Duckweed as future biofuel source

The global biomass industry is constantly searching for new cheaper and more sustainable biomass sources. One of the possible candidates is also said to be duckweed, the fast-growing floating plant that gives ponds and lakes green color.

The researchers at the Chinese Academy of Sciences claim that duckweed is almost ideal as a raw material for biofuel production. The main advantages of using duckweed as new source for biofuel production are:
 - fast time of growth
- it thrives in wastewater that has no other use,
- it does not impact the food supply like the first generation of biofuels
- can be harvested a lot easier than algae and other aquatic plants

Duckweed that gives lakes and ponds green color could become major source of future biofuel production.

Only a handful of studies on using the duckweed as a raw material for biofuel production have so far been done, and there is of course the need for further research on this matter.

This latest study done by Chinese scientists describes four different scenarios for duckweed refineries, all of which using existing technologies to produce gasoline, diesel and kerosene. The end results showed that small-scale duckweed refineries would be able to produce cost-competitive fuel when the price of oil reaches $100 per barrel and that oil would have to cost only about $72 per barrel for larger duckweed refiners to be cost-competitive.

There could certainly be lot more to duckweed than previously thought.

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Algae-based biofuels – Environmental impact

The growing energy demand cannot be satisfied solely by relying on fossil fuels, not just because fossil fuels will eventually become depleted but also because of the increasing climate change impact that is thought to be primarily caused by the burning of fossil fuels. Because of this, energy experts from all over the world discuss potential energy solutions in form of alternative fuels that could be used to satisfy world energy demand in future and one of the most talked about future energy options is no doubt algae-based fuel .

In order to determine the potential impact of new energy source scientists have to look at it from both economic as well as environmental point of view. One of the most interesting studies about the environmental and economic impact of algae-based biofuels comes from the researchers at New University of Virginia.

From the economic point of view algae-based fuel has what it takes to become a “real deal” mostly because algae-based transportation fuels produce high energy output with minimal land use requirements. This means that farmers could maximize their profits by for instance switching from canola and switch grass to algae because algae would produce considerably more energy for every hectare planted but there's also another advantage of algae, namely that they can be also grown on poor-quality lands which would no doubt give farmers more room to expand their production.

Growing algae for biofuels

From the environmental point of view things are not looking that good for algae-based fuel production. Scientists say that algae-based biofuel production requires more petroleum powered processes than other biofuels. This process also requires plenty of water resources and emits more greenhouse gases compared with other biofuels.

In more simple words this means that if we want to produce as much fuel as possible then we must seriously consider algae but on the other hand if we are more concerned about the different environmental issues (such as future climate change impact and water shortage) then we should primarily focus on alternatives such as canola and switch grass.

Algae are certainly a very interesting future energy option but are far from being the perfect energy option to replace fossil fuels, especially from the environmental point of view. Still, more research will likely lead to new technologies and perhaps scientists will be able to remove these drawbacks in years to come and make algae-based fuel production acceptable from both economic and environmental point of view.

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The connection between biofuels and air pollution

By using biofuels instead of fossil fuels our society could reduce the total amount of greenhouse gas emissions and thus effectively fight against the climate change. Generally speaking, biofuels are environmentally more friendly option as compared to fossil fuels (burning biofuels is often being touted as carbon neutral because plants soak up carbon when they grow and release it when they burn) but nonetheless biofuels are still being connected with several environmental concerns.

The latest study done by the English scientists and published in the journal Nature Climate Change argues whether using biofuels instead of fossil fuels is really good for environment. Though they accept that growing biofuels is generally a good thing because it reduces the amount of carbon dioxide, it can also lead to serious levels of air pollution.

The researchers say that if biofuels were to be produced in large quantities this would lead to harmful levels of air pollution in many areas because many fast growing sources of biofuels emit high levels of the chemical isoprene as they grow, and isoprene, once mixed with the other air pollutants in the air, leads to the creation of toxic ozone.

Willow, the potential fast-growing biofuel source, emits high levels of harmful chemical isoprene.

The ozone pollution is not only harmful to human health but it is also said to reduce crop yields. The researchers have calculated that the creation of ozone from wood-based biofuels to meet the European Union's 2020 goal would cause nearly 1,400 premature deaths a year, costing society more than $7 billion. This would also reduce would reduce the annual value of wheat and maize production by $1.5 billion since ozone is known to impair crop growth.

This study suggests moving biofuel plantations far away from polluted population centers is one of the possible solutions to reduce the ozone formation, with the other being genetic engineering to limit the isoprene emissions.

The researchers are yet to do more comprehensive studies on how the air quality is being affected by growing biofuels. Air quality is just one of many controversies being connected with increased biofuel production with most important being the fuel vs. food debate (by competing for cropland biofuels could lead to increase in food prices, and could cause even more hunger in the world).

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Quick guide to biofuels

Biofuels are renewable fuels that derive from biomass sources. The biofuel list includes solid biomass, liquid fuels and various other biogases.

The most frequently used biofuel is ethanol. Ethanol is not only used as the replacement for gasoline but also to fuel bioethanol fireplaces. Ethanol fuel is widely used in Brazil and in the United States, these two countries are also the world's largest ethanol producers.

The second most commonly used biofuel worldwide (and the most common biofuel in Europe) is biodiesel. Biodiesel is made from vegetable oils, animal fats or recycled greases. Biodiesel can be used alone, or blended with petrodiesel. The pure biodiesel (B100) is the diesel fuel with the lowest amount of greenhouse gas emissions.

