Lastest Biofuel News

July 9, 2011 By

Article by Tim McDonald

As the name implies, biofuels are fuels derived from organic material. Since they can be made in many ways, they are classified as 1st generation, 2nd generation, and 3rd generation.First generation bio-fuels are the more common fuels that are produced from food crops and animal fats. Some examples include bio-diesel, vegetable oil, and bio-gas.Second generation bio-fuels are made from waste biomass, making them a more sustainable solution as compared to their 1st gen counterparts. They include various alcohols (such as ethanol) and diesel derived from wood and even human excrement.Third generation bio-fuels are generally made from algae that are farmed on a massive scale. By way of photosynthesis and the breaking down of carbon dioxide, the carbohydrates extracted from these micro-organisms is used to make various fuels.So what separates bio-fuels from fossil fuels?Bio-fuels differ from fossil fuels in the following ways:

Where bio-fuels can be made very quickly, fossil fuels take millions of years to be made.The pollution from fossil fuels is far more severe. Although burning bio-fuels also creates emissions, the carbon dioxide is more environmentally friendly and absorbed easily by crops and organisms.Fossil fuels are non-renewable, whereas bio-fuels tend be more renewable. As long as there is human excrement, there will be bio-fuels. Furthermore, with the help of crop rotation, there can be an endless supply of bio-fuels.

This leads us on to the advantages of bio-fuels:

As more people use bio-fuels, it lowers the demand on pollution creating fossil-fuels.This helps reduce harmful carbon emissions, making bio-fuels more friendly for the environment.And since they can be made from almost any organic substance, bio-fuels are a cheap alternative for consumers.

Bio-fuels sound too good to be true. There must be some disadvantages to producing and using them. So, are there any?Like any new technology, of course there are disadvantagesAlthough they are environmentally friendly, bio-fuels have been ironically criticized by the environmental community, for the reasons given below:

It has long been debated on the usefulness on first generation bio-fuels as compared to the shortage of food they could cause. Producing bio-fuels from crops make the food worthless for us to eat. And some people believe that we should rather use those crops to cure world hunger than to power our vehicles and homes.The large farmlands necessary to produce first and third generation bio-fuels can result in us encroaching on the natural ecology of plants and animals.

So you can see, biofuels are still a contentious issue. However, we believe that with the correct management – such as crop rotation – and improved technology biofuels can be a sustainable solution that will do more good than harm. But only time will tell.

About the Author

Tim McDonald and his wife have been living off the grid since June 2008. If you want to learn to get off the grid and save thousands on your electricity bills, then be sure to Try Earth4Energy For FREE, before you go out and start any renewable energy project.

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Biofuels and Carbon Capture from Frog Foam?

July 8, 2011 By

Article by Benne

Biofuels and Carbon Capture from Frog Foam?

Since time immemorial human beings are trying to use solar energy for their survival and day to day use. We know that green plants create their own food and energy with the help of photosynthesis. Photosynthesis happens in the presence of sunlight, water and carbon dioxide dell inspiron 1501 battery. The end results are food, chemical energy and release of oxygen gas. Whenever scientists tried to harness the solar energy they were quite unsuccessful in utilizing a major part of solar power. The conversation rate of solar energy into electrical energy is quite inefficient. Now engineering researchers at the University of Cincinnati are trying to overcome this problem.

The researchers are engaged in figuring out various methods to harness the power of the sun and carbon from the air to produce new forms of biofuels. And the help came from quite unusual quarters. Scientists of the University of Cincinnati received that help from semi-tropical frog species. They have published their work in Nano Letters. The project team consists of research Assistant Professor David Wendell, student Jacob Todd and College of Engineering and Applied Science Dean Carlo Montemagno. Now these scientists need photosynthetic material that can perform actual photosynthesis. For this the researchers put their energy on creating a new artificial photosynthetic material. This material takes lenovo batteries the help of enzymes derived from plant, bacteria, frog and fungi to manufacture sugar while taking in the sunlight and carbon dioxide. All these enzymes are trapped within a foam housing.

Dean Montemagno talks about his project, “This new technology establishes an economical way of harnessing the physiology of living systems by creating a new generation of functional materials that intrinsically incorporates life processes into its structure. Specifically in this work it presents a new pathway of harvesting solar energy to produce either oil or food with efficiencies that exceed other biosolar production methodologies. More broadly it establishes a mechanism for incorporating the functionality found in living systems into systems that we engineer and build.”

Now the interesting question is why the researchers have opted for foam? If we give careful thought to anything foamy we can easily recall that sunlight and air can very easily enter a foamy material. Another advantage is scientists were able to concentrate the reactants inside the foam. Foam was chosen because it can effectively concentrate the reactants but allows very good amount of light and air penetration. They drew inspiration for foamy material from a design based on the foam nests of a semi-tropical frog. This frog is known as the Tungara frog. They are known for producing a very long-lived foams for their developing tadpoles.

