Question
Energy > Renewable Energy > Biofuels
Support investment in biofuels, such as corn ethanol, cellulosic ethanol, and biodiesel
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Background
Biodiesel refers to a diesel-equivalent processed fuel derived from biological sources (such as vegetable oils) which can be used in unmodified diesel-engine vehicles. It is distinguished from the straight vegetable oils (SVO) or waste vegetable oils (WVO) used as fuels in some diesel vehicles.
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Cellulosic ethanol is a type of biofuel produced from lignocellulose, a structural material that comprises much of the mass of plants. It is composed mainly of cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin. Corn stover, switchgrass, miscanthus and woodchip are some of the more popular cellulosic materials for ethanol production. Cellulosic ethanol is chemically identical to ethanol from other sources, such as corn starch or sugar, but has the advantage that the lignocellulose raw material is highly abundant and diverse. However, it differs in that it requires a greater amount of processing to make the sugar monomers available to the microorganisms that are typically used to produce ethanol by fermentation.
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Corn ethanol is ethanol produced from corn as a biomass through industrial fermentation, chemical processing and distillation. It is primarily used in the United States as an alternative to gasoline and petroleum. It is the most common type of Ethanol in the United States, but it considered less efficient than other types of ethanol (sugar cane, ect.) especially when only the vegetable itself is used and not the whole plant. Ethanol production may occur through two corn processing methods: dry and wet corn milling; the main difference between the two is the initial treatment of grain. In dry milling operations, liquefied corn starch is produced by heating corn meal with water and enzymes. A second enzyme converts the liquefied starch to sugars, which are fermented by yeast into ethanol and carbon dioxide; released CO2 during fermentation is captured and may be sold for use in carbonating beverages and in the manufacture of dry ice. Wet milling operations separate the fibre, germ (oil), and protein from the starch before it is fermented into ethanol.
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Though biomass is a renewable fuel, and is sometimes called a ""carbon neutral"" fuel, its use can still contribute to global warming. This happens when the natural carbon equilibrium is disturbed; for example by deforestation or urbanization of green sites. These activities are termed ""carbon leakage"". see more on Wikipedia
Gasification is also a possibility for future energy use, as the produced synthesis gas can be cleaned-up relatively easily leading to cleaner burning than burning coal directly (the conventional way). The cleanliness of the cleaned-up synthesis gas is comparable to natural gas enabling to burn it in a more efficient gas turbine rather than in a boiler used to drive a steam turbine. Synthesis gas produced by gasification can be CO-shifted meaning that the combustible CO in the syngas is transferred into carbon dioxide (CO2) using water as a reactant. The CO-shift reaction also produces an amount of combustible hydrogen (H2) equal to the amount of CO converted into CO2. The CO2 concentrations (or rather CO2 partial pressures) obtained by using coal gasification followed by a CO-shift reaction are much higher than in case of direct combustion of coal in air (which is mostly nitrogen). These higher concentrations of carbon dioxide make carbon capture and storage much more economical than it otherwise would be.
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Clean coal is the name attributed to coal chemically washed of minerals and impurities, sometimes gasified, burned and the resulting flue gases treated with steam, with the purpose of almost completely eradicating sulfur dioxide, and reburned so as to make the carbon dioxide in the flue gas economically recoverable. The coal industry uses the term ""clean coal"" to describe technologies designed to enhance both the efficiency and the environmental acceptability of coal extraction, preparation and use, with no specific quantitative limits on any emissions, particularly carbon dioxide.
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Cellulosic ethanol is a type of biofuel produced from lignocellulose, a structural material that comprises much of the mass of plants. It is composed mainly of cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin. Corn stover, switchgrass, miscanthus and woodchip are some of the more popular cellulosic materials for ethanol production. Cellulosic ethanol is chemically identical to ethanol from other sources, such as corn starch or sugar, but has the advantage that the lignocellulose raw material is highly abundant and diverse. However, it differs in that it requires a greater amount of processing to make the sugar monomers available to the microorganisms that are typically used to produce ethanol by fermentation.
see more on Wikipedia
Corn ethanol is ethanol produced from corn as a biomass through industrial fermentation, chemical processing and distillation. It is primarily used in the United States as an alternative to gasoline and petroleum. It is the most common type of Ethanol in the United States, but it considered less efficient than other types of ethanol (sugar cane, ect.) especially when only the vegetable itself is used and not the whole plant. Ethanol production may occur through two corn processing methods: dry and wet corn milling; the main difference between the two is the initial treatment of grain. In dry milling operations, liquefied corn starch is produced by heating corn meal with water and enzymes. A second enzyme converts the liquefied starch to sugars, which are fermented by yeast into ethanol and carbon dioxide; released CO2 during fermentation is captured and may be sold for use in carbonating beverages and in the manufacture of dry ice. Wet milling operations separate the fibre, germ (oil), and protein from the starch before it is fermented into ethanol.
see more on Wkipedia
Though biomass is a renewable fuel, and is sometimes called a ""carbon neutral"" fuel, its use can still contribute to global warming. This happens when the natural carbon equilibrium is disturbed; for example by deforestation or urbanization of green sites. These activities are termed ""carbon leakage"". see more on Wikipedia
Gasification is also a possibility for future energy use, as the produced synthesis gas can be cleaned-up relatively easily leading to cleaner burning than burning coal directly (the conventional way). The cleanliness of the cleaned-up synthesis gas is comparable to natural gas enabling to burn it in a more efficient gas turbine rather than in a boiler used to drive a steam turbine. Synthesis gas produced by gasification can be CO-shifted meaning that the combustible CO in the syngas is transferred into carbon dioxide (CO2) using water as a reactant. The CO-shift reaction also produces an amount of combustible hydrogen (H2) equal to the amount of CO converted into CO2. The CO2 concentrations (or rather CO2 partial pressures) obtained by using coal gasification followed by a CO-shift reaction are much higher than in case of direct combustion of coal in air (which is mostly nitrogen). These higher concentrations of carbon dioxide make carbon capture and storage much more economical than it otherwise would be.
see more on Wikipedia
Clean coal is the name attributed to coal chemically washed of minerals and impurities, sometimes gasified, burned and the resulting flue gases treated with steam, with the purpose of almost completely eradicating sulfur dioxide, and reburned so as to make the carbon dioxide in the flue gas economically recoverable. The coal industry uses the term ""clean coal"" to describe technologies designed to enhance both the efficiency and the environmental acceptability of coal extraction, preparation and use, with no specific quantitative limits on any emissions, particularly carbon dioxide.
see more on Wikipedia
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