Is Another Man's Fuel

Biofuel Alternative to Petroleum-Based Fuel

Petroleum-Based Fuel

            Fossil fuels, such as petroleum-based gasoline and diesel, coal, natural gas, and heavy crude oil, have been our traditional sources of energy, particularly since the Industrial Age. These fuels have helped many nations grow wealthy and provide many new technologies we use today, including virtually all electrically-run devices in each of our homes. As we have seen over the past few decades, there are many disadvantages to the use of fossil fuels. Fossil fuels emit many toxins and GHGs into the atmosphere, leading to immediate and long-term health issues and global climate change. Petroleum-based fuel is also a non-renewable resource which has been depleted to minimal amounts world-wide and has made oil-deprived countries dependent on oil-rich countries for this valuable fuel.

            Efforts have been launched globally to find alternative fuel sources that are renewable, easily accessible, efficient, and clean burning. Below are some biofuel options that have become popular options open for debate in the search for alternative fuel.

Crop-based Biofuel

            Biofuel made from corn and switchgrass was exciting news a few years ago as a clean-burning fuel and an alternative to oil. It was expected to open the doors for fuel independence and to reduce global carbon emissions. Though these crop-based biofuels have been found to burn more cleanly and produce less carbon dioxide and other green house gases (GHG) than traditional fuels such as coal and oil, these biofuels actually cause more harm than good.

            The problem with crop-based biofuel is the large amount of land required to produce the necessary yield for demands. More land for a monoculture not only means deforestation of systems that are more efficient at sequestering carbon than these crops, but more energy for farming that uses carbon-emitting machinery, and the increase in monocultures is both vulnerable to huge yield losses due to severe weather or pests and also causes a decrease in available habitat for wildlife. Thus, if reliant on crop-based fuel, we could see a loss of biodiversity, a high risk of fuel shortages during seasons of severe weather or pests, and an eventual increase in carbon emissions.

Biodiesel from Waste Cooking Oil (WCO)

            Another fuel alternative includes used cooking oil for powering engines. This alternative fuel has gained popularity because it is a clean burning fuel obtained from natural renewable sources that is also biodegradable. Some of the other benefits of used cooking oils as compared to gasoline and diesel fuel are that used cooking oils: (1) produce no acidic waste water; (2) are more efficient; (3) have a relatively low equipment cost; and (4) can catalysts used for fuel production from the free fatty acids are easy to recover.

            Biofuel from used cooking oils, however, suffers the same disadvantages as crop-based biofuels. Though the waste recycling concept for fuel production appears to be a step in the right direction, the production of WCOs will increase and most of these oils come from crops. Thus, the use of WCOs would increase the amount of land required to meet the crop yield demands for oil production, leading to the problems mentioned above in the section on crop biofuels.

Municipal Solid Waste Biofuel

            A new alternative has been dubbed the clean alternative fuel, combining the clean burn concept of crop biofuels and WCOs with that of waste recycling for fuel of WCOs: Biofuel from municipal solid waste. Municipalities worldwide have been struggling with overflowing landfills for decades. Some of the overflow has been diverted through recycling and waste burning practices. However, not all of our trash can be easily recycled, and the burning of solid wastes may release chemicals and GHGs. The amount of energy released via the burning of these solids may actually provide a fuel system that burns more cleanly than gasoline and diesel, but is also a two-for-one solution: (1) Through the burning of municipal solid waste, we remove our solid waste build-up at landfills, which are environmental hazards, ecological disaster areas, eye sores, and just plain big stinky messes; and (2) The burning of these wastes also provides the benefit of clean alternative fuels.

Conclusion

            The disadvantages of the solid waste biofuel lie mainly in economics and combustion emissions. Because solid waste biofuel production is still a new technology, its initial costs are quite high compared to traditional petroleum-based fossil fuels. Also, while solid waste biofuel produces fewer GHGs than gasoline and petroleum-diesel, the combustion of these wastes for conversion into fuel energy produces more air pollution than do the crop and WCO biofuels. Studies continue regarding this technique of fuel production to determine all of its costs, benefits, and improvements to be made.

            Though these biofuel options are not currently in widespread use here in Jacksonville, they are important steps toward our independence from fossil fuel consumption, and toward healthier citizens and ecosystems. There are many options other than biofuels, such as electric vehicles, hybrid electric-gasoline vehicles, and the use of solar energy and green building techniques for city infrastructure. The City of Jacksonville can begin making steps away from coal, petroleum, and other fossil fuels, and start taking steps toward fossil fuel independence. Many other cities, such as Los Angeles, CA, Boulder, CO, and Chicago, IL, have initiated the use of alternative fuel vehicles (AFV) for their city vehicles and provide easy access for citizens to obtain them as well. We can do this here in Jacksonville as well, but the citizens need to take the initiative. That means you.

-Veronica Saavedra, Legal Intern