Biofuels

BIOFUEL
Biofuels are referred to any fuel derived

and produced from
organic material such as plants and
their residues, agricultural crops, by-
products
that can be
an adequate substitute for petroleum-
derived fuel
The idea behind using biofuels has
been derived from ages.
Earlier in human history, biological
materials were utilized for energy
production.
But due to the easy availability,
economically feasible reason, mankind
went ahead with using fossil fuels over
plant resources as their energy sources
Biofuels can be utilized as fuel
additives or in their pure form.
Further:
biofuels are commonly classified into
bioethanol and biodiesel
In September 2015, a major step was
taken by the introduction of
Sustainable Development Goals, after
which many countries came forward to
have similar targets like the USA, who
have planned to incorporate 20%
biofuel in road transport fuel for the
year 2022
Biofuels can be produced via various
methods, including biological,
chemical and physical methods
1. First-generation biofuel
2. Second-generation biofuel
3. Third-generation biofuels
4. Fourth-generation biofuels
First-generation biofuels
obtained mostly from animal feed crops
or other food products.
Technologies and processes:
fermentation, distillation and trans
esterification,.
[The process primarily focuses on the
production of fuel only, and the rest of
non-fuel matter is discarded as waste;
as a result, no membranes are required
in these methods ]
Second-generation biofuels
produced from non-food feedstocks such
as dedicated energy crops and other
lignocellulosic plants, agricultural residues,
forest residues and other waste products .
The second generation is an improved

method that focuses on both increased
fuel recovery and the production of
secondary raw material.
It focuses on producing valuable fuels
and reducing the overall energy cost
and amount of waste production,
making it an economically feasible
method.
Techniques involved: Membrane
filtration and integration of various
biorefineries. A variety of mesophilic
and thermophilic organisms are used in
both batch and continuous reactions to
generate biofuels, organic acids and
amino acids.
Types of biofuels (based on biomass used)
1. Solid biofuels These biofuels are consists of solid
organic, non-fossil biomass of biological origin. These
biomasses have significant applications in heat
production, energy and electricity generation. These
biofuels are produced from charcoal, fuelwood, waste
and other renewable industrial waste. Some
significant examples are biochar and pellets, wood
residue, animal waste and other renewable industrial
waste. Some significant examples are biochar
Liquid biofuels These biofuels include all
types of liquids produced from natural
biomass or biodegradable fraction
Liquid biofuels.
Advantages over solid & gaseous
biofuels because of their high energy
density, making them ideal for
transportation, storage. Some of the
primary examples of liquid biofuels are
bioethanol, biodiesel and bio-oil.
Gaseous biofuels: The gaseous biofuels
are gaseous in nature with low density.
Some of the significant examples are

biogas, biohydrogen and biosyngas.
The biowastes are converted into gaseous

biofuels via pyrolysis or gasi-fication. Later,
these biofuels are used in Otto engines
connected to an electricity generator to
produce electricity or heat.
Methods of biomass conversion :
Two main processes:
• Thermo-chemical conversion
• Biochemical conversion.
The biomass is converted via these processes to

obtain three major types of products biofuels:
Heat and Power for Electricity generations.
Thermo-chemical processes
The thermo-chemical conversion of biomass is
further classified as high-pressure liquefaction
and fast pyrolysis
The biomass, mostly bio-oils obtained after
thermochemical conversion, has major
importance in fuels industries as
alternative sources of fuels and chemicals.
Pyrolysis: In this process, the heat is applied in feed-stock in
anaerobic conditions to break the long-chain molecules to
their respective short-chain. Fast pyrolysis has produced
prominent results in producing concentrated fuel oils and re-
covering bio-fuels with medium-low calorific power.
Generally, biomass or wastes are used as primary feedstock to

produce syngas and other liquid fuels by varying the process
conditions.
The major advantages involve converting solid materials into
gas and vapours that are convenient to handle, transport and
store. In contrast, the disadvantages involve significant heat
input to carry out the chemical reactions for the production
of syngas.
Generally, biomass or wastes are used as
primary feedstock to produce syngas and
other liquid fuels by varying the process
conditions.
The major advantages involve converting
solid materials into gas and vapours that are
convenient to handle, transport and store.
In contrast, the disadvantages involve
significant heat input to carry out the
chemical reactions for the production of
syngas.
Carbonisation The method of slow
pyrolysis is regarded as carbonisation,
which is majorly used in modern times
for charcoal production. These are
done by three basic methods- •Internal
heating of raw materials with
controlled combustion •External
heating by fuelwood or fossil fuels
1. Liquefaction is converting biomass or
organic material into stable liquid
hydrocarbons under low temperature and
high hydrogen pressure.
2. It provides bio-oils composed of a
complex mixture of volatile organic acids
and alcohols, aldehydes, ethers, esters,
ketones, furans phenols, hydrocarbons,
and non-volatile components.
3. The catalytic conversion is aided by using
a catalyst or under high hydrogen partial
pressure.
The biomass used in the production of
biofuels follows a biorefinery model due
to environmentally sustainable reasons
In 1990, NREL (National Renewable
Energy Laboratory) defined the term
biorefinery as biomass utilisation for
manufacturing various fuels and other
bioproducts
The bio-chemical (or biological) conversion
processes include the utilisation of bacteria to
convert biomass into gaseous products that are
economically feasible and have plenty of
applications
Two main processes used are fermentation and
anaerobic digestion
Fermentation It is an anaerobic process
commercially used to produce ethanol from sugar
and starch crops such as sugarcane, sugar beet
and wheat.
Anaerobic digestion involves the
digestion of microbial feedstock
without oxygen to release heat, carbon
dioxide, methane and hydrogen
sulphide. This process is carried in large
tanks under ideal conditions for several
days. After completing digestion, the
remaining solid digestate is used as
fertilisers, and the released gases
(biogas) are used as fuel.
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Biofuels

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BIOFUEL

Biofuels are referred to any fuel derived

The second generation is an improved

Some of the significant examples are

The biowastes are converted into gaseous

The biomass is converted via these processes to

Generally, biomass or wastes are used as primary feedstock to

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