Biofuels & Hydrogen – for transportation and heating
Biofuels-
Biofuels are liquid fuels used for transportation or heating made from plant materials.
Biodiesel is produced from oils and can be used straight up, or be mixed with diesel or home heating oil. Northeast Biodiesel, a project of Co-op Power, is exploring making biodiesel from waste vegetable oil and animal fat.
Ethanol is produced from plant material, such as switch grass, wood, algae, and can be mixed with gasoline.
Biofuels have a long list of positives and negatives that are hotly debated, and will not be addressed here.
Issues include:
- Feedstock & Land use – are we using land or crops that compete with agricultural use, such as using corn to make Ethanol? Northeast Biodiesel aims to use waste oil and animal fats. Others are exploring using algae or other means that do not use cropland.
- Ratio of energy in and energy out – i.e. are we really gaining?
- Full cycle climate change emissions – i.e. are we really gaining?
- Other full cycle emissions
Here are some groups advocating for biofuels:
- National Biodiesel Board www.biodiesel.org
Renewable Fuels Association www.ethanolrfa.org
If anyone knows of a web site that does a good job discussing these issues, please let us know!
Hydrogen-
Hydrogen is a gas. It is not a fuel like gasoline. It is more like biofuels or electricity in that it needs to be made. In the 1990’s, President Bush and others promoted it as the automotive fuel of the future. But like biofuels, it takes energy to make it, and you need a feedstock. The least expensive way to make it is from natural gas, which does not get us away from fossil fuels. It can be made from water and solar electricity, but this is expensive. Storage of hydrogen is also challenging. While it is very light, it takes up a lot of space, so it is usually compressed, which again uses a lot of energy. Hydrogen can be burned, like natural gas, in a fairly conventional internal combustion engine. It can be used more efficiently (40% efficient) by fuel cells.
Advocate for hydrogen: American Hydrogen Association www.goh2.org
Critique of Hydrogen: The Hype About Hydrogen, by Joseph Romm. Mr. Romm also runs the Center for Energy and Climate Solutions. www.awarenessintoaction.com
Lester Brown, founder of WorldWatch Institute and now Earth Policy Institute has several books out on the solution, most recently Plan B 3.0. www.earth-policy.org