Carbon-based fuel

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Carbon-based fuel is any fuel principally from the oxidation or burning of carbon. Carbon-based fuels are of two main kinds, biofuels and fossil fuels. Whereas biofuels are derived from recent-growth organic matter [1] and are typically harvested, as with logging of forests and cutting of corn, fossil fuels are of prehistoric origin [2] and are extracted from the ground, the principal fossil fuels being oil, coal, and natural gas.

From an economic policy perspective, an important distinction between biofuels and fossil fuels is that only the former is sustainable or renewable.

Whereas we can continue to obtain energy from biofuels indefinitely in principle, the Earth's reserves of fossil fuels was determined millions of years ago [3] and is therefore fixed as far as our foreseeable future is concerned. The great variability in the ease of extraction of fossil fuels however makes its endgame scenario one of increasing prices over one or more centuries rather than of abrupt exhaustion. [4]

From the perspective of climate and ecology, biofuels and fossil fuels have in common that they contribute to the production of atmospheric carbon dioxide, which has emerged in recent decades as the fastest-changing greenhouse gas, whose principal impacts are global warming and ocean acidification. However biofuels actively participate in the carbon cycle today by photosynthesizing carbon dioxide, unlike fossil fuels whose participation was long ago, and can therefore in principle bring atmospheric CO2 into an equilibrium not possible with the continued use of fossil fuel. But in practice photosynthesis is a slow process, and the additional fuel produced by artificial methods of accelerating it such as application of fertilizer tends to be offset by the energy consumed by the accelerating processes, [5] to a degree currently under active debate. [6] In contrast the speed of photosynthesis is immaterial for fossil fuels because they had millions of years in which to accumulate. Burning of both fossil fuels and biofuels usually also produces carbon monoxide, which is toxic and can kill a person after mixing with the haemoglobin of the blood, increasing its concentration in the body. Biofuels and fossil fuels may also produce many other air pollutants depending on the contents of the fuel.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fossil fuel</span> Fuel formed over millions of years from dead plants and animals

A fossil fuel is a hydrocarbon-containing material such as coal, oil, and natural gas, formed naturally in the Earth's crust from the remains of dead plants and animals that is extracted and burned as a fuel. Fossil fuels may be burned to provide heat for use directly, to power engines, or to generate electricity. Some fossil fuels are refined into derivatives such as kerosene, gasoline and propane before burning. The origin of fossil fuels is the anaerobic decomposition of buried dead organisms, containing organic molecules created by photosynthesis. The conversion from these materials to high-carbon fossil fuels typically require a geological process of millions of years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Biofuel</span> Type of biological fuel produced from biomass from which energy is derived

Biofuel is a fuel that is produced over a short time span from biomass, rather than by the very slow natural processes involved in the formation of fossil fuels, such as oil. Biofuel can be produced from plants or from agricultural, domestic or industrial biowaste. Biofuels are mostly used for transportation, but can also be used for heating and electricity. Biofuels are regarded as a renewable energy source. However, the use of biofuel has been controversial because of the several disadvantages associated with the use of it. These include for example : the "food vs fuel" debate, biofuel production methods being sustainable or not, leading to deforestation and loss of biodiversity or not.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sustainable energy</span> Energy that responsibly meets social, economic, and environmental needs

Energy is sustainable if it "meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs." Most definitions of sustainable energy include considerations of environmental aspects such as greenhouse gas emissions and social and economic aspects such as energy poverty. Renewable energy sources such as wind, hydroelectric power, solar, and geothermal energy are generally far more sustainable than fossil fuel sources. However, some renewable energy projects, such as the clearing of forests to produce biofuels, can cause severe environmental damage.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bioenergy</span> Energy made from recently-living organisms

Bioenergy is energy made or generated from biomass, which consists of recently living organisms, mainly plants. Types of biomass commonly used for bioenergy include wood, food crops such as corn, energy crops and waste from forests, yards, or farms.

Energy forestry is a form of forestry in which a fast-growing species of tree or woody shrub is grown specifically to provide biomass or biofuel for heating or power generation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Energy crop</span> Crops grown solely for energy production by combustion

Energy crops are low-cost and low-maintenance crops grown solely for renewable bioenergy production. The crops are processed into solid, liquid or gaseous fuels, such as pellets, bioethanol or biogas. The fuels are burned to generate electrical power or heat.

