Biofuel – A Renewable Energy Source

Biofuel is a solid, liquid or gaseous fuel able to be derived from recently living organisms such as plants and plant-derived materials, animals and their by-products (different from fossil fuels which are derived from biological materials that have long since died).  Biofuels can be produced from any biological carbon source.  For example, manure, garden waste and crop residues are all sources of biomass.  The most common sources used for biofuel manufacturing are various photosynthetic plants.

This is a renewable energy source based on the carbon cycle unlike other natural resources such as petroleum, coal and nuclear fuels.

Biofuels can be used to generate steam and create electricity.  They can also be converted to a liquid or gas to be used in vehicles.

Biofuels are commonly used for cooking and space heating of homes as well as central heating of homes and larger facilities.
In many European countries, over 25% of heating is done with solid biofuels, including wood pellets, wood chips and straw.

Biomass is made from many types of organic matter waste, animal and vegetable, such as crop stalks, tree trimmings, wood pallets, construction waste, chicken and pig waste, agricultural waste as well as lawn and yard clippings and debris.

Using waste biomass to produce energy can reduce the use of fossil fuels, reduce greenhouse gas emissions in addition to reducing pollution and waste management problems.

A recent publication by the European Union highlighted the potential for waste-derived bioenergy to contribute to the reduction of global warming.  The report concluded that the equivalent of 19 million tons of oil will be available from biomass by 2020, 46% from bio-wastes such as municipal solid waste, agricultural residues, farm waste and other biodegradable waste streams.

Landfills generate gases, known as landfill gas (LFG), as the waste buried in them undergoes anaerobic (without air) digestion.  LFG is considered a source of renewable energy, even though landfill disposal is often non-sustainable.

Landfill gas can be burned either directly for heat or to generate electricity for public consumption.  Landfill gas contains approximately 50% methane which is the gas found in natural gas.  Landfill gas can be easily purified and then fed into the natural gas grid.  If landfill gas is not harvested, it escapes into the atmosphere which is undesirable since methane is a greenhouse gas with much more global warming potential than that of carbon dioxide.  Over a time span of 100 years, one ton of methane produces the same greenhouse gas effect as 23 tons of C02.