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Renewable fuels are fuels produced from renewable resources. Examples include: biofuels (e.g. Vegetable oil used as fuel, ethanol, methanol from clean energy and carbon dioxide [1] or biomass, and biodiesel), Hydrogen fuel (when produced with renewable processes), and fully synthetic fuel (also known as electrofuel) produced from ambient carbon dioxide and water.
Alternative fuels, also known as non-conventional and advanced fuels, [1] are fuels derived from sources other than petroleum. [2] Alternative fuels include gaseous fossil fuels like propane, natural gas, methane, and ammonia; biofuels like biodiesel, bioalcohol, and refuse-derived fuel; and other renewable fuels like hydrogen and electricity. [3]
In creating an alternative fuel source, it is important that the feed, or reaction input, does not overburden the food supply or arable land. Recent focus has been on the use of inedible lipid-based stocks, including brown grease, yellow grease, and algal oil , which place smaller burdens on agricultural production.
With the use of non-edible vegetable oils produced by trees such as Millettia Pinnata (formerly Pongamia Pinnata) or the Moringa oleifera tree, both which grow on borderline or non-arable land, the food versus fuel debate becomes less of an either/or question. Apart from their facility of growing in non-arable and/or marginal land, these trees ...
Regarding the food vs fuel issue, a World Bank research report published in July 2008 [45] found that "Brazil's sugar-based ethanol did not push food prices appreciably higher". [46] [47] This research paper also concluded that Brazil's sugar cane–based ethanol has not raised sugar prices significantly. [45]
Second-generation biofuels are made from different feedstocks and therefore may require different technology to extract useful energy from them. Second generation feedstocks include lignocellulosic biomass or woody crops, agricultural residues or waste, as well as dedicated non-food energy crops grown on marginal land unsuitable for food ...
The fuel, often referred to as electrofuel, stores the energy that was used in the production of the hydrogen. [11] Hydrogen fuel is typically prepared by the electrolysis of water in a power to gas process. To minimize emissions, the electricity is produced using a low-emission energy source such as wind, solar, or nuclear power. [12]
However, many government policies, such as those by the European Union and the UK, require that biofuels have at least 65% greenhouse gas emissions savings (or 70% if it is renewable fuels of non-biological origins) relative to fossil fuels. [100] [101] The growing demand for biofuels has raised concerns about land use and food security.