1.0 Introduction
As the threat of Global warming is on its peak nowadays, every company has to alter its strategy to cater to the needs of the environment. External pressure increases as the customers demand environmental friendly services and products. Companies also face a push to be environmental friendly as the governments become increasingly vigilant regarding the environment, and new laws and regulatory policies take shape .We chose the topic ‘Organization and the Natural Environment’, as there is a need to analyze the responsible actions of companies. Why and more importantly, how are they protecting the environment? For this reason we focus mainly on the oil sector. This is because petroleum is one of the leading causes of pollution as it emits greenhouse gases when combusted. These include CO (carbon monoxide), Sulfur, Carbon Dioxide, Benzene and volatile organic compounds which can cause harmful diseases like cancer. As the media highlights organizational CSR relating to the environment, these companies come under the scrutiny of public eye . Eco friendly companies have a good public image and are prioritized by 15 to 46 percent of the customers. With increasing transparency of the corporate world, companies have to measure their actions and have to make environment friendly strategies. It is not just the concern for the public image that drives oil companies to look for environmental friendly fuels, but also because fossil fuel reserves are thinning out, and petro-diesel is steadily becoming a scarce commodity. Crude oil reserves are estimated to finish off completely between 2050 and 2075. As more and more people buy cars, the demand keeps on rising and the price of the increasingly depleting supply will climb to ...
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...lobal warming and socio-economic costs and benefits of biodiesel. Report to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Contract Reference No. CSA, 5982.
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Both biodiesel and ethanol are derivatives of biomass that have been processed to create a liquid biofuel. Both types of biofuels have been touted as secure and environmentally safe alternatives to fossil fuels, however the research verifying these claims is extensive but often contradicting. In the following paper, the efficiency and quality of the two types of biofuel will be discussed. The effects of variables such as source materials and production techniques on efficiency and quality will be considered. Due to the limited scope of this paper however, only generalized net analyses of ethanol and biodiesel production will be considered. The production of ethanol requires one of two source materials, cellulose or sucrose, both of which are complex sugars. Currently, corn and sugar cane are the primary source materials for ethanol; however it can be produced from any plant cellulose. Ethanol is created using chemical and non chemical processes. These processes include liquefication, saccharification, fermentation, and distillation (Malca and Freire, 2006).
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Ethanol production was developed in hopes of severing our ties with fossil fuels in favor of alternative energy, such as biofuels. Although, VOCs emissions are released during production of ethanol in a factory, the quality of air is greatly improved when burning ethanol versus fossil fuels. Burning ethanol instead of fossil fuels reduces the amount of cancer-causing greenhouse gases that go into the atmosphere. Ethanol production ranks at the bottom of industrial water usage, but is still not out of the woods with the abundance of water usage needed in corn feedstock and ethanol manufacturing and processing facilities. Many acres of land are needed to grow corn crops, however, many corn farmers are successful in growing more corn on less acreage.
“All Biofuels Are Not Created Equal” is a very informative article that everyone should be aware of. The authors of this article show how biofuels can be made to benefit Earth. Our ecological footprint is so big that everyone requires 2.5 Earths to maintain the same lifestyle. What does this reveal? It reveals that Earth’s resources are being diminished. This means that the world needs to do something to prevent this so Earth can last for future generations. The way that biofuels are being made is not very effective in helping this problem. This is because it either requires deforestation or the burning of fossil fuels, which the world is trying to stop. Instead of using corn or sugar cane as ethanol, alternative crops should be used because it will benefit our environment the most.
Biofuels, fuels that provide energy using relatively recent organic sources, have been around just as long as cars have. In fact, the first cars ran on peanut oil. Henry Ford, founder of a multimillion dollar American car company, planned to fuel his massively successful Model T’s with ethanol (National Geographic 2013.) However, this revolutionary idea was swept under the rug when the discovery of massive petroleum deposits kept gasoline and diesel cheap and affordable. As 2014 rolls around, consumers are starting see that the amount of petroleum in the Earth is shrinking and the same story goes for their wallets (Avro 2012.) Not only does burning gas and diesel empty out the wallet, it is also slowly covering the Earth with a warm carbon dioxide blanket that causes global warming. Transportation, which is the third largest emitter of greenhouse gasses (Biofuel Association of Australia 2013), is dependent on finite amounts of gas and diesel for its energy needs so it is very important we move towards a more renewable and sustainable fuel source. Biofuels, both ethanol and biodiesel, have the potential to fuel transportation efficiently and drastically reduce the carbon footprint, thus reducing the warm blanket of carbon dioxide on the Earth.
