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 & 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 & Processes

• Algae/Cyanobacteria
• Kenaf
• Hemp oil
• Jatropha Oil
• Ethanol from Sorghum
• Methane to methanol
• Biomass to Fuel
• Anaerobic Digestion for Biogas
• Fischer Tropsch
• Microbial Fuel Production

Comparison of Biofuels 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.

Biofuels from cellulose is a great idea, but it is doubtful that cellulosic ethanol is cost effective.

Product Ecology

• Gasifier
• Pelletizer
• Steam Engine

Internal Links

• Open Source Fuels Construction Set
• BTG
• BTL
• GTL
• Hydrothermal Liquefaction
• Biocrude
• Biocrude Refinery

External Links

• The Wikipedia Page on Biofuel
• The Nuffield Council on Bioethics Section on all their Publications on the Ethics of Biofuels