Biofuels Advantages And Disadvantages

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

Monoculture would be an environmental disadvantage; by growing the same crops year after year rather than producing various crops through a farmer’s field, over time, even as this might be economically attractive for farmers, growing the same crop may deprive the soil of nutrients that are put back into the soil through crop rotation. Moreover, the use of fertilizers in order to grow crops better would also be a downside since they can have harmful effects on surrounding environment and may cause water pollution. Fertilizers contain nitrogen and phosphorus. They can definitely be washed away from soil to a nearby lake, river or pond. The amount of land required to meet the world’s energy needs using biofuels is a major concern. Depending on feedstock, the requirements can be massive. Algae would need 68,000 square kilometers to meet the needs of the aviation industry. That is an area roughly the size of all of Ireland. Of course this would put most off of biofuels considering that, even it has been around for a while, it still needs developing. Most believe that there is not enough land currently in use to meet fuel needs. That means forested areas would need to be cleared. This would release vast amounts of carbon. The impacts of biofuels on greenhouse gas emissions were originally measured by only the direct land use changes. However, when indirect land-use changes are

A gallon of ethanol contains 80,000 BTU of energy compared with 124,800 BTU for the same amount of gasoline. That means the average person would have to buy 1.56 gallons of ethanol for every gallon of regular gasoline. Some would say that it’s cheaper. However, technically, a gallon of ethanol costs 19.9% less than gas, but since it will have to be filled up more often, the ethanol ends up costing more. Many common crops could economically produce biofuels in certain parts of the world. But in other regions, the same plants would be impossible, or extremely costly, to grow. Certain crops will grow better in certain regions and may not grow at all in others. And while the range of oil-producing crops considered viable for biofuel production is wide enough to fit most growing zones, the most productive crops simply won’t grow everywhere. Consumers living in a low producing region would need to have biofuel trucked or piped to them increasing the cost of production and transport. Nevertheless, researchers are working to increase biofuel yields from weather-tolerant crops, but in much the same way that oranges will never be a cash crop in Alaska, there will always be some regions that simply cannot support large-scale production of biofuel-rich