Advantages and Disadvantages of Bio-Fuels

Bio fuels are created when the biological mater gets decomposed. These bio-fuels come from plants and they exist as liquid, solid and gas matter. There are some main differences between the fossil fuels and the bio-fuels.

Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;}

 

For example, fossil fuels need millions of years to create themselves. Bio-fuels can be made in a matter of days. Fossil fuels can generate great pollution while the bio-fuels are much safer. The bio-fuels are a renewable energy and the fossil fuels are not. Bio-fuels are of four types: first, second, third and fourth generation.

 

The first generation comes from starch, sugar and vegetable fats. These come from food crops. They can also be created using animal fats. The bio-diesel, the biogas and vegetable oil are mere examples of these bio-fuels.

 

The bio-fuels of the second generation are made of waste biomass and this means a more balanced option in comparison to the first generation of bio fuels. Diesel made from wood and many kinds of alcohols enter this category. The bio-fuels made from algae enter in the third generation. Algae have started to be grown on large scale in order to create these bio-fuels. The bio-fuels made of algae are very friendly to the environment because they easily decompose into the soil.

 

The fourth generation of bio-fuels comes from micro-organisms that are raised to gather carbon dioxide (CO2) in order to make fuel.

In the last few years, the bio-fuels have become very popular as they have many advantages:

- the bio-fuels are a great alternative for the quickly vanishing fossil fuels

- they are also friendly to the environment

- the bio-fuels will help reduce the CO2 emissions in the atmosphere

- the bio-diesel and other bio-fuels are very cost efficient

 

The disadvantages of bio-fuels

Bio-fuels have gathered a lot of criticism too. Even if they are good for the environment, they also have some disadvantages. There are a couple of reasons for this criticism.

 

Economists debate that the creation of bio-fuels will lead to a food crisis and starvation. They say that using crops to create fuel is not a good alternative. They say that the food crisis is taking a toll on people and that the fuel made of food crops is not a viable solution. Food should be for consumption and not to create fuel. Creating bio-fuels requires farming land and this means destroying the natural habitat of plants and animals.

Source: Free Articles from ArticlesFactory.com

ABOUT THE AUTHOR