The energy content of biofuel is the chemical energy contained in a given biofuel, measured per unit mass of that fuel, as specific energy, or per unit of volume of the fuel, as energy density. A biofuel is a fuel produced from recently living organisms. Biofuels include bioethanol, an alcohol made by fermentation—often used as a gasoline additive, and biodiesel, which is usually used as a diesel additive. Specific energy is energy per unit mass, which is used to describe the chemical energy content of a fuel, expressed in SI units as joule per kilogram (J/kg) or equivalent units. Energy density is the amount of chemical energy per unit volume of the fuel, expressed in SI units as joule per litre (J/L) or equivalent units.

Renewable Fuels are fuels produced from renewable resources. Examples include: biofuels, Hydrogen fuel, and fully synthetic fuel produced from ambient carbon dioxide and water. This is in contrast to non-renewable fuels such as natural gas, LPG (propane), petroleum and other fossil fuels and nuclear energy. Renewable fuels can include fuels that are synthesized from renewable energy sources, such as wind and solar. Renewable fuels have gained in popularity due to their sustainability, low contributions to the carbon cycle, and in some cases lower amounts of greenhouse gases. The geo-political ramifications of these fuels are also of interest, particularly to industrialized economies which desire independence from Middle Eastern oil.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Biomass (energy)</span> Biological material used as a renewable energy source

Biomass, in the context of energy production, is matter from recently living organisms which is used for bioenergy production. Examples include wood, wood residues, energy crops, agricultural residues including straw, and organic waste from industry and households. Wood and wood residues is the largest biomass energy source today. Wood can be used as a fuel directly or processed into pellet fuel or other forms of fuels. Other plants can also be used as fuel, for instance maize, switchgrass, miscanthus and bamboo. The main waste feedstocks are wood waste, agricultural waste, municipal solid waste, and manufacturing waste. Upgrading raw biomass to higher grade fuels can be achieved by different methods, broadly classified as thermal, chemical, or biochemical.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carbon dioxide in Earth's atmosphere</span> Atmospheric constituent; greenhouse gas

In Earth's atmosphere, carbon dioxide is a trace gas that plays an integral part in the greenhouse effect, carbon cycle, photosynthesis and oceanic carbon cycle. It is one of several greenhouse gases in the atmosphere of Earth. The current global average concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere is 421 ppm as of May 2022 (0.04%). This is an increase of 50% since the start of the Industrial Revolution, up from 280 ppm during the 10,000 years prior to the mid-18th century. The increase is due to human activity. Burning fossil fuels is the main cause of these increased CO2 concentrations and also the main cause of climate change. Other large anthropogenic sources include cement production, deforestation, and biomass burning.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Biofuel in Sweden</span> Use of renewable fuels from living organisms in Sweden

Biofuels are renewable fuels that are produced by living organisms (biomass). Biofuels can be solid, gaseous or liquid, which comes in two forms: ethanol and biodiesel and often replace fossil fuels. Many countries now use biofuels as energy sources, including Sweden. Sweden has one of the highest usages of biofuel in all of Europe, at 32%, primarily due to the widespread commitment to E85, bioheating and bioelectricity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fossil fuel phase-out</span> Gradual reduction of the use and production of fossil fuels

Fossil fuel phase-out is the gradual reduction of the use and production of fossil fuels to zero, to reduce deaths and illness from air pollution, limit climate change, and strengthen energy independence. It is part of the ongoing renewable energy transition, but is being hindered by fossil fuel subsidies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Renewable energy in Finland</span> Overview of renewable energy in Finland

Renewable energy in Finland grew to 38.7% of total final energy consumption by year end 2014, achieving joint second position with Latvia in terms of renewable energy consumption by share amongst the EU-28 countries, behind its neighbour Sweden in first position on a 52.6% share. The 2014 share in Finland breaks down as renewable energy providing 52% of the heating and cooling sector, 31.4% of the electricity sector and 21.6% of the transport sector. By 2014, Finland had already exceeded its 2020 target for renewable energy use under the EU renewable energy directive as shown in the table of country targets.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sustainable biofuel</span> Non-fossil-based sustainable production

Sustainable biofuel is biofuel produced in a sustainable manner. It is not based on petroleum or other fossil fuels. It includes not using plants that are used for food stuff to produce the fuel thus disrupting the world's food supply.

