Biofuels
Biofuel production suffered from low petroleum prices after World War II but in 1979 the oil crisis brought about the reintroduction of ethanol-gasoline blend fuels.
The US Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 increased the demand for biofuels in the USA and today ethanol producers in the United States produce around 1.5 billion gallons of ethanol each year.
Biodiesel is the dominating biofuel in Europe and in 2000, France, Germany, Italy, Austria and Belgium together produced 700,600mt of biodiesel. The market for biofuels can only benefit from the European Biofuels Directive of 2003, whuch requires member states to set a minimum percentage of biofuels to replace diesel or gasoline for transport purposes.
Transport biofuels
What are transport biofuels? There are a number of different types of biofuel, but the best-known are Bioethanol made from starchy material like cereals, sugar beet or fodder beet, and Biodiesel made from range of vegetable oils, including recycled vegetable oils and fats from the food chain.
In the future, technology will be available to break down the structure of woody biomass such as wood, straw or household wastes into liquid biofuel. Biofuels are renewable and sustainable. Bioethanol is a petrol additive/substitute and Biodiesel is a diesel alternative.
Biofuels are produced in an increasing number of countries around the world, including the USA, Brazil, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Sweden, Australia and Thailand. The European Union has non-binding legislation in place (European Biofuels Directive) which sets indicative targets for biofuel use of 2% by 2005 and 5.75% by 2010. The UK target for 2005 of 0.3% is very likely to be met and possibly exceeded.
Why biofuels?
Choosing biofuels makes sound economic and environmental sense:
- Biofuels cut carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by up to 70%. The transport sector in the UK is responsible for about a quarter of all our CO2 emissions.
- Biofuels provide a new source of income and employment in the region. A recent regional study on Bioethanol alone suggests that about 12,000 jobs could be created.
- Biofuels contribute to the UK's overall fuel security.
- Biofuels improve air quality, especially in congested areas.
- Biofuels are easily distributed using existing fuel forecourts.
- There are ample crop supplies and land are available in the UK, and especially in the Eastern region, to produce biofuels without affecting food supplies or biodiversity.
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Bioethanol
Bioethanol can be mixed with petrol at up to 5% by volume without any engine modification and the manufacturer's warranty still holds. - At a 5% inclusion level about 3 million tonnes of CO2 per year could be saved.
- This amounts to between 20% and 40% of the Government's total CO2 emissions targets for the transport sector by 2020.
- Bioethanol is commercially produced in the East of England by British Sugar at their Wissington plant.