In 1960 Oswald and Golweke proposed the use of large‐scale ponds for cultivating algae on wastewater nutrients and anaerobically fermenting the biomass into methane fuel. Algae, like all bio fuels, harvests the energy from water and sunlight to produce oil which can be converted into biodiesel as well as the carbohydrate content to be fermented into ethanol (Benemann, Olst, et al. 1). The concept of using vegetal oil as an engine fuel likely dates back to when Rudolf Diesel (1858‐1913) developed the first engine to run on peanut oil, as he demonstrated at the World Exhibition in Paris in 1900 (Biodiesel 1). Using algae, however, is only a very recent concept as the first algae biodiesel plant only opened this year on April 1, 2008. The company, PetroSun, is expected to produce ≈4.4 million gallons of algal oil and 110 million lbs of biomass per year in their 1,000 acres. Fuel will not be produced immediately, but they will be building or acquiring ethanol and biodiesel production plants in the near future (Cornell 1).
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Secondly, the use of biofuels is not a cost effective option as they are more expensive than fossil fuels. According to the County Commissions of the US Department of Agriculture and North Dakota State University, there are around seven biodiesel producers in the US. Biodiesel is the mix of biofuel and diesel in 20:80 ratio, which means that the cost of biodiesel will be around 20$ more ...
The production of biofuels requires the cultivation, processing, and transportation of appropriate crops. Food production shares many of these same needs, and this conflict of resources has been the subject of numerous debates. The cultivation of crops for biofuels increases the consumption of natural resources and contributes to world hunger by redirecting the use of edible grains (Pimentel, et al., 2009, 9). We will look at 3 major points of debate on biofuel production: influence on food production, use of natural resources, and effect on the price of food.
1 Fraiture, C et al (2007) Biofuels and implications for agricultural water use. Water Policy 10 67-81. DOI: 10.2166/wp.2008.054
... other solution to eliminate vehicles' emissions such as use bioethanol and biodiesel. Because this fuel has neutral Carbon atoms in its chemical form, the scientists named it biofuel (1). The researchers support using biofuel due to low Carbon emission that produce from burning this fuel. According to State of Connecticut's strategy, using biofuel will decrease dependence on fossil fuel by reducing its consumption by (20%) (7). Though many advantages of using biofuel in vehicles and industries, some researchers think that this strategy is very dangerous because it will utilize large agricultural area to make fuel instate of make food (1). They believe that this strategy will increase the price of vegetable oil in local markets (1). Moreover, burning biofuel produces solid Carbon (soot) to atmosphere and add another problem to earth's environment.
Biofuels can be produced either by First Generation of Biofuel (FGB), Second Generation of Biofuel (SGB), Third Generation of Biofuel (TGB) or Fourth Generation of Biofuel. FGB is mainly derived from food crops where it had created an issue regarding on competition of food for...
In comparing diesel and biodiesel, it is obvious to assume that diesel is evil and biodiesel a safe-for-the-environment product. Biodiesel has many superiorities in terms of reducing pollution. In over 15 million miles of in-field testing, biodiesel showed comparable fuel consumption, horsepower, torque, and haulage rates as conventional diesel fuel.
Before talking about biofuels, you need to know the basics from where it is created from. Biofuels are produced from biomass, which is derived from living or recently living plant matter such as trees, grasses, agricultural residue, algae, and other biological material. “Biofuel is considered carbon neutral”, which absorbs roughly the same amount of carbon dioxide during growth as when it is burnt (Rutherford, 2009). Biofuels is much cleaner than petrol/diesel because of the considerable impact petrol/diesel has on the environment from the high fuel emissions. Biofuels will help decrease dependence on fossil fuels such as oil, gas, petrol, and coal. This paper will discuss the many crops that biofuels derive from, the various types of biofuels, and the advantages (Pros) and disadvantages (Cons) of biofuels. These biofuels will reduce our nation's dependence on foreign oil, improve our air quality, and support rural economies.
Coal and crude oil are non-renewable resources. They take an extreme amount of time to form and due to that, they cannot be replaced once they have all been used up. However, when it comes to the biofuels, they are produced from plant material and are renewable. There are two types of biofuels: Biodiesel, which is made from rapeseed oil and other plant oils and is used in diesel-powered vehicles without needing any modifications to the engine, and Bioethanol, which is a liquid fuel that burns quite well and is made by fermenting sugars from sugar cane, wheat and other plants. In this essay, whether or not biofuels are becoming an increasingly important alternative to traditional forms of energy under environmental and economic benefits and