What is the advantage of using foam nests of semi-tropical frogs? One major advantage is since a foam nest is a non-living thing, it can convert all the sunlight it receives into sugar because it doesn’t have other life-related activities like respiration, digestion, reproduction, growth and excretion. Wendell clarifies further, “Our foam also uses no soil, so food production would not be interrupted, and it can be used in highly enriched carbon dioxide environments, like the exhaust from coal-burning power plants, unlike many natural photosynthetic systems.” He discusses another advantage, “In natural plant systems, too much carbon dioxide shuts down photosynthesis, but ours does not have this limitation due to the bacterial-based photo-capture strategy.”

Other advantages of the plant-like foam are that the sugar produced can be converted into many different things such as ethanol and other biofuels. Another great advantage is cultivatable land will still be available for production of important crops. As Wendell explains. “And it removes carbon dioxide from the air, but maintains current arable land for food production.”

Now the next logical step for the project team would be to make this technology feasible for large-scale applications like carbon capture at coal-burning power plants. Wendell explains, “This involves developing a strategy to extract both the lipid shell of the algae (used for biodiesel) and the laptop batteries cytoplasmic contents (the guts), and reusing these proteins in the foam. We are also looking into other short carbon molecules we can make by altering the enzyme cocktail in the foam.”

About the Author

Since time immemorial human beings are trying to use solar energy for their survival and day to day use. We know that green plants create their own food and energy with the help of photosynthesis. Photosynthesis happens in the presence of sunlight, water and carbon dioxide.

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Lastest Biofuel News

July 8, 2011 By

Article by Michelle Crimson

According to Saab’s UK Chief, Britain is lagging behind some other European countries when it comes to the usage of new biofuel technology. Jonathan Nash, Saab’s Managing Director said that the government should send out strong signals in order to provide confidence to motorists and other players in the emerging sector.

He also added that in Sweden for instance new and refurbished filling stations were only granted with planning permission if they stocked E85 which is produced using 85 percent ethanol. The result of such move was outstanding since motorists could now purchase the fuel at more than 800 locations. Comparing this to UK wherein bioethanol is only available at 15 Morrisons filling stations.

Mr. Nash has further stated that cars designed to function on E85 gains 20 percent increase in power and a 30 percent increase in torque compared to those running on traditional fuel. Vehicles running on biofuels may still use petrol when needed. Another advantage in using biofuels is that people may be able to use it in cars with smaller engines.

Mr. Nash was also very happy to announce that the sales of Saab models with the biofuel technology has jumped to 85 percent of total output starting from the day that it was launched in Ireland and Sweden in less than 12 months period. He said, “Consumers are prepared to make the “right” choices when offered the right tools, but the government has to offer a sustainable, long-term framework. LPG (liquid petroleum gas) was killed by government policy, it is now dead technology. There are no new cars built with original equipment for LPG.”

What’s new at Saab?Saab the producer of highly renowned Saab clutch has been running its “Saab Summer Challenge” test-drive promotional sales campaign where it features some of the automaker’s popular models such as the 2007 9-5 sedan, 9-3 Sport sedan, and the 2007 9-7x SUV.

The 2007 9-5 sedan is said to have more standard horsepower than the BMW 525i and the Audi A6 V6 while the 9-3 Sport sedan is claimed to possess an overall higher safety rating as compared to the Volvo S60.

In addition, according to Kiplinger’s Personal Finance, the 2007 9-7x as compared to any SUV of which includes the Toyota’s Lexus GX 470, is said to post the best resale value.

Saab’s vehicles have undergone various testing on quality, safety, and durability and they have came through with flying colors.

About the Author

Michelle Crimson holds a degree in business administration. She is currently working as an editor in New Orleans, Louisiana. This 32 year old mother of two is also a car racing fanatic.

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BioFuel Processor part 3

July 7, 2011 By

…part 3 is a quick look at the progress I am making towards completing my BioFuel processor. We get to look inside the “mobile processing facility” and see the construction progress and the new addition to the plan. Lots of work to do and lots of oil to process! Let’s get busy!

326c9 biofuel 2186517786 c3dbe28a87 m BioFuel Processor part 3
by skidrd

Question by Amy L: Are you concerned about some of the problems associated with increased biofuel production?

Corn used for ethanol production covered 11 million on acres in 2005, and now covers 23 million acres. To meet the 15 billion gallon mandate passed by the house in June, we will need about 36 million acres of corn. Corn is being planted in lieu of crops like soybeans, and in place of grasslands. Crop rotation is diminishing as corn-on-corn becomes the norm, and water quality could suffer due to increased fertilizer runoff. Farmer participation in the Conservation Reserve Program, a federal program that retires marginal farm land from agricultural production, is diminishing. All of this is not good news for the Henslow’s sparrow, whose recovery is dependent on the presence of perennial grasslands created by the CRP.

In creating solutions, shouldn’t we avoid creating more and new problems?

