Environment. "Preventing Pollution Problems from Lawn and Garden Fertilizers." Despite the growing awareness of the shortcomings of biofuel as a clean energy source, the government’s support for biofuels, coming from the departments of energy and agriculture and the Pentagon, continues, with hundreds of millions in additional funding. A 2005 study suggested that, using current farming and production technology, it takes anywhere from 27 to 118 percent more energy to produce a gallon of biodiesel than the energy it contains [source: Pimentel]. But large-scale biofuel production -- especially using corn, and in arid parts of the world -- will have to share finite water resources with drinking and irrigation needs. Fuel conversion from algae is broadly based on the feedstock … But if the tractors that tend the field burn 75 gallons of fuel in the season, the truck to transport the corn to a processor burns 20 gallons on the trip, and the processor uses the energy of 40 gallons of fuel to run its distillation equipment, is the ethanol produced really an environmentally friendly, low-emission fuel? But there's another complication that arises with this selection. Import Tuner. Firstly, biofuels cannot be transported via pipelines, which makes them inconvenient to handle. Even that anticipated level of commercial production failed to materialize. Certain crops will grow better in certain regions and may not grow at all in others. Another major hurdle for widespread adoption of biofuels is the challenge of growing enough crops to meet demand, something skeptics say might well require converting just about all of the world’s remaining forests and open spaces over to agricultural land. Fuel." Unfortunately, that image is also a sign of monoculture, an agricultural problem that could conceivably get much worse due to biofuels. The conversion from one fuel to the other, in some cases, requires a range of new injectors, gaskets and fuel lines. The ragged stripes stretching from east to west are growing zones: regions where water supply, temperature and sunlight make hospitable climates for certain types of plants. (Dec. 11, 2010)http://www.extension.umn.edu/distribution/horticulture/dg2923.html, Rosenthal, Elisabeth. This is a problem biofuel crops share with food crops, gardens and lawns worldwide. What are the economic advantages of using biofuels? Biofuels show promise, but also present problems Less than a week after a UN report touted them as part of a global warming solution, another has raised alarms about their viability. Europe will now slow down its switch to biofuels and look for other new technologies instead. "Biofuel" is a major buzzword in transportation circles these days, and for good reason. first carrier strike group powered partly by biofuel—, a federal mandate signed by President George W. Bush, How China turned a prize-winning iPhone hack against the Uyghurs, The woman who will decide what emoji we get to use, Why mixing vaccines could help boost immunity, Five modern bridges that are pushing the bounds of engineering. June 12-13, 2003. "Adoption of Genetically Engineered Crops in the U.S." July 1, 2010. Plant-based (Nov. 19, 2010)http://journeytoforever.org/biodiesel_yield.html, Lau, Michael H. et al. Matt Cunningham He’s got a point—but politicians on both sides of the aisle are mostly keeping their mouths shut on the issue. Many fertilizers contain nitrogen and phosphorus. (Jan. 14, 2011)http://www.extension.purdue.edu/extmedia/ID/ID-346-W.pdf, Altieri, Miguel A. Jay Cattour and David Hutt. Environmental impacts of biofuels Depending on the methods used to produce the feedstock and process the fuel, some crops can even generate more greenhouse gases than do fossil fuels. Alexander, C. et al. To learn more about biofuels, click to the next page. July 30, 2000. In the U.S., switching to domestically produced biofuels helps cut dependence on foreign oil, and boosts income for farmers. Likewise, the fertilizer, water and land required to produce enough biofuel to reduce fossil fuel consumption significantly can create other problems, ranging from increased pollution to decreased access to food. Biofuel production is shrinking the human food supply, causing water shortages, and accelerating topsoil erosion which leads to desertification of the planet. They require high initial investment. The oil in their seeds is pressed out, filtered and converted to fuel using a chemical process. Many common crops could economically produce biofuel in certain parts of the world. During initial tests of a modified strain of corn, researchers discovered that the crop, which had been engineered to fight off a moth known to prey on corn, produced pollen that could possibly kill larvae of the monarch butterfly. (Nov. 15, 2010)http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/07_06/b4020093.htm, Golden