Environmental Impacts of Biofuels

BT8017 BIOFUEL

UNIT 5 OTHER BIOFUELS

 Biofuels and the Environment
• What are biofuels and why are they important?
• Are there equipment compatibility issues
associated with biofuels?
• How do biofuel releases impact the
environment?
• Do biofuels behave differently in the
environment than petroleum-based fuels?
• How should biofuels releases be cleaned up?
 What Are Biofuels?

• For the purposes of this training,

the term biofuel is applied to
liquid fuels and blending
components produced from
renewable biomass feedstocks
used as alternative or
supplemental fuels for internal
combustion engines.
 Why be Concerned with Biofuel Releases?

• Catastrophic impact of large

releases
– Large releases from tank car
train derailments
– Massive fires
2009 train derailment in Rockford, IL
• Smaller releases resulting in 435,000-gallon DFE release.
– Slow leaks can go
undetected (such as in
storage tanks)
– Large volume - severe
environmental impacts

Scorched rail cars after fire in the

Rockford, IL release.
Photos from NTSB
 Petroleum vs. Biofuel Releases

• Behave differently in the

environment
– Site characterization and
remediation strategy
– Safety risks
– Potential release points
 Biochemical Oxygen Demand
(Section 3.3.2.2)
• Release of biofuel into
an aqueous
environment will result
in rapid consumption of
dissolved oxygen (DO)

• In groundwater, rapid
biodegradation will
induce anaerobic Dead paddlefish resulting from a
release of Wild Turkey Bourbon
conditions
 Biofuel Biodegradation
(Figure 3-2)
• Biofuels more readily biodegradable
Methane
CO2 Ethanol
CO2
H2 Acetyl CoA Butyryl CoA Butyrate
CO2
Acetone AcetoacetylCoA Butanol

Acetate
Figure 3-2. Major routes of the
anaerobic fermentation of ethanol
Methane
 Factors Affecting Biodegradation

• Inhibition of biological degradation at high

concentrations (6% - 10% ethanol)
• Rate affected by
– Available electron acceptors
– Nutrients
– pH (optimal = 6-8)
• Production of volatile fatty acids during metabolism
can lower pH