Best answer:

Answer by Sucka
For one, we are not going to use corn in the future. They have crops that will function better than corn on many levels. We are going to move forwards and work out the difficulties. If you want to stop using a new solution because it had a lot of problems at the beginning, you would never move forward.

Add your own answer in the comments!

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Algal Derived Biofuel

July 7, 2011 By

presentation

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Article by Kyle Valenti

According to legend, Prometheus brought fire to mankind, sparking enlightenment. Several millennia later, scientists are exploring wood chemistry to find new sources of energy.

Cellulosic ethanol, or “treethanol,” is a promising new energy source with the potential to mitigate high gas prices, national security concerns, and global climate change. Ethanol derived from cellulose–the complex sugar polymer that gives green plants their structure–has a smaller carbon footprint than other fuels and could be used to supplement or replace gasoline. But anything that requires cutting down trees while purporting to save the environment should attract a reasonable dose of skepticism.

Harnessing energy from the sun in the form of biomass is not new. For centuries, man has used wood to provide warmth, cook food, and forge tools. New enzyme technologies now enable scientists to break down wood cellulose into glucose, its component sugar, which is then converted to ethanol through fermentation, turning this age-old energy source into fuel for the new global economy.

Cellulosic ethanol differs from the most common biofuels–sugarcane-based ethanol from Brazil and corn-based ethanol from the United States–in both its net energy yield and its fuel conversion process. Traditional ethanol and cellulosic ethanol are chemically equivalent: Both produce two-thirds the energy of regular gasoline. But not all ethanol is created equally. The energy balance (or energy yielded over energy added during production) for corn ethanol is roughly 1.3 and an estimated 8.3 for sugarcane. For cellulosic ethanol, the ratio can reach as high as 16. When it comes to greenhouse gas emissions, traditional ethanol shows a reduction of 10 to 20 percent compared to gasoline, while cellulosic ethanol reduces emissions as much as 80 to 100 percent.

Using trees or other biomass instead of food crops for ethanol production also has its advantages. Trees make up roughly 90 percent of the world’s terrestrial biomass, grow all year round, require fewer inputs than food crops, and yield more energy. Switchgrass, a native North American plant, shows great potential for cellulosic ethanol: It can produce twice as much ethanol per acre compared to corn, it requires less water, and it can grow in places otherwise unsuitable for food crops. Poplars and other fast growing trees are also being explored as potential sources.

Food price volatility, highlighted in a report by UN-Energy, is a concern that does not apply to cellulosic ethanol production. As demand for cleaner energy grows, ethanol production increases and therefore commodity prices rise for corn and sugar. Some developing countries have already felt these effects. As Adam Dean writes elsewhere in Policy Innovations, “Due to its use in the production of ethanol, corn prices have risen more than 80 percent since last summer, from .17 to nearly a bushel. This increase has caused tortilla prices in Mexico to rise by nearly 50 percent over the same period.”

Replicating the success of other biofuels, cellulosic ethanol could also play a role in promoting rural development. Increases in commodity prices generally benefit rural farmers who rely on those prices to make a living, although this benefit is hindered by agricultural subsidies in developed countries. Ethanol production also creates more jobs for low-skilled laborers.

Domestic production of ethanol in developing countries is also an opportunity to correct trade imbalances and spur foreign investment. This is especially true if those countries are able to participate in the higher value-added production process. Annie Dufey of the International Institute for Environment and Development writes, “Domestic biofuel production offers an opportunity to replace oil imports and improve the trade balance.” For example, it is estimated that the replacement of gasoline by sugarcane ethanol in Brazil saved some .5 billion between 1976 and 2000.

High gas prices and national security concerns have precipitated a favorable change in the political and economic climate for alternative fuel sources such as cellulosic ethanol. Policymakers around the world have made reducing reliance on foreign oil a high priority. If the price of ethanol can compete with gasoline, the effects of political volatility in oil-rich regions such as Russia, Venezuela, and the Middle East will lessen.

Because oil has a high price elasticity of demand, countries that rely heavily on oil stand to lose dramatically if demand drops: During the 1997-1998 Asian financial crisis there was a 10 percent drop in oil demand which sent oil prices plummeting 75 percent. But according to Thomas Friedman’s “First Law of Petropolitics,” this could also be a boon for the development of democratic institutions. Friedman claims that oil prices and the pace of freedom are negatively correlated.

Despite its benefits, cellulosic ethanol is no magic elixir for the world’s energy woes. Significant hurdles hinder its adoption on a commercial scale, including feasibility, production costs, and environmental degradation. Achim Steiner, executive director of UN Environment Programme says, “Investments need to be planned carefully to avoid generating new environmental and social problems.”

High cost of production, almost synonymous with any new technology, is one of the greatest barriers to the adoption of cellulosic ethanol. Right now, methods of producing cellulosic ethanol are expensive and complex, involving a multi-step enzymatic process. Significant R&D investment is needed to generate more efficient production methods, particularly better enzymes. This month, researchers in Brazil announced that they had done just that, perfecting a method of producing cellulosic ethanol that reduces its costs of production from about .25 cents per gallon to roughly 40 cents per gallon. If verified, this would mark a great advancement in cellulosic ethanol production.

