Biorenewable Liquid Fuels

Abstract

The most important biorenewable liquid fuels are bioethanol and biodiesel made from plant material and recycled elements of the food chain. Biodiesel is a diesel alternative. Bioethanol is a petrol additive/substitute. Biorenewable fuels are safely and easily biodegradable and so are particularly well suited to the environment. Nowadays ethanol is the most popular fuel. Ethanol can be produced from cellulose feedstocks such as corn stalks, rice straw, sugar cane, bagasse, pulpwood, switchgrass, and municipal solid waste is called bioethanol. Bioethanol is a renewable green fuel. Utilization of ethyl alcohol as engine fuel is one way to reduce both the consumption of crude oil and environmental pollution. Primary consideration involves the production of ethyl alcohol from renewable resources and determination of the economic and technical feasibility of using alcohol as an automotive fuel blended with gasoline. Biodiesel fuels are attracting increasing attention worldwide as a blending component or a direct replacement for diesel fuel in vehicle engines. The advantages of biodiesel as diesel fuel are ready availability, renewability, higher combustion efficiency, lower sulfur and aromatic content, higher cetane number, and higher biodegradability. The main other advantages of biodiesel given in the literature include domestic origin, reducing the dependency on imported petroleum, high flash point, and inherent lubricity in the neat form.