BIOFUELS: A Geography Presentation by

A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE? Morgan Foulger and Chloe Yu

 WHAT IS BIOFUEL?

Biofuel is a renewable energy source made by inducing chemical reactions, heat,

and fermentation in organic matter.

There are different ways that biofuel is categorized. One of the ways is primary vs
secondary.

• Primary biofuel is not processed and is usually used for heating and cooking.
• Majority of the use of Biofuel is primary.
• Includes firewood/fuelwood, wood pellets and chips.
• Secondary biofuel is processed, and is mostly used for transportation.
• Includes ethanol, biodiesel, biomethane, and more.

Another way to categorize biofuel is by generation:

• F irst generation biofuel comes from plants that can also be a food source.
• Includes corn, soybeans, sugarcanes, and more.
• Second generation biofuel comes from non-food sources or the non-edible parts food sources.
• Includes husks, pulp mass, wheat straws and more.
• T hird generation biofuel comes from algae.
• It is a newly added generation.
• Produces much more than other generations.
One of the most common and well known forms of biofuel is ethanol.

• Eth anol is usually made from corn and sugarcane.

• It is most commonly used in the U.S. and Brazil.
• The U.S. and Brazil combined produce 84% of all ethanol.
• Most gasoline in the U.S. has 10% ethanol in it.
• Abou t 14% of corn crops are used to make ethanol.

Biodiesel is another well known form of biofuel.

• It is an alternative to diesel.
• M ade from animal fat, s oybeans, and recycled cooking grease.
• 1 billion gallons of biodiesel are produced every year.

Other forms of biofuel are:

• Biom ethane/Renewable natural gas.

• Comes from wastewater, landfill, livestock, and more.
• Biogas is a more processed version of biomethane.
• Ren ewable/Green diesel.
• Not to be confused with biodiesel, they are similar but chemically different.
• Green diesel is chemically identical to fossil fuels.
• Comes from vegetable waste and fats.
• Vegetable oil is also a form of biofuel.

From 2018 to 2019, biofuel production increased by 6%.

• 161 litres of biofuel were produced in 2019.

 • Biodiesel is being used in BC, the province
holding 1 of the 9 biodiesel plants in
Canada and 14 of the 40 wood pellets
plants in Canada.

• Biomass was accepted into the province in

order to replace beehive burners and find a

HOMETOW N use for lumber devastated by the Mountain

Pine Beetle.

• BC uses a combination of First Gen and

Second Gen type biofuels.
• Biogas is used, but account for
a miniscule amount of energy
used in BC, biogas amounting
to 3% of energy demand in
Canada.

• The wood is turned into gas via an oxygen-

starved vessel to create synthetic gas
(syngas). After being transported into an
oxidized vessel, energy is harnessed through
heat or steam.
THE DEBATE ON BIOFUELS
 Biofuels produce around the same CO2 emissions as fossil fuels, but since
that CO2 goes back into plants and gets reused, it has approximately net
zero emissions.
 The carbon cycle doesn't get disrupted by biofuels, since plants
and organic matter are used and not fossils stored deep in the
ground.
 Research suggests that biofuels can reduce emissions by 12% with
ethanol and by 41% with biodiesel.
 Biofuels could potentially be sustained indefinitely.

 Biofuels, although not as easy as fossil fuels, are much easier to transport
than other renewable energy sources are.
 Transporting electricity across long distances is much harder than
transporting wood or crops.

 Biofuels can make a good stop gap to replace fossil fuels while other
renewable technology gets developed
 .A good example is using biofuels to power gasoline cars while
electric cars and their accessible charging stations are still being
worked on.

 Biofuels are much safer than fossil fuels. If they spill, the damage done to the
surrounding area is not nearly as harmful as their fossil counterparts are.
• Biodiesel, despite not containing sulfur, still contributes to acid rain.
• However, it does not contribute to acid rain near as much as fossil
fuels do.

• Biofuels can take up too much space which could be used for agriculture
purposes and it takes more ethanol to power something gasoline can in
less.
• This could cause food prices to go up and damage the environment
more due to pollution and reduced biodiversity.
• However, the counterargument for this is to farm biofuels from
algae, which ExxonMobil claims “can be cultivated on land
unsuitable for other purposes with water that can’t be used for food
production.”
• Counter-counterargument: The amount of space it takes to
farm algae is also massive. For example, the amount of space
it would take to replace the aviation industry would be
68000km, and the aviation industry is only 13% of energy
resources.
• This means that it is perhaps better that biofuel does
not replace the entirety of energy production, yet we
use other renewable energy sources alongside it.
• Biofuel can also come from other sources, such as animal
waste, grasses, cooking grease, and sludge from wastewater.
CONCLUSION
BIBLIOGRAPHY
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 Cheney, Thomas. “Biodiesel.” BC Sustainable Energy Association, 17 Aug. 2015, www.bcsea.org/biodiesel-0.

 Donev, Jason, et al. “Biofuel.” Edited by Ellen Lloyd et al., Biofuel - Energy Education, University of Calgary, 31 Jan. 2020, energyeducation.ca/encyclopedia/Biofuel.

 “Economics of Biofuels.” EPA, Environmental Protection Agency, 22 Nov. 2019, www.epa.gov/environmental-economics/economics-biofuels.

 Hill, Jason, et al. “Environmental, Economic, and Energetic Costs and Benefits of Biodiesel and Ethanol Biofuels.” PNAS, National Academy of Sciences, 25 July 2006, www.pnas.org/content/103/30/11206.

 Le Feurve, Pharoah. “Transport Biofuels – Analysis.” IEA, 1 June 2020, www.iea.org/reports/transport-biofuels.

 Morris. “Liquid Biofuels for Transport Prospects, Risks and Opportunities.” Biofuels: 1. What Are Biofuels?, 1 Apr. 2020, www.greenfacts.org/en/biofuels/l-2/1-definition.htm.

 Murphy, Rose. “Simon Fraser University - Engaging the World.” Biofuels and Biomass - CEEDC - Simon Fraser University, 2017, www.sfu.ca/ceedc/databases/Biofuels.html.

 Nunez, Christina. “Biofuels, Explained.” Biofuels, from Ethanol to Biodiesel, Facts and Information, 15 July 2019, www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/global-warming/biofuel/.

 Tiseo, Ian. “Biofuel Production in Leading Countries 2019.” Statista, 2 Sept. 2020, www.statista.com/statistics/274168/biofuel-production-in-leading-countries-in-oil-equivalent/.

 Whyte, Laureen. “Biomass Energy BC.” Clean Energy BC, 2020, www.cleanenergybc.org/about/clean-energy-sectors/biomass.