Fuel Systems. The problem with double-counting is that it makes UCOs a high-value product on the global market. This is problem in that there is a long lead time bringing a beef steer or a dairy cow to market. A number of manufacturers sell components for biodiesel and greasecar conversions, and intrepid tinkerers often find ways to overcome the gelling problem. "Food vs. Careful fertilizer application can help prevent widespread pollution problems, but expanding biofuel production to meet the world's demand opens the door for more mistakes in this realm. But those fertilizers can have harmful effects on the surrounding environment, and expanded biofuel production could mean a major pollution threat to sources of fresh water. In other words, not all biofuel crops are created equal. Biofuels are produced from crops, and these crops need fertilizers to grow better. And again, not every climate region is suitable for a high-yield crop that could produce economically viable biodiesel [source: Burpee]. Release date: October 15, 2012 (updated October 18, 2012 for cellulosic production and October 23, 2012 for RSF2 volume clarification) Highlights. Monoculture isn't a problem confined to biofuel production; it's an issue that had been studied for years in relation to large-scale food crop production. Corn-based ethanol, for example, has a higher density than gasoline; fuel injectors have to be larger in an ethanol-only engine to match the fuel flow of a comparable gasoline engine. September 2007. But the conversions add time and money to the biofuel equation, something that can be off-putting for potential biofuel users. That directly translates into more expensive bacon and ham at the grocery store [source: Carey]. Plantation owners prepared their operations to meet the demand …. A fossil energy balance of 1.0 means that it requires as much energy to produce a litre of biofuel as it contains; in other words, the biofuel provides no net energy gain or loss. Please copy/paste the following text to properly cite this HowStuffWorks.com article: Copyright © 2021 HowStuffWorks, a division of InfoSpace Holdings, LLC, a System1 Company. A number of factors play into any fuel's cost, both in economic and environmental terms, and biofuel doesn't always come out as the most sustainable option. Therefore, even if the benefits of a biofuel sound attractive, but cannot be verified, it would be right to take a sceptical position. But in cases that seem as much science fiction as they are scientific fact, genetically modified crops have accidentally developed unintended -- and sometimes dangerous -- traits. Iowa, naturally. (Jan. 14, 2011)http://www.springerlink.com/content/r1552355771656v0/, Rosen, C.J. Ethanol boosters say now is the time to ramp up the ethanol/gasoline blend to 30 percent because it will reduce harmful particulate pollution, improve gas mileage, and lower gas prices. Biofuels is a collective term for liquid fuels derived from renewable sources, including ethanol, biodiesel, and other renewable liquid fuels. One obvious consideration is the gel, or clouding, point: A fuel that turns solid well above water's freezing point would not be very useful in a cold location. But factor in a number of other complicating aspects, and biofuel often carries a heavy price. The problem with growing crops for fuel is that they One more issue is the use of large amounts of synthetic fertilizers, herbicide, and pesticides for the intensive cultivation of crops for biofuels. Environmental Effects and Tradeoffs of Biofuels P etroleum extraction, transport, refining, and combustion have many known negative environmental effects, including disruption of sensitive ecological habitats and high greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions. Many studies on the performances and emissions of compression–ignition engines, fuelled with pure biodiesel and blends with diesel oil, have been performed and are reported in the literature [82] , [83] . Biofuels Issues and Trends. In recent months, rapidly rising corn prices have doubled the price of tortillas in Mexico. 