There are various social, economic, environmental and technical issues with biofuel production and use, which have been discussed in the popular media and scientific journals. These include: the effect of moderating oil prices, the "food vs fuel" debate, poverty reduction potential, carbon emissions levels, sustainable biofuel production, deforestation and soil erosion, loss of biodiversity, effect on water resources, the possible modifications necessary to run the engine on biofuel, as well as energy balance and efficiency. The International Resource Panel, which provides independent scientific assessments and expert advice on a variety of resource-related themes, assessed the issues relating to biofuel use in its first report Towards sustainable production and use of resources: Assessing Biofuels. In it, it outlined the wider and interrelated factors that need to be considered when deciding on the relative merits of pursuing one biofuel over another. It concluded that not all biofuels perform equally in terms of their effect on climate, energy security and ecosystems, and suggested that environmental and social effects need to be assessed throughout the entire life-cycle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fuel</span> Energy released from a source

A fuel is any material that can be made to react with other substances so that it releases energy as thermal energy or to be used for work. The concept was originally applied solely to those materials capable of releasing chemical energy but has since also been applied to other sources of heat energy, such as nuclear energy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bioenergy with carbon capture and storage</span>

Bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) is the process of extracting bioenergy from biomass and capturing and storing the carbon, thereby removing it from the atmosphere. BECCS can be a "negative emissions technology" (NET). The carbon in the biomass comes from the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide (CO2) which is extracted from the atmosphere by the biomass when it grows. Energy ("bioenergy") is extracted in useful forms (electricity, heat, biofuels, etc.) as the biomass is utilized through combustion, fermentation, pyrolysis or other conversion methods.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Environmental impact of the energy industry</span>

The environmental impact of the energy industry is significant, as energy and natural resource consumption are closely related. Producing, transporting, or consuming energy all have an environmental impact. Energy has been harnessed by human beings for millennia. Initially it was with the use of fire for light, heat, cooking and for safety, and its use can be traced back at least 1.9 million years. In recent years there has been a trend towards the increased commercialization of various renewable energy sources. Scientific consensus on some of the main human activities that contribute to global warming are considered to be increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases, causing a warming effect, global changes to land surface, such as deforestation, for a warming effect, increasing concentrations of aerosols, mainly for a cooling effect.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carbon-neutral fuel</span> Type of fuel which have no net greenhouse gas emissions

Carbon-neutral fuel is fuel which produces no net-greenhouse gas emissions or carbon footprint. In practice, this usually means fuels that are made using carbon dioxide (CO2) as a feedstock. Proposed carbon-neutral fuels can broadly be grouped into synthetic fuels, which are made by chemically hydrogenating carbon dioxide, and biofuels, which are produced using natural CO2-consuming processes like photosynthesis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carbon capture and utilization</span>

Carbon capture and utilization (CCU) is the process of capturing carbon dioxide (CO2) from industrial processes and transporting it via pipelines to where one intends to use it in industrial processes.

References

  1. ↑ Demirbas, A. . (2009). "Political, economic and environmental impacts of biofuels: A review". Applied Energy. 86: S108–S117. doi:10.1016/j.apenergy.2009.04.036.
  2. ↑ Paul Mann, Lisa Gahagan, and Mark B. Gordon, "Tectonic setting of the world's giant oil and gas fields," in Michel T. Halbouty (ed.) Giant Oil and Gas Fields of the Decade, 1990-1999, Tulsa, Okla.: American Association of Petroleum Geologists, p.50, accessed 22 June 2009.
  3. ↑ Dr. Irene Novaczek. "Canada's Fossil Fuel Dependency". Elements.nb.ca. Archived from the original on 2019-09-04. Retrieved 2007-01-18.
  4. ↑ "Microsoft Word - NETL Final Report, 2-05.doc" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2009-12-15. Retrieved 2009-11-28.
  5. ↑ Pimentel-Patzek report Archived 2007-08-09 at the Wayback Machine
  6. ↑ National Biodiesel Board response to Pimentel Archived May 18, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
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