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Biofuels for Transport

Ethanol is a high octane fuel and has replaced lead as an octane enhancer in petrol. By blending ethanol with petrol, oxygen is added to the fuel mixture so it burns more completely and reduces polluting emissions. Ethanol fuel blends are widely sold in the United States. The most common blend is 10% ethanol and 90% petrol (E10). Vehicle engines require no modifications to run on E10. Only flexible fuel vehicles can run on up to 85% ethanol and 15% petrol blends (E85).

Brazil is the leader in biofuel production, with a government decision more than twenty years ago to make the country self-sufficient in energy. By 2005, the number of cars sold that could run on both ethanol and petrol exceeded those sold that could use petrol alone.

By 2020, it is projected that biodiesel could represent as much as 20% of all on-road diesel used in Brazil, Europe, China and India. Biodiesel consumption in the U.S. grew from 25 million gallons per year in 2004 to over 250 million gallons in 2006. In the U.S. over fifty new, larger-scale plants are in construction and are expected to come online between 2007 and 2008 (Biodiesel 2020).

Biofuels and the Environment

Biofuels can both benefit and destroy the environment – depending on the ways in which they replace fossil fuels. When fossil fuels burn, they add to the levels of greenhouse gases in the environment. Where these are replaced by renewably-grown biofuels, the carbon dioxide is re-absorbed by the plants as they grow, and energy does not need to be expended in transporting fossil fuels for long distances. Thus, using clean and sustainable practices, biofuels can benefit the environment, and add economic value to local communities.

However, where large plantations have been planted in rainforest areas, this benefit is completely overwhelmed by the damage done to the environment by burning the forest, which is an essential global ‘sink’ for these greenhouse gases. This large-scale, non-regulated approach can lead to land degradation as the soil is leached of its nutrients. Communities are often faced with eviction or land on which crops no longer grow.

The main use of biofuels is in the automotive sector. Again, there are both benefits and disadvantages. Ethanol can reduce carbon emissions through improved combustion, and reduced reliance on fossil fuels but access to a new source of fuel prevents shortages, so keeps the price of fuel down, encouraging more people to use private transport.

Used within the household context, biofuels have a very positive impact on the lives of those living in poverty. The kitchen environment remains the place where most women living in the developing world spend most of their time. Alleviating kitchen smoke improves health, saves money, improves women’s status, saves very large amounts of time. In areas prone to drought, it can also help save the external environment by reducing pressures on trees and other vegetation used for fuel.

Future for Biofuels

Biofuels are here to stay. Used responsibly, they can reduce the levels of pollutants currently affecting the planet, and can provide clean air in homes fit for human habitation. As new technologies become mainstreamed (such as fuel cells for the auto industry) it is to be hoped that these new technologies can improve the quality of life for those communities currently living in poverty, and provide a route to clean development for future generations.

Further Information:

• Approtech Oil Processing Technologies
• BluWave (pdf download)
• BriteLyt Multi-Fuel Lanterns, Stoves & Petromax Lanterns
• DATe Biofuel for Sustainable Development and Poverty Alleviation in Rural Cambodia Development and Appropriate Technology report (pdf download)
• Emerging Markets Online BIODIESEL 2020:Multi-Client Study Volume 2, 2007-2008 Global Market Survey, Feedstock Trends and Forecasts (updated by Emerging Markets Online)
• Guarte, R. C. LPG Alternative Seen in New Plant Oil Stove (May 2006)

See also: Growing Jathropa

source: www.practicalaction.org, photo from afbini.gov.uk

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