19 January 2011. "Ethanol Production Using Corn, Switchgrass, and Wood; Biodiesel Production Using Soybean and Sunflower." Biofuels, made from crops such as corn, can have negative economic and environmental effects, as well as positive ones. The location? Biodiesel doesn't fare much better. But since many popular biofuel crops, such as corn and soybeans, are also popular food sources for much of the world, it stands to reason that the problems related to monoculture could get much worse as consumers demand more biofuel. Water-ethanol solutions can damage fuel systems and engines, and the system will need to get flushed to … It may produce 100 gallons of the fuel out of one season's crop. The simple supply-and-demand economics of biofuels -- increase demand for corn, for example, and corn becomes more expensive -- can pose a threat to some regions' food security, or the access to affordable nutritious food for the region's population [source: Naylor]. Second, the oil these plants produce is not equal. Will alternative fuels deplete global corn supplies? However, ready access to food imports, and the ease of exporting, hinge on a wide range of political and social factors. The New York Times. … and environmental chaos ensued. Long-time monoculture farms have to use much more artificial fertilizer than their more sustainable peers, increasing water pollution. Add other resource costs into the equation, such as the gallons of fresh water needed to grow the plants and the amount of fertilizer needed to keep them healthy, and it becomes even harder to equate biofuel with real energy and carbon emission savings. University of Minnesota. The growth of palm oil plantations in Indonesia has led to massive amounts of deforestation. Industry researchers had found an answer in palm oil, a relatively easy-to-produce biofuel source. Ethanol-blended fuels left untreated can start “phasing.” Phase separation is when ethanol in the fuel absorbs too much water, and separates from gasoline by dropping to the bottom of the tank since the ethanol and water mixture that results from phase separation is heavier than gasoline. Switchgrass and other grasses rate … Feb. 5, 2007. True, a plant-based fuel comes from a renewable source, while fossil fuels will eventually run out. Aug. 11, 2006. 2009. (Nov. 15, 2010)http://www.technologyreview.com/energy/22428/page1/, Mellon, Margaret and Jane Rissler. Many biofuel crops are used to make biodiesel. MIT Technology Review. But in other regions, the same plants would be impossible -- or extremely costly -- to grow. Researchers are working to increase biofuel yields from weather-tolerant crops [source: Lau]. "Environmental Effects of Genetically Modified Food Crops -- Recent Experiences." The mandates outlined in the legislation created an industry whose size wouldn’t make sense unless oil went north of $120 a barrel (it’s hovering around $30 a barrel today). Likewise, the nutrients that are put back into the soil through crop rotation and allowing fields to lay fallow disappear under intense monocultural farming. Horgan. The biofueled warships form a central element of the Navy’s Great Green Fleet program to draw half of its power from clean energy sources, rather than petroleum, by 2020. With international trends swinging toward sustainable transportation, fuels such as corn-based ethanol and biodiesel from soy, switchgrass and palm oil seem like a good step toward cleaner, greener highways. Many unsaturated oils have undesirable burn characteristics: They'll leave gummy residue in an engine when used as fuel. All of these plants grow better when given fertilizer. But biofuels aren't completely cost-free. May 10, … According to some studies, biodiesels emit more of certain pollutants than regular diesel, and biofuels can have a larger carbon footprint than gasoline, depending on where you start in the production cycle. Had it been the season's popular strain of corn, there could have been an ecological disaster as monarchs migrated through the corn-heavy American Midwest [source: Mellon and Rissler]. The rise in demand for food-biofuel crops can have a positive effect for crop producers, in the form of higher prices for their produce. The Indonesian palm oil problem is really a combination of biofuel's drawbacks. Natural Resources Research. The amount of water need to irrigate biofuel crops like corn can put a strain on local water supplies. We use cookies to personalise content and ads, to provide social media features and to analyse our traffic. To put it another way, think about a field of corn being grown for ethanol. For … Agricultural and Food Policy Center, Texas A&M University. But the biggest problem I see with ethanol as fuel, is that corn prices are linked more and more closely with fossil fuel prices, which are not only increasing but becoming increasingly volatile. After all, a better harvest would reduce prices and ensure there's enough corn or soybeans on hand to feed and fuel the world, right? This isn't the selective breeding that farmers have practiced for years; genetically modified crops are altered in the lab to tolerate herbicides better, fight off pests or produce higher yields. (Jan. 14, 2011)http://www.afpc.tamu.edu/pubs/2/446/RR%2006-2.pdf, McKenna, Phil. Nitrogen in drinking water can lead to a host of health problems, including methemoglobinemia, a condition that prevents infants from utilizing the oxygen in their blood [source: Rosen and Horgan]. 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