Many argue that there is simply not enough land to meet the world’s food needs and provide energy if ethanol is added to the mix. It would take about 100 million acres of switchgrass–roughly the area of California–to replace just 25 percent of the petroleum use in the United States.

Cellulosic ethanol production also promotes exploitation of forests, which threatens the climate change benefits from reduced greenhouse gas emissions. One proposed solution is to use fast-growing grasses, like switchgrass, or leftover biomass, such as corn stalks, instead of trees. But if trees are cleared to grow other biofuels, both the forest as a carbon sink and the higher energy yield of the treethanol will be lost.

Governments have an important role to play, encouraging development of this new technology through incentives and sustainable policies, but they must do so with caution. An imprudent rush to reduce reliance on fossil fuels is likely to have its own environmental and economic side effects.

About the Author

www.policyinnovations.org

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How to Prepare Your Biodiesel Biofuel Company for the Cold Soak Filtration Test

July 7, 2011 By

The new ASTM D6751 cold Soak Filtration test is leaving many Biodiesel producers and consumers out in the cold. In Response new products are presenting new technology designed specifically to ensure that biodiesel products conform to the ASTM standard for cold flow properties.

What is this new test all about? The American Society for Testing of Materials has recently added the cold soak filtration analysis and defined it as: the time in seconds that it takes for cold soaked biodiesel to pass through two 0.8 micron filters and the amount of particulate matter expressed in milligrams per (mg/l) collected on the filter. Why is this new test important? The problem is when biodiesel is stored in temperatures below 40 degrees F. for extended time periods, certain particles within the fuel solution will fall out of the fuel to the bottom of the storage tanks. This particle fall out will build into an ever thickening layer of build up at the bottom. Generally the colder the temperature and the longer the fuel stays at that temperature, will induce even more material to fall out.

The material has the potential to plug filters, increase maintenance cost and at worst shut down engines. What is this material that falls out? It has to do with the feedstock that the biodiesel was produced from. Feedstocks, especially those produced with used cooking oils (UCO), waste vegetable oils (WVO), yellow grease or animal fats (Tallow) will produce high levels of fall out materials. These materials can also be caused by incomplete removal of glycerin, soaps, waxes, or resins during the Transesterification process.

In response to this problem companies such as 70CentsaGallon are offering in-expensive options like Cold Clear. This system uses a three-stage bank of housings in a combination of filtration, adsorption and absorption principles to capture the materials that can cause plugging or crystallization in biodiesel fluids. This treatment system is solving the cold soak filtering dilemma in B-100 biodiesel and other biodiesel blends in a single pass while having little loss in yield.

This new ASTM test is a positive step in making biodiesel a more consistent consumer friendly product with the help of new technologies like Cold Clear.

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Verde Biofuel | Introduction to our mobile biodiesel processors

July 6, 2011 By

default Verde Biofuel | Introduction to our mobile biodiesel processors

www.verdebiofuel.com Why A Mobile Processor? * These pre-engineered processors are mobile and fall under less ridged county, city and state requirements than built-in units. * Our trailers can be located on a job site. * Being self-contained they handle smells and spills better than a processor located in a building. * Clean-up can be performed at a car wash. * Resale is much, much easier than the permanent units available on the market. They are inconspicuous. * Mobile units are completely self contained and only require water and an electric hook-up or generator to begin making fuel. * Excellent for schools, colleges and other teaching programs. * A perfect unit to get your feet wet if planning a large scale commercial refinery. For more information, please visit http Biodiesel is a clean burning alternative to petroleum diesel refined from renewable resources such as vegetable oil, algae oil, recycled cooking oil or rendered animal fats. Biodiesel contains no petroleum, but it can be blended at any level with petroleum diesel to create a biodiesel blend. It can be used in compression-ignition (diesel) engines with little or no modifications. Biodiesel is simple to use, biodegradable, nontoxic, and essentially free of sulfur and aromatics.

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Question by katrina: Is it possible to make biofuel from oyster mushrooms?

If yes, how do you think can you make/ test it? And where can i get lit on it?
Also, do you THINK it would be effective?
Thanks.

Best answer:

Answer by Subas
No, it is not possible to make biofuel from oyster mushrooms.

Add your own answer in the comments!

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Biofuels Play Integral Part Of Green Future

July 6, 2011 By

Article by Alexander Sutton

If you are living in today’s society like the rest of us, then you are probably well aware of the growing concerns of our environment and how important it is to find other resources for gas and power, such as biofuels. These are produced in a variety of blends, using bioethanol which is alcohol. This alcohol used to make bioethanol is fermented with the sugars from plant materials, which makes it an extremely environmentally conscious solution for today’s world. This is widely used across America and is a smart new twist on gasoline because it takes grasses, trees and starch crops including wheat, corn, beets and sugar cane. This process turns the crops into fuel for vehicles of all kinds, machinery and other production equipment. This fuel is also commonly used for fireplaces and is a great choice for newly built homes, as this type of fireplace does not require a chimney.

