Pros and Cons of Biofuels

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.

Pros and Cons of Biofuels

The primary principle of how biofuels work is through the process of photosynthesis, which is how plants capture and store the sun’s energy. The energy stored in the plants is converted to many types of biofuels through a process called biocatalysis. Biofuels are developed through agricultural crops. There are two factors why agricultural crops are the main reason biofuels are developing: plants are easy to grow and are a key form of a renewable resource. There are many crops that biofuels are specifically grown and produced from. Here is a list of the top ten agricultural crops and a description of each.

10) Corn

Turning sugar-rich corn into ethanol is like a brewery. They first grind the kernels and mix them with warm water. Then they add yea...

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...ps engines last longer by eliminating the wear and tear (Perritano, 2011).

4) Health Benefits

According to Reilly, 10,000 people die each year in the United States from pollution created by gasoline engines (Perritano, 2011). Reilly also stated that gasoline emissions release nitrogen oxide, acetaldehyde, and other pollutants in air that produce smog which causes asthma and respiratory ailments. As stated before biofuels reduces emissions and pollution. Biofuels only release the carbon dioxide which their plant source absorbs out of the atmosphere.

In conclusion, biofuels are quickly becoming the future source of fuel to run vehicles and equipment. Biofuels has many disadvantages, but the advantages significantly outweigh them. Nobody has a definite answer on how to fix the growing fuel and oil crisis of today, but biofuels absolutely has promise.