BIOFUELS

We mainly survive on fossil fuel, which is fuel that took millions of years to form.
Fossil fuels are geologic deposits that are buried deep underground. They were
developed from decayed plants and animals and converted to natural gas, heavy or
crude oils. When exposed to pressure and heat from the earth’s core for hundreds of
millions of years.

The unfortunate part is that at the rate the world’s population is growing, we are
fast depleting fossil fuels, and they are not replenishable in our lifetime. The only
solution that remains is to turn to alternative and renewable energy solutions.
Renewable energies include solar, wind, hydro, geothermal, and biomass energy.

Unlike other renewable energy sources, biomass can be converted directly into
liquid fuels, called "biofuels," to help meet transportation fuel needs.

A biofuel is any liquid fuel derived from biological material such as trees,
agricultural wastes, crops, or grass. Biofuel can be produced from any carbon source
that can be replenished rapidly, such as plants. Biofuels are used globally and biofuel
industries are greatly expanding in Europe, Asia, and North and South America. They
contain no sulfur and produce low carbon monoxide and toxic emissions.

Biofuels can reduce greenhouse gas emissions and increase energy security by
providing an alternative to fossil fuels. Biofuels have been produced since the early
1800s, when a blend of camphene and alcohol was the common fuel for lamps. While
there intermittent bursts of biofuel development and use in the following decades,
biofuels didn't become more prevalent until the 1990s. Concerns over the rising price of
oil and the emission of greenhouse gases have helped to maintain the development and
production of biofuels over the last two decades. By 2050, biofuels could reduce our
greenhouse gas emissions by 1.7 billion tons per year—equivalent to more than 80% of
current transportation-related emissions.

Biofuels Act of 2006 (RA 9367)

The Biofuels Act or Republic Act (RA) 9367 was signed in January 2007 making
the Philippines the first country in Southeast Asia to have biofuels legislation in place.

The Biofuels Act of 2006 aims to reduce the country’s dependence on imported
fuels with due regard to the protection of public health, the environment, and the natural
ecosystems consistent with the country’s sustainable economic growth.
 It mandates the use of biofuels as a measure to develop and utilize indigenous
renewable and sustainable-sources clean energy sources to reduce dependence on
imported oil; mitigate toxic and greenhouse gas (GSG) emissions; increase rural
employment and income; and ensure the availability of alternative and renewable clean
energy without any detriment to the natural ecosystem, biodiversity and food reserves of
the country.

The law also provides for additional incentives to encourage investments in the
production, distribution and use of locally-produced biofuels at and above the minimum
mandated blends.

CLASSIFICATION OF BIOFUELS:

There are three types of biofuels: 1st, 2nd and 3rd generation biofuels. They are
characterized by their sources of biomass, their limitations as a renewable source of
energy, and their technological progress.

1. First Generation Biofuels

First generation biofuels, also known as conventional biofuels, are made
from sugar, starch or vegetable oil. First generation biofuels are produced
through well-understood technologies and processes, like fermentation,
distillation and transesterification.
2. Second Generation Biofuels
Second Generation Biofuels also known as advanced biofuels, are fuels
that can be manufactured from various types of non-food biomass. They are
usually produced from cellulosic materials such as wood, grasses and inedible
parts of plants. Biomass in this context means plant materials and animal waste
used especially as a source of fuel. These materials are actually difficult to be
broken down by fermentation that is why they require pre-treatment before
processing.
3. Third Generation Biofuels
Third-generation biofuels are fuels produced from algal biomass, which
has a very distinctive growth yield as compared with classical lignocellulosic
biomass. Production of biofuels from algae usually relies on the lipid content of
the microorganisms.
BIOFUEL CONVERSION PROCESSES

1. DECONSTRUCTION

Producing advanced biofuels (e.g., cellulosic ethanol and renewable hydrocarbon

fuels) typically involves a multistep process. First, the tough rigid structure of the plant
cell wall—which includes the biological molecules cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin
bound tightly together—must be broken down. This can be accomplished in one of two
ways: high temperature deconstruction or low temperature deconstruction.