Biofuels are known for reducing the carbon monoxide and hydrocarbon particulates that are emitted from vehicles powered with diesel fuel which can not only benefit the earth but the vehicle itself. There is typically less build up in the vehicles engine and fuel lines, which makes the maintenance considerably less then vehicles using regular gasoline. If you are an owner of an environmentally safe vehicle you can probably get a nice tax break at the end of the year as well, because you made the choice to be “green’ and help save our world.

In the United States alone, the production of this wonder fuel have skyrocketed to above four billion dollars invested annually. All though this seems like such a large waste, especially in today’s economy, it is one of the greatest scientific advancements for the well being of our planet. Air pollution is greatly reduced due to the use of this fuel, and will in turn promote a healthier future for the kid’s of our world. Considering how “planet friendly” the biofuels are, they make be a bit pricier then other leading gasoline blends you will come across at the gas station. All though this can give you a bit of sticker shock at first, you must first consider all of the advantages to using this type of fuel. You will end up spending less money on bi-monthly maintenance issues and in turn you will be paying back the few extra cents you spent per gallon.

In conclusion, we recommend that every one make the effort to make their life a greener one. Anything you can do to make little changes in your daily life can potentially have a huge impact on the planet. One of these changes that would dramatically help would be to switch to biofuels for any machines, vehicles and amenities you may have that require fuel.

About the Author

Alexander Sutton enjoys the entire consumer experience from top to bottom and enjoys the opportunity to help others protect themselves from scams while uncovering budget-friendly solutions across a variety of industries. For more information, please visit Biofuels.

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Green Logistics, Urban Air Quality Management And Biofuels Use By Dr. S. K. Modak

July 5, 2011 By

Introduction

Logistics constitute a vital link in the present day transportation systems. They have improved the cost, efficiency and reliability aspects of our delivery systems comprising the end part of supply chain. However, the negative environmental impact of transport movements leading to high fuel consumption emissions, enhanced noise levels, movement vibrations and accident rates have now reached such high proportions that the sustainability issues have inevitably come to the forefront of discussions all the world over. Logistics, including the reverse distribution logistics, have to be made environment friendly. In this context, ‘Green Logistics’ assumes great significance.

Present day transportation owes much to modern technology which has indeed helped develop a high degree of organization and control over freight movements not only within a country but also across the seven seas. Technology could be called the most effective driver of growth of transportation industry today. It is however paradoxical that logistics providers in their eagerness to serve own narrow and commercial interests have lost sight of the objectives of green logistics. The conflict between industry’s self-interest and the much-avowed green objectives therefore deserves serious debate and action.

 The objective of this paper is to discuss the significance of the concept of green logistics, transport industry related green house gas (GHG) emissions, air quality management in urban agglomerations, modal shift issue, use of bio-fuels and sustainability issues in general.

  What is Green Logistics?

  The concept of ‘greenness’ came to be discussed in relation to the transportation industry during the eighties and nineties, especially after the World Commission on Environment and Development Report, 1987 announced environmental sustainability as a goal for international action. The transportation industry was identified as one of the culprits contributing to environmental degradation. Studies and reports had also suggested that environment ought to be incorporated in the logistics framework or supply chain paradigm. The term ‘green logistics’ has since then become a catchword.

 Traditionally, logistics takes care of the forward distribution of products which includes transport, warehousing, packaging, inventory management and information processing starting from the producer to the retailer and end user. Environmental considerations require that, as a corollary, care has also to be taken of ‘reverse logistics’ which involves recycling and disposal of waste and used materials. Reverse flow logistics have, in fact, opened up a new market for the take back (10). In fine, the entire life cycle of a product – production, distribution, consumption and disposal – has to be considered as part of logistics. Since quite a few related operations like inventory, materials handling, packaging etc may be outsourced to other agencies, operational integration assumes great significance in the total supply chain. In other words, the various independent operations linked together on a transactions-to-transactions basis are buffered by inventory.   The focus is on maintaining a continuous flow of desired velocity by synchronizing all the activities which form part of the supply chain.

 The key benefit of establishing an effective connectivity is the minimization of transport costs incurred by firms. The logistics expenditure is comprised of following elements: (a) In-bound logistics cost (operations), (b) Out-bound logistics cost (marketing and sales), (c) Service cost, and (d) Management profit (12). The hallmark of an effective integration in supply chain is (a) Transit time compression, (b) Reliability of service,, (c) Just in time (JIT) delivery  (d) Good information systems support, (e) flexibility in operations (f) Customization and (g) Minimization of ‘back haul’ or empty trucks in return journey. The same criteria apply to reverse logistics which require management of products returned by customers, their recycling or reuse, repair or removal of products and finding alternate channels to sell impaired assets (18). All these have environmental implications.

