This is the fourth article in the What Is…Biofuel series.  To read previous articles see What is Biofuel?, First Generation Biofuels, and Second Generation Biofuels.

Whew!  We made it!  The last classification of biofuels (as far as this author is currently concerned) is Third Generation Biofuels.  These alternative fuels are derived from algae.    The oil extracted from algae is used to create variants of fuels discussed in the previous articles: biodiesel, biobutanol, biogasoline, and methane.

There are several cool things about creating fuel from algal sources, including:

1. Algae is completely biodegradable, so if there was an algal spill, we wouldn’t have the same mess that we have when an oil tanker goes kaput.
2. Algae can be produced using ocean water or fresh water.
3. Also, the algal production sites can be placed on land that is unsuitable for farming, and so would not displace any food crops.

Current disadvantages include:

1. Right now it is too expensive to produce on a large scale, so is not readily available to consumers.
2. According to the United States Department of Energy, it would take 15,000 square miles of land in order for algal fuel to replace all petroleum fuel – however – according to the Environmental Protection Agency, that is only 1/7 of the land currently used to produce corn and seeing as how we don’t need farmable land to produce this stuff ….surely we can find some untenable land somewhere in this country!

As I said before, this type of fuel is not really available yet, but there are plenty of companies working hard to change that!  Check out the folks at Solix Biofuels.

That’s it for research!  I am all studied out.  My next step will be to check out biofuel options here in Austin and see if any of them will work in my little car.  Stay tuned!

<–Previous Article: Second Generation Biofuels

I have recently begun thinking about switching to biofuels. I don’t know anything about them, so I have decided to begin researching what biofuels are, how they are made, and what wastes are created when they are processed to determine if switching to a biofuel would be a good choice for me. The information I started to dig up was very overwhelming, so I will try and break it up into small pieces that are easy to read.

This article will outline the different types of biofuels and give a very brief explanation of each. Further articles in this series will explore each type of biofuel and highlight the criticisms and praises of its use.

So: What is a Biofuel?

A biofuel is a type of fuel made from recently living or living biological material. There are many different types of biofuels – I never knew how many! In short, they are:

1. First Generation Biofuels
2. Second Generation Biofuels
3. Third Generation Biofuels

FIRST GENERATION BIOFUELS

First generation biofuels cover a range of fuels including vegetable oil, biodiesel, bioalcohols, bioethers, biogas, syngas, and solid biofuels. They are made from animal fats, sugar, starch, or vegetable oil. Since these biofuels are manufactured mostly from food crops, there is some debate that converting these products to fuel instead of food may have a negative impact on certain populations.

SECOND GENERATION BIOFUELS

Second generation biofuels can be made from non-food items such as wheat stalks and inedible waste products and therefore do not pose a threat to food production. However, many of these types of biofuels are still under development.

THIRD GENERATION BIOFUELS

Third generation biofuels are made from algae. This type of fuel is biodegradable and so we wouldn’t have any of the nasty problems like we do when oil tankers spill. However, the oil is hard to extract and in order to grow enough of it to replace traditional petroleum, the United States Department of Energy estimated that we’d need 15,000 square miles!

So the next time you see a sign that says “BIOFUELS SOLD HERE”, know that the term ‘biofuel’ can reference any number of fuel types. Be sure that you have researched each biofuel type and that you have installed the proper conversion equipment in your car as necessary.

Next article: First Generation Biofuels —->

Other articles in the What Is… series:

What is Geocaching?

What is USDA? Understanding the Label

What is Fair Trade?

What is Greenwashing? Are you a Victim?