ØHigh-Temperature Deconstruction

High-temperature deconstruction makes use of extreme heat and pressure to break

down solid biomass into liquid or gaseous intermediates. There are three primary routes
used in this pathway:

·Pyrolysis

·Gasification

·HYDROTHERMAL LIQUEFACTION.

During pyrolysis, biomass is heated rapidly at high temperatures (500°C–700°C) in

an oxygen-free environment. The heat breaks down biomass into pyrolysis vapor, gas,
and char. Once the char is removed, the vapors are cooled and condensed into a liquid
“bio-crude” oil.

Gasification follows a slightly similar process; however, biomass is exposed to a

higher temperature range (>700°C) with some oxygen present to produce synthesis gas
(or syngas)—a mixture that consists mostly of carbon monoxide and hydrogen.

When working with wet feedstocks like algae, hydrothermal liquefaction is the
preferred thermal process. This process uses water under moderate temperatures
(200°C–350°C) and elevated pressures to convert biomass into liquid bio-crude oil.

ØLow-Temperature Deconstruction

Low-temperature deconstruction typically makes use of biological catalysts called

enzymes or chemicals to breakdown feedstocks into intermediates. First, biomass
undergoes a pretreatment step that opens up the physical structure of plant and algae
cell walls, making sugar polymers like cellulose and hemicellulose more accessible.
These polymers are then broken down enzymatically or chemically into simple sugar
building blocks during a process known as hydrolysis.
2. UPGRADING

Following deconstruction, intermediates such as crude bio-oils, syngas, sugars, and

other chemical building blocks must be upgraded to produce a finished product. This
step can involve either biological or chemical processing.

Microorganisms, such as bacteria, yeast, and cyanobacteria, can ferment sugar or

gaseous intermediates into fuel blendstocks and chemicals. Alternatively, sugars and
other intermediate streams, such as bio-oil and syngas, may be processed using a
catalyst to remove any unwanted or reactive compounds in order to improve storage
and handling properties.

The finished products from upgrading may be fuels or bioproducts ready to sell into
the commercial market or stabilized intermediates suitable for finishing in a petroleum
refinery or chemical manufacturing plant.

TYPES OF BIOFUELS:

There are three common types of biofuels, which include:

1. Ethanol

Ethanol is pure alcohol or ethyl alcohol and is probably the most common
alternative biofuel used in motor vehicles today. Ethanol can be made using different
sources, but the most commonly used are sugarcane and corn. IN 2011, the U.S
government approved the use of ethanol blends up to 15% for use in motor vehicle
models manufactured after 2011. Ethanol blends of up to 10% have been in use for a
long time without any need for modifying the engines. The main question all along has
been whether ethanol is sustainable as a biofuel alternative.

Ethanol is made by fermenting sugars derived from sugarcane or corn, and it

contains oxygen, which helps a vehicle’s engine efficiently burn fuel, reducing
emissions. In the U.S, most ethanol comes from corn, and fuel is made up of 10%
ethanol and 90% gasoline. Brazil is the second-largest producer of ethanol after the
U.S, and its fuel is composed of 27% ethanol, and they use sugarcane as the primary
feedstock.

2. Biodiesel
 Biodiesel is becoming more popular, and it mimics the traditional petroleum-
based diesel. Biodiesel is, however, derived from recycled cooking grease, animal fat,
vegetable oils. Most biodiesel companies tend to collect used cooking oil from
restaurants and convert it into usable biodiesel, which can be blended with the
conventional petroleum diesel. Some military vehicles, trucks, and buses in the United
States use fuel blends composed of up to 20% biodiesel as pure biodiesel may be
compromised by frigid weather, causing complications in older engines.

3. Biobutanol

Biobutanol is the lesser-known fuel among the three biofuels, but it has the most
potential. Biobutanol is isobutanol made from algae or bacteria, instead of animal or
vegetable fats like biodiesel. Standard gasoline engines can use Biobutanol without
prior engine modification.

Biobutanol is mostly derived from fermenting sugars from the organic feedstock.
The most commonly used method of producing Biobutanol is fermenting simple sugars
found in biomass feedstock. The by-product of this fermenting process is butanol, in
addition to acetone and ethanol.