 Transport administration, as part of supply chain is also of great significance. It involves expertise in vehicles and equipment scheduling, load planning, routing of freight, advance shipment notification, consolidation of cargo, tracing the movement of cargo as part of control and an efficient information system. It also involves documentation in terms of bill of lading and shipment manifest and what is quite important, a competitive pricing strategy (2, 4).

 In modern times international trade has become a bigger part of world’s economic activity. The role of transportation in the global supply chain is now all the more important. Transporters may use a combination of modes like air, road, rail, water, pipelines and inter-modal. Trucking is normally more expensive than rail or water but it provides the advantage of door-to-door shipment and shorter delivery times. It also eliminates the need for transfer or transshipment between pick-up and delivery points. Shippers therefore often prefer road transport over rail for all short distance movements within the country. When it comes to global trade, water transport becomes the dominant mode, although air transport is also preferred for light-weight and perishable cargo.

 Transport Industry and Green House Gas (GHG) emissions

  Transport is certainly an energy- intensive industry involving high levels of direct and indirect GHG emissions. According to Carbon Budget and Trends Annual Report, 2007, global carbon emissions rose rapidly during 2007 with industrializing nations like China and India producing more than half of mankind’s output of carbon dioxide CO2 which happens to be the main cause of global warming (11). The Report states that emissions from burning fossil fuels was the major contributor to CO2 increase and India would soon overtake Russia to become the world’s third largest emitter of CO2. It should be noted that 450 parts per million (ppm) of CO2 leads to two degrees Celsius increase in atmospheric temperature with disastrous consequences in terms of global warming. A wake- up call to industry, business and our wily politicians is given by recent figures of atmospheric CO2 concentration in general which rose to 383 ppm in 2007. This was 37% higher than the mean level. China, India, Russia and Japan are considered as the big players in CO2 emissions and in that the vehicular pollution is the main culprit(6). Country wise figures in the accompanying table 1 illustrate the severity (23). 

.Table 1 : Showing GHG emissions for select countries

Country                  CO2 Emissions              Growth Rate

(In million tones)             (1990-2004)

 

United States                    6,046                              25

China                                5,007                             109

Russia                               1,524                               23

India                                 1,342                               97

Japan                                1,257                               17

Germany                             808                              -18

Canada                                637                               54

United Kingdom                587                                01

Korea                                  465                               93

Italy                                    450                               15

World                            28,983                                28

_________________________________________________-

Note: Share of developed countries is 15% in world population,

                               but 50% in CO2 emissions.

  It is also felt that since Russia is effectively reducing the emission rate, India may soon rank as third greatest polluter after U.S.A. and China.

 Addressing Urban Transport Air Pollution

 Transport no doubt plays a crucial role in the proper and efficient functioning of our cities.\, but it is also responsible mainly for air pollution. Vehicle emissions are considered a serious issue in most metro cities of the world including India. The levels of Suspended Particulate Matter (SPM) is much higher than the standard of 90 (as in 1992) set by the World Health Organization (WHO). A comparison of the SPM concentration in selected Indian Cities with that in other Asian cities is given in Table 2.

 As can be seen, in 1992 each of the three Indian cities of Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata had exceeded many times over the WHO limit of 90 SPM and our national capital was the worst offender.

 Table 2: Figures of Average Annual SPM Concentration in Cities of Asia- During 1990-1999  (WHO SPM limit 90 as in 1992)              _________________________________________________________________________

Bangkok           215                       Hong Kong           55                     New Delhi        490

Beijing              380                       Kolkata                 394                   Seoul                101

Busan               100                       Manila                   198                  Shanghai           250

Chonguing       250                      Mumbai                 252

 The blame for rising pollution levels can be laid at the door of steeply rising vehicle population in Indian cities as show in Table 3.

 Table 3: Total Number of Registered Motor Vehicles in India during 1951-2004

                                                                                                   (Figures in thousands)  

Year         All           Two           Cars, Jeeps         Buses       Goods           Others

              Vehicles     Wheelers     & Taxis                            Vehicles

 

1951         306                 27              159                34               82                 4

1961         665                 88              310                57              168               42

1971        1865               576             682                94              343              170

1981        5391               2618           1160               162            554              897

1991      21374             14200          2954               331           1356            2533

2000      48857             34118          6143               562           2715            5319

2001      54991             38556          7058               634           2948            5795

2002      58924             41581          7613               635           2974            6121

2003      67007             47519          8599               721           3492            6676

2004      72718             51922          9451               768           3749            6829
_______________________________________________________________________-

Source: (19) and Transport Research Wing, Ministry of Road Transport, G.O.I.

