Biofuel

One kilogram of canola seeds — the amount in the plastic bag — makes the amount of oil that’s in this flask. The seeds come from pods like the ones in this dried bouquet.

Wood pellets are the most common type of pellet fuel and are generally made from compacted sawdust and related industrial wastes from the milling of lumber, manufacture of wood products and furniture, and construction.

Overview

List of various biofuel technologies. (I consolidated "List" with the "Biofuels" list, and have made a list of just feedstocks and a list of processes. Also, I added propanol and butanol to the Biofuels list, and I put specific fuels under their type.)

Biofuels

• Biogas

  Methane

• Fuel Alcohol

  Methanol
  Ethanol
  Propanol (uncommon)
  Butanol (uncommon)

• Biodiesel

  Mycodiesel

• Bio-Oil / Diesel Mixture Fuels
• Jatrophas oil

Feedstocks

• Biomass to Fuel
• Methane to methanol
• Ethanol from Sorghum
• Algae/Cyanobacteria
• Kenaf
• Hemp oil
• Jatropha Oil

Processes

• Anaerobic Digestion for Biogas
• Fischer Tropsch
• Microbial Fuel Production

Comparison of Biofuel Types and Feedstocks

Best and worst biofuels: Biogas and biodiesel are really good. Butanol is better than ethanol, but ethanol is much more common.

Best and worst feedstocks: In the US, soybeans are the most common feedstock for producing biodiesel and corn is the most common for producing ethanol. In Brazil, sugarcane is the common feedstock for ethanol. Seeking out alternative feedstocks, such as algae, will help us move away from Food-vs-Fuel and other controversies.

Product Ecology

• Gasifier
• Pelletizer
• Steam Engine

See Also

Wikipedia: Biofuel