Biobutanol can reduce carbon emissions by a significant 85% compared to

gasoline, which makes it a more viable alternative to gas and fuels that are a blend of
gasoline and ethanol. At very high concentrations, biobutanol is mixed with traditional
petrol instead of ethanol for use in unmodified engine models. Research has proven
that biobutanol is usable in unmodified engines at 100 percent.

ETHANOL PROCESSING

Sources of Ethanol:

It is produced by the sugar fermentation process from lignocellulosic materials such as:

rice straws, corn, sugarcane, wheat, willow, poplar trees, canary grass, court grass,
Jerusalem, artichoke miscanthus and sorghum plants. , In order to avoid the waste
problem without affecting the environment, these materials most especially crop wastes
are converted into bioethanol
Process Flow Chart

Script ni Jag:

Let’s take a another look at it in a chemical engineer’s perspective. Bioethanol is produced from
biomass. Once the biomass is transported to the processing facility in its first stage, it
undergoes a pre treatment process.
The feed system supplies biomass into a chamber here, with the help of steam and water, and
sometimes in the presence of chemicals, it is broken down into cellulose, hemicellulose and
lignin.
In some other approaches, acid is used to break down the biomass into components in its
second stage before the enzymes are added, they are cooled down.
Afterwhich, Base is added to balance the acidity. This is because enzymes can’t operate under
high, acidic conditions. These enzymes perform a chemical reaction called hydrolysis.
During this process, the enzymes break cellulose into glucose and the hemicellulose to
xylose/fructose. Those are the sugar that are fermented into ethanol.
The third stage is the fermentation process. Here, microbes such as yeast or bacteria are added
to the mixture which digest the sugar and secrete compounds that can be used as biofuel.
Now the final stage is the distillation process. In this stage, water is removed from ethanol by
the distillation process to be used as a fuel.
Storage before transferred to another facility, under controlled temperature and conditions.

Feed Enzymatic Fermentation Distillation

Hydrolysis

Enzymatic Hydrolysis

Fermentation

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION, ADVANTAGES AND DRAWBACKS

How is ethanol used as a fuel?

Bioethanol is added to petrol to oxygenate the fuel mixture so that it burns more
completely and reduces emissions. Bioethanol has replaced lead as an octane
enhancer because it is a high octane fuel. The most common blend is 10 percent
ethanol and 90 percent petrol, which is denoted as E10. Vehicles running on E10 do not
need any engine modification. Blends up to eighty five percent ethanol and 15 percent
petrol represented as E85, can be used in flexible fuel vehicles that run in more than
one fuel.

Just a short trivia, there are no longer leaded gasolines because of environmental risks and
health hazards. What they actually meant is premium or regular gasoline, which is determined
by the fuel’s octane rating. Now, octane rating, is a parameter that indicates knocking on the
engine, and engine knocking on the other hand, is due to incomplete combustion.

Benefits:

● Renewable
● Carbon Neutral
● Emits Less Green House Gasses
● Lead as Additives are avoided
● Complete Combustion=Less Carbon Monoxide
● Zero to minimal Carbon deposit in the engine block

Drawbacks:

● Arable Land Required to grow the crops is immense

● Some farmers sacrifice food crop to fuel
● Debate on carbon neutrality
● Energy density is lesser compared to Petrol
● Hygroscopic in nature

References:

https://www.europeanbusinessreview.com/the-three-different-types-of-biofuel-
and-their-uses/

http://learnbiofuels.org/what-are-biofuels

https://www.energy.gov/eere/bioenergy/biofuel-basics
 https://apps.fas.usda.gov/newgainapi/api/report/downloadreportbyfilename?
filename=Biofuels%20Annual_Manila_Philippines_10-18-2017.pdf

https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/2007/01/12/republic-act-no-9367/

https://agsci.oregonstate.edu/sites/agsci.oregonstate.edu/files/bioenergy/
generations-of-biofuels-v1.3.pdf

http://industry.gov.ph/industry/biodiesel/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bMVbu35M4_k