Climate Change, Green living, Politics, Science & Technology, Nov 8th, 2010,
Biofuel production is an odd thing. At least that’s how I look at it. As a derivative of biomass, biofuel is created using plants, trees, grass and any other natural component that can ferment and produce bioethanol. But now there’s the first real problem. Although the idea sounds great – “let’s use natural waste to produce fuel” – the impact on the environment could be catastrophic, as where money and business is concerned it’s hard to imagine waste material alone will do. This is precisely what the IEEP concludes in their study. By studying the indirect land use change or…
Tags: 2020 targets, bioethanol, biofuel production, biofuels, carbon dioxide, Climate change, co2, European biofuel industry, European carbon reductions, IEEP, natural waste
Green living, Science & Technology, Sep 21st, 2010,
So-called ‘second generation’ biofuels are fuels derived from biomass which do not come primarily from food sources and thus attempt to avoid the ‘food vs. fuel’ dilemma that has tainted biofuels like corn ethanol. A second generation biofuel can come from the non-edible residual byproducts of crops, like leaves and husks, from non-edible crops like switchgrass or jatropha, or other industrial waste biomass such as wood chips or fruit peels. UK firm TMO Renewables’ genetically modified bacteria turns compost and other waste into bioethanol. The company opened the UK’s first bioethanol plant in 2008, but is now finding far more…
Tags: bioethanol, biofuel, biomass, second generation, TMO Renewables, UK, US
