Generations of Biofuels

First Generation Biofuels

First Generation biofuels are produced directly from food crops by
abstracting the oils for use in biodiesel or producing bioethanol
through fermentation[1]. Crops such as wheat and sugar are the
most widely used feedstock for bioethanol while oil seed rape has
proved a very effective crop for use in biodiesel. However, first
generation biofuels have a number of associated problems. There
is much debate over their actually benefit in reducing green house
gas and co2 emissions due to the fact that some biofuels can
produce negative Net energy gains, releasing more carbon in their
production than their feedstocks capture in their growth. However, the most contentious issue with first
generation biofuels is fuel vs food. As the majority of biofuels are produced directly from food crops the
rise in demand for biofuels has lead to an increase in the volumes of crops being diverted away from the
global food market. This has been blamed for the global increase in food prices over the last couple of
years.

Second Generation Biofuels

Second Generation biofuels have been developed to
overcome the limitations of first generation biofuels. They
are produced from non-food crops such as wood, organic
waste, food crop waste and specific biomass crops,
therefore eliminating the main problem with first
generation biofuels[1]. Second Generation biofuels are
also aimed at being more cost competitive in relation to
existing fossil fuels[2]. Life cycle assessments of second-
generation biofuels have also indicated that they will
increase net energy gains over coming another of the
main limitations of first generation biofuels.

Third Generation Biofuels

The Third Generation of biofuels is based on
improvements in the production of biomass. It takes
advantage of specially engineered energy crops such as
algae as its energy source[3]. The algae are cultured to
act as a low-cost, high-energy and entirely renewable
feedstock. It is predicted that algae will have the potential
to produce more energy per acre than conventional
crops. Algae can also be grown using land and water
unsuitable for food production, therefore reducing the
strain on already depleted water sources. A further benefit
of algae based biofuels is that the fuel can be
manufactured into a wide range of fuels such as diesel,
petrol and jet fuel.

Fourth Generation Biofuels

Four Generation Bio-fuels are aimed at not only
producing sustainable energy but also a way of capturing
and storing co2. Biomass materials, which have absorbed
co2 while growing, are converted into fuel using the same
processes as second generation biofuels. This process
differs from second and third generation production as at
all stages of production the carbon dioxide is captured
using processes such as oxy-fuel combustion[4]. The
carbon dioxide can then be geosequestered by storing it
in old oil and gas fields or saline aquifers. This carbon
capture makes fourth generation biofuel production
carbon negative rather then simply carbon neutral, as it is
locks away more carbon than it produces. This system
not only captures and stores carbon dioxide from the
atmosphere but it also reduces co2 emissions by
replacing fossil fuels.

References
[1] UN Report; Sustainable Bioenergy: A Framework for Decision Makers; April 2007
[2] Review of EU Biofuels Directive; Public consultation exercise; April- July 2006
[3] Chisti Y; Biodiesel from Microalgae; Biotechnology Advances 25 (2007)
294306
[4] Schmetz E, Ackiewicz M, Tomlinson G, White C, Gray D; Increasing Security and
Reducing Carbon Emissions of the U.S. Transportation Sector: A Transformational
Role for Coal with Biomass; National Energy Technology Laboratory
Source : http://energyfromwasteandwood.weebly.com/generations-of-biofuels.html
 What is Biofuel?
A biofuel can be defined as a type of fuel that is derived from living or recently dead organic
matter/biological material. It can be in solid, liquid or gaseous state.

Biofuel can be used as an alternate of fossil fuel. But mostly it is used to power cars, heating and cooking
at homes. It can be used to generate electricity as well. Contrast to fossil fuel, which takes million of years
to form and scarce in nature, it is a renewable energy. In addition, fossil fuel contributes green house
gases in the atmosphere, but biofuel is nearly carbon neutral. It is because the plants used in biofuel
production have already removed some carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. But there are some
doubts/debates going on regarding carbon neutrality of biofuel during its commercial production and
applications.

Although biofuel can be produced from any organic matter or carbon source the most common practice is
to use photosynthetic plants. The most common plants used in biofuel production include corn,
switchgrass, soybeans, rapeseed, wheat, sugar beet, sugar cane, palm oil, cassava and jatropha. Biofuel
can be produced from other form of waste biomass as well, like straw, wood chip, manure, sewage sludge
and food waste.

Production Technologies
In general, several pre-processing steps are required for extracting biofuel from feed stocks especially for
the lingo-cellulosic ones. Currently different thermal, thermochemical and biological conversion
techniques are used either stand alone or in combination (depending on the feed tocks) for producing
different types of biofuels. Some of these processes are gasification, pyrolysis, torrefaction and
fermentation. These processes are described in details at the Biomass Energy page of this site.

Biofuel Advantages
Biofuel advantages are very straight forward:

Biofuels are green and renewable energy

Biofuel is CO2 neutral

Biofuel generate marginal green house gas emission comparing to other fossil fuels and thus
reduces air pollution and protects the environment

Biofuel is not subjected to world price fluctuation like fossil fuel

Biofuel can be produced locally

Biofuel Debates/Drawbacks
Food vs. Fuel

The fact that we have a limited land area starts the whole food vs. fuel debates. With the increase in
population the demand for both and food and fuel increases. But with the land limitation we can
concentrate in growing only one to maintain its cost, supply and affordability. In such situation, of course
food has the priority especially for the developing countries. This is the sole reason for the second
generation feedstocks for biofuel generation gaining attention and popularity.
The Carbon Equation and Global Warming

Biofuel are claimed to be carbon neutral fuel as theoretically the Feed stock plants consume almost the
same amount of carbon dioxide it generates as fuel. But previous research (a 2005 study in Cornell
university) suggested that the whole production process consumes actually more energy than that gets
generated from the biofuel. In addition, biofuel generates other green house gases too like nitrous oxide.
So, biofuel still contribute in global warming even though not in a significant way.
http://www.theecoambassador.com/Biofuel.html