 Motor vehicles are prone to emit large quantities of Total Organic Gases (TOG) including hydrocarbon (HC), Carbon Mono oxide (CO), Fine Particulate Matter (PM), Nitrogen Oxide (NOx), and Sulphur Oxides (SOx). These air pollutants cause severe health and environmental effects. The fine Particulate Matter (PM) results in aggravating respiratory and cardio vascular diseases and impairing lung function. Besides, the environment may get degraded by way of acid rain, eutrophication, visibility impairment and, of course, climate change. According to a study published in Current Science (5), while the Indian economy grew by 2.5 times during 1975-1995, the vehicle pollution level increased by 7.5 times. This is disturbing indeed. It shows that transport system and air pollution are directly co-related. The emissions from motorized vehicles in practical terms depend on vehicle kilometers, vehicle speeds, life of vehicles and composition of vehicle fleet. The emission rates of different categories of vehicles are shown in Table 4.

 Table 4:  Emission Rates of Different Categories of Vehicles in Typical Indian City in gms/km

 

Vehicle category               CO            HC         NOx         SO2          Pb            TSP

 

Two- wheeler                   8.3            5.18             -           0.013        0.004            -

Motor car                        24.03          3.57          1.57        0.053        0.012            -

Three-wheeler (autos)     12.25          7.77            -           0.029         0.009            -

Bus                                    4.38          1.33          8.28        1.441           -               0.275

Truck                                 3.43          1.33          6.48         1.127          -               0.450

Light commercial vehicle 1.30          o.50         2.50         0.400           -               0.100

Note: (-) indicates negligible quantity

Source:  (21)

 Here one can see that emission rates in terms of CO and HC for personalized modes of transport like motor car and two wheelers are very high suggesting the need for their substitution by public passenger transport modes lie bus or metro rail. The figures of average efficiency of different categories of motor vehicles as expressed in terms of kilometers per litre are as in Table 5.

 Table 5:

                          Vehicle category          _Fuel type           Kms. per litre__

 

                                   Bus                         Diesel                     4.30

                                Two wheeler              Petrol                    44.40

                                Three wheeler            Petrol                     20.00

                                Motor car                   Petrol                     10.90

Source:  (21)

 An idea of the vehicular emission loads in selected Indian cities can be had from the figures in Table 6.

 Table 6: Estimated Vehicular Emission Load in Selected Metropolitan Cities of India

 Name of city    Vehicular pollution load (tonnes per day)

_________________________________________________________________________                      Particulates   Sulphur    Oxide of       Hydrocarbons   Carbon        Total

                                              Dioxide    nitrogen                                monoxide

________________________________________________________________________ 

Delhi                  10.30             8.96          126.46            249.57          651.01       1046.30

Mumbai               5.59             4.03            70.82             108.21          469.92         659.57

Bangalore            2.62             1.76            26.22               78.51          195.36         304.47

Kolkata               3.25              3.65            54.69               43.88          188.24         239.71

Ahmedabad        2.95              2.89             40.00              67.75          179.14          292.71

Pune                   2.39              1.28             16.20              73.20          162.24          255.31

Chennai              2.34              2.02             28.21              50.46            143.22        226.25

Hyderabad          1.94              1.56            16.84              56.33             126.17        202.84

Jaipur                  1.18              1.25            15.29              20.99                51.28         88.99

Kanpur               1.06              1.08             13.37              22.24               48.42           6.17

Lucknow            1.14              0.95               9.68              22.50               49.22         83.49

Nagpur               0.55              0.41               5.10              16.32                34.99        57.37

Grand Total      35.31            29.84          422.88            809.69             2299.21    3597.20

Source: (3)

 The air pollution levels in our cities are disturbing indeed. The number of motor vehicles moving on Indian roads today is certainly much more than the figure of 7.2 crore in 2004 (See Table  3). What is more alarming is their concentration in metropolitan cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai. Delhi, for instance, which had 1.4 percent of Indian population accounted for 7 percent of total motor vehicles in the country. Another worrying feature is that while the share of mass transport (buses) is quite below the desired range of 60-85 for two million plus cities, the share of personalized transport (cars and two wheelers) and para- transit (autorikshaws and taxis) is above the optimal range of 10-20 in most cities.

 The impact of such a rapid growth of vehicle population in the background of grossly inadequate road space, poor street furniture, illegal encroachment by hawkers, parked vehicles and pavement dwellers can be easily imagined. Most Indian cities today face severe traffic congestion, especially during peak hours when vehicle speeds slow down to 5-10 kms per hour in central business district areas. Vehicular emissions in the form of CO2, HCs and NOx drastically increase the pollution levels.

 Mass transport services like buses and suburban rail systems are generally overcrowded. They are irregular and involve long waiting times. This naturally leads to a massive shift to personalized transport and para-transit modes. In India owning a motor car is still considered a status symbol. As a result the neo-rich are fast joining the car-owners club and it is feared that the situation may worsen after the rupees one-lakh nano car arrives on Indian roads. All this may also lead to a soaring up of accident rates to dizzy heights. It is time we listen to the wake up call and save ourselves from turning into a car-oriented society.

