Adam Knox and John Chang BIOFUELS

HISTORY OF BIOFUELS E. Duffy and J. Patrick in 1853 were the first scientists to conduct transesterification of vegetable oil. The first scientist to make use of biofuels was Rudolph Diesel. Biofuels were the first fuels used with the arrival of mankind. Chopped wood Fires Cooking

USE OF BIOFUELS Biomass-fuels are an alternative resource that can be replenished by replanting crops and vegetation. Firewood Charcoal Cattle dung and methane Some crop wastes Sugar cane waste

BIOFUELS THROUGHOUT HISTORY First used by our Pleistocene ancestors. Used firewood to cook and light up caves Primary fuel source until the late 1800s Replaced by fossil fuels

BIOFUEL COST AND EFFICIENCY Costs vary due to multiple refining methods Biofuel production for a gallon requires 38,300 BTUs of natural gas Each gallon costs cents Not very efficient A lot of gasoline is needed to produce biofuels Energy yielded is poor Supplies very limited Biodiesels are fuels made from oils More efficient but crop prices would raise and there isn’t a large enough supply of oil

BIOFUEL LOCATIONS Biofuels are ubiquitous! We can find potential energy sources anywhere out in the wilderness Restaurants have leftover cooking oil All of this oil could be turned into biofuel Farmland Crops can go through processes to become biofuel Livestock wastes can be converted to methane

“PROS” OF BIOFUELS Unlike other alternative resources, switching to biofuels won’t require radical change. From an economic standpoint, biofuels are less expensive than the fossil fuels we currently use. “Greener” cars run on ethanol, government gives tax incentives Biofuels emit less air pollution, so switching to biofuels will ameliorate with the excessive air pollution issue at hand. Ethanol is very easy to produce Renewable

“CONS” OF BIOFUELS Burning corn releases nitric oxide into the atmosphere There isn’t enough biofuel to be the primary source of renewable energy High production energy requirement Deforestation Limited amount of crops and vegetation sparks competition between biofuel and food

FUTURE OF BIOFUELS Biofuels are very versatile and should be used in the future Biofuels are abundant and can be used to wean the US off of foreign oil Biofuels will certainly be used because it is generally environmentally friendly, it is a renewable resource, and it is part of recycling, which is considering environmentally friendly. Unfortunately, biofuels can’t be a primary source of renewable energy Not enough supply in the world Too inefficient New technology suggests algae may be a great source for biofuels Releases less CO 2 than wood

WORKS CITED "Advantages of Biofuels." Want to know it | Answers to life's questions | Everything Blog. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Nov "Biodiesel Performance, Costs, and Use." U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Nov "U.N. raises possible negative impacts with biofuels - USATODAY.com." News, Travel, Weather, Entertainment, Sports, Technology, U.S. & World - USATODAY.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Nov