First generation biofuels refers to biofuel production from food crops, second generation biofuels refers to biofuel production from non-food crops such as waste, while third generation biofuels refers to biofuel from algae. Second and third generation biofuels are often called "advanced biofuels". The first generation biofuels are the subject of fuel vs. food debate because it doesn't seem logical (and ethical) to use food crops to produce fuel when there are close to billion hungry people in the world.

Though biofuels are connected with CO2 emissions more than other renewable energy sources they are still much more environmentally friendly energy option compared to fossil fuels. Some even refer to them as being carbon neutral, though this doesn't have to be always right. In any case, what is important is to ensure sustainable biofuel production.

Biofuels can be grown and produced domestically which means that biofuel production can significantly reduce the dependence on expensive foreign oil import, thus improving energy security and energy independence. 

The development of biofuel industry can also be a significant job creator. US ethanol industry, for instance, employs more than 210,000 people.

Biofuels have the potential to solve energy problems in developing countries by providing these countries an alternative to using coal (usually the most popular energy source to generate electricity in developing countries).

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Switching to biofuels must not interfere with food production

Biofuels are fuels with excellent potential for global production because they can be produced almost everywhere on our planet from various plants, algae and even waste. These fuels still mostly derive from plant material though lately there seems to be plenty of talk about producing biofuels from other sources, most notably waste because this could lead to positive environmental impact (less pollution in the world).

Biofuels are usually categorized into three main categories: first generation biofuels (made from sugar, starch, vegetable oil), second generation biofuels (made from non-food crops), and third generation biofuels (biofuels from algae).

Biofuels are still heavily involved into food vs. fuel debate because they are still predominantly produced from food crops. Using food crops to produce biofuels could lead to severe increase in food prices and cause even more hunger in the world. This is the main reason why biofuel industry needs to focus more on possible solutions to make production of second and third generation biofuels commercially feasible.

The most talked about biofuel is biodiesel. Biodiesel is environmentally friendlier in comparison to standard diesel fuel because it creates up to 70% fewer emissions than standard diesel. The main problem with biodiesel is that it is still predominantly produced from vegetable oils though lately there has been some talk about focusing more on producing biodiesel from algae.

Switching to biofuels instead of staying with fossil fuels could significantly reduce the amount of greenhouse gas emissions and help us tackle climate change issue. However, there are several other renewable energy sources that are connected with fewer emissions than biofuels such as solar and wind.

Increasing global biofuel production could lead to improved energy security by decreasing the need for expensive foreign oil import. However, global biofuel production still needs to reach adequate level of sustainability in order not to cause higher food prices and deforestation.

The production of biofuels must not interfere with food production – this is the main rule for any sustainable biofuel production. Food and fuel shouldn't be put into the same category because food must always be more important than fuel- regardless of what is more profitable option and what is not.

The effects of the biofuel production on food are still being heavily debated. In order to avoid future controversies science has major task in making production of second and third generation of biofuels economically viable.

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Will algae become main biofuel of the future?

Lately, there has been plenty of talk about using algae as the main source for the production of biofuels. In this context, algae biofuel is already known as the third generation of biofuels, and there have been many scientific studies focusing on algae, and trying to discover the perfect technologies that would enable commercial algae biofuel production.

Producing biofuels from algae has several major benefits that include:

1)      very fast growth of algae

2)      minimum requirements needed to grow algae (just water, sun, and CO2)

3)      algae extremely high energy content (algae can produce lot more energy per unit than this is the case with first and second generation of biofuels as they have lot higher energy content than any terrestrial crop)

4)      negligible negative environmental impact

5)      can be produced from waste water

6)      they absorb large quantities of CO2 which could be of great help in our fight against climate change

7)      no effect on food prices and global food supply, and no food vs. fuels debate like this is the case with the first generation of biofuels (from food crops)

Algae pond. Growing algae for biofuels does not lead to food vs. fuel debate.

The two major downsides of using algae for production of biofuels include:

1)      The currently used technologies are connected with significant costs, for instance the most efficient technology that includes using bioreactors is still extremely expensive because off high installation and maintenance costs.

2)      The currently dominant open pond systems could be contaminated with native algae species, evaporation and viral infection.

What can we conclude from these benefits and drawbacks? Well, for one, potential is certainly there, but science will have to develop cost-competitive technologies that would allow cheap and efficient algae production. Algae could well become top source for future biofuels but the road to major commercial production still looks to be very, very long.

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Why is good to use more biofuels?

 Throughout this article I will mention the most important benefits of using biofuels. This because biofuels such as biodiesel and ethanol fuel are growing in popularity all over the world with many energy experts looking at them as more than the decent alternative to fossil fuels.

Biofuels are environmentally more friendly than fossil fuels because they do not account for as much carbon emissions as fossil fuels do. Some even say that biofuel is carbon neutral energy source because plants (needed for biomass production) first absorb CO2 from atmosphere in order to grow.

Biofuels can be produced from variety of different sources and not just corn and soybean.

Biofuels can also be produced from sunflowers.

Biofuels can improve our energy security and energy independence. Using more biofuels can lead to less foreign fuel import so our money stays within our country where it can be used to help our economy instead giving another extra billion to some sheik's bank account.

Biofuels are renewable energy sources because plant needed for biofuel production can be regrown over and over again.

Biofuels could give economic boost to many developing countries that would use their domestic resources to satisfy their energy need instead of being forced to rely on energy sources from abroad.

The increased biofuel production can reduce the chance for future energy crisis because biofuels can help ensure security of supply which is not always the case with volatile oil market.

Using more biofuels instead of fossil fuels would also reduce the levels of environmental pollution in many parts of the world.

The developed biofuel industry would account for thousands of new jobs.

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