Biofuels are an Important Part of the Energy Solution

Biofuels are produced by converting organic matter into fuel. Biofuels are an alternative source to the fossil fuels for meeting our energy needs. Biofuels include ethanol and derivatives of plants such as sugar cane, as well as corn oil and vegetable oils.

Speaking of the biofuel ethanol, not all ethanol products are designed to be used as gasoline. The International Energy Agency (IEA) reports that ethanol could comprise up to ten percent of the world's usable gasoline by the year 2025, and up to 30 percent by 2050. Today, ethanol makes up a mere two percent.

But, we have a long way to go to refine and make biofuels economic and practical. A study by Oregon State University has shown this forth. We have yet to develop biofuels that are as energy efficient as the we make from petroleum. Eergy efficiency is the measure of how much usable energy can be derived from a certain amount of input energy in a given system. Nothing that mankind has ever made can get more energy from output than from what the input is. What has always been important is the effiecency of conversion-the end-product energy is what is useful for our needs, while the input energy is merely the effort it takes to produce the end-product, like a man rubbing two sticks together to get light and heat from fire. The OSU study found corn-derived ethanol to be only 20% energy efficient; by comparision, gasoline made from petroleum is 75% energy efficient. Biodiesel fuel was measured to be 69% energy efficiency. But, the study did turn up one positive: cellulose-derived ethanol was charted at 85% efficiency, making it even more energy efficient than the much lauded nuclear energy (80%).