, Philippines, Australia
- And also Pakistan producing fuel using Jatropha curcas plant.
Facts About Jatropha curcas
- Jatropha curcas able to survive without watering 5-6 month
- Able to survive at -4 to 45 C
- Perennial give flowering 20-25 years
- flowering 2 times in the year (First flowering in April, May, and Jun
- Second times flowering in September, October and November)
- In February plant drop leave
- Baby plant appear after 9days of sowing seed 2-6-month plant transfer to the field
- Reach to 6-10 feet height
- A single branch of the plant contains 4-6 bunches of seeds
Pongamia pinnata
- Pongamia pinnata (Leguminoceae. Subfamily Papilionoideae)
- First time discover in Bangladesh and India commonly called as pongam or Karanja
- Now found in Australia, Florida, Hawaii, Malaysia Thailand, Philippines
- Drought resistant, heat, limestone, salinity, sand and shade withstand temperature 0-50C annually rainfall of 500-2500mm/annually
- Nitrogen-fixing trees produce seeds containing 30-40% oil
- ornamental and shade tree but now a day’s alternative source of bio-diesel
- 6-8m height, trunk diameter more than 50cm
- The bark is grayish-brown dark green leave
Pongamia
- flowers are pink light purple or white.
- Pods are thickened walled single seed
- Seeds 10-20cm long oblong light brown color.
PONGAMIA SEEDS
- Seeds contain pongam oil, bitter in taste, red-brown color, thick, non-edible,
- Seeds oil has a high content of triglycerides, disagreeable taste, and odor.
- use as tanning leather, soap, illuminating oil.
Advantages
- price
- The price of regular fuel is increasing due to increasing demand. while biofuel is less expensive due to progress in agriculture.
- sources /raw materials
- fuels have limited sources while biofuel has large resources like crops (edible & non-edible) manure and other waste materials.
- renewability /biodegradable:
- it takes very long time for fossil fuel to be produce, biofuel is much more easily renewable.
- security:
- biofuel can be produce locally, which decrease the nation’s dependence upon foreign energy.
- economic stimulation/employment
- biofuel manufacture plants can employ hundreds or thousands of workers, creating new jobs in rural area
- carbon cycle
- when biofuel burn produces very low co2 and absorbed this co2 itself.
- nontoxic/safer
- biofuel doesn’t contain sulfur and other toxic substance that actually produced by burning of regular fuel.
- Greenhouse effect
- ethanol blended biofuel such as Ethanol85% reduces up to 37.1% of the greenhouse effect
Disadvantages
- Release carbon dioxide result in global warming
- Engine problem
- Food prices
- Food shortages
- Water use
- High cost
- for refining purpose and to and to build a biofuel manufacturing plants to increase biofuel, high initial investment is required.
References
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biofuel
- https://auto.howstuffworks.com/fuel-efficiency/biofuels/10-biofuel-crops.htm
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4758376/
- https://www.slideshare.net/flanzashebarina/biofuels-28535080
Sources
- 3% – https://www.dieselworldmag.com/diesel-technology/diy-alternative-fuel-how-to-make-your-own-biofuel-in-nine-easy-steps/
- 2% – https://www.coursehero.com/file/17789138/Biofuel/
- 2% – https://lifeunparalleled.blogspot.com/2010/
- 1% – https://www.slideshare.net/sunnyalha/bioethanol-ppt
- 1% – https://www.slideshare.net/steamxpress/pongamia-pinnata
- 1% – https://www.slideshare.net/mjrulzz/biofuels-33429450
- 1% – https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780081027288000073
- 1% – https://thesustainabilitycooperative.net/2013/12/26/the-difference-between-biofuel-bioethanol-biodiesel-and-biogas/
- 1% – https://agsci.oregonstate.edu/sites/agsci.oregonstate.edu/files/bioenergy/generations-of-biofuels-v1.3.pdf
- 1% – http://www.authorstream.com/Presentation/chhabra61-1753756-biofuel-alternate-source-energy/
- <1% – https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12180781