 Air Quality Management – Measures     

   It is obvious that we need to act without delay through effective intervention in the transport sector.  Green transport through green logistics should be our goal. Maintenance of air quality standards is possible through setting an ambient air quality monitoring network for vehicular emissions and simultaneously helping motorists to make the transition. The variety of measures that need to be undertaken can be on following lines:

 

(a) Diesel engines emit carbon particles TSP, heavy hydrocarbons, sulphate and other by-products of combustion, and petrol engines also emit CO, NO and other volatile compounds. However, diesel engines are considered as relatively dirtier and government should discourage their use through suitable policy measures including differential pricing (14).

 

(b) The government should promote the use of alternative cleaner fuels like liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and compressed natural gas (CNG). Thankfully, it is already doing this gradually and effectively. The air quality in Delhi and Mumbai has certainly improved after their use in public transport buses and autorikshaws. It should also take care to establish CNG filling stations along all major roads. Another good news, according to a Research Report by Frost and Sullivan ( ), is that car makers in India are soon likely to roll out models that run on alternative fuels like CNG and LNG. They are also developing a converter kit which will transform an existing petrol and diesel vehicle into a CNG/LPG driven vehicle. Such converter kits for three-wheelers are already in the market. After this conversion India will actually need 10,000 CNG pump stations whereas today their number is less than 5000 across 15 cities.

 

(c) Use of old vehicles should be effectively curbed. Shortage of finance or fear of unemployment should not come in the way of enforcement of government directives. Petitions for judicial intervention should be quickly dealt with. Obsolete models, except those used for vintage car ralleys, ought to be made to retire.

 

(d) Improvement in fuel quality in terms of lower surphur content in diesel and lower benzene and aromatics in petrol should be enforced. The Department of Road Transport of the Government of India has rightly promulgated Rules in April 1995 regarding use of unleaded petrol and fitting of catalytic converters in new petrol-driven cars. Similarly, the norms for sulphur content in petrol have been fixed at 0.1% and for diesel at 0.25%

 

(e) Setting up of emission standards for all kinds of motor vehicles is necessary. Happily, the next generation emission norms for two-wheelers and three-wheelers have been made effective from April 2005. If feasible, the government may start conducting emission testing of motor vehicles prior to their registration. It may be stated that the automotive sector of Indian industry is quite sensitive to environmental risks and safeguards.

 

(f) The local enforcement agencies should launch sustained drives against smoke-belching vehicles which abound in small and medium sized Indian cities. For this purpose they should bring emission testers to roadsides for inspection of vehicles. Forced retirement of older high-polluting vehicles may be resorted to. The government should also bring in pedestrian safety laws and clear footpaths of all encroachments to allow pedestrians their right to walk safely.

 

(g) Better integration between rail transport systems and other ‘feeder’ bus services and water transport facilities should be brought about by linking them together. Common ticketing and information systems to offer seamless connections between different transport modes can also be thought of. Elevated railways integrating LRT and MRT lines may be constructed to discourage private car ownership. (20)

 Modal Shift

 The question of changing the modal split in favour of railways and waterways also needs to be addressed seriously. It is a well-established fact that road freight vehicle movements give out greater carbon emissions per tonne kilometer than rail or water borne freight. The road arteries in India these days are getting more and more congested affecting climate change. The share of rail transport in freight movements, not in absolute but relative terms, has been declining relative to road transport, because of the accessibility and door-to-door delivery advantage enjoyed by road transport. This however does not augur well from the environment and sustainability viewpoint. There is no doubt that Indian rail freight traffic during the last decade has increased in absolute terms thanks to the Container Corporation of India – a subsidiary of Indian Railways- playing a more customer-friendly role in providing ISO containers both at port terminals and inland container depots (ISDs). However, for logistics providers road transport still continues to be the favoured mode for the reason that their criterion of measuring transportation costs differs from that of the government. The costs of environmental degradation for them are external and do not need internalization for business accounting purposes.

 It is here that policymakers should use their ingenuity in evolving such fiscal, regulatory and organizational measures which will bring about a modal shift from road to rail and water transport. Unfortunately, there is no evidence yet of serious thinking on the part of policymakers to bring about such environmentally desirable modal shift from road to rail and water. The reason is not far to seek. The decision about mode choice by shippers of freight involves many complex issues. It depends upon a variety of factors influencing performance of rail freight movements and the costs in terms of money and time that is to be borne ultimately. It is therefore necessary to identify the barriers that prevent the desired modal shift and evolve suitable measures to achieve the objective. It is the logistics managers who can really enlighten us on the eco-friendly way of influencing mode choice.(   )

  Switch to Bio-fuels           

Due to soaring prices in the world oil market during the last few decades, need arose to break free from oil and use alternative energy sources like bio-fuels which would cut oil demand, provide energy security and prevent climate changes. Simultaneously, efforts were begun to promote research and development in clean alternative energy options like wind, water, solar and hydrogen resources. However, a switch to bio-fuels- specifically ethanol – was looked upon as the easier way to achieve the objective (7)

  The question often being asked is whether reliance on bio-fuels would prove a good strategy. Researches undertaken by International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) reveal a different story (17). During the period 2000-2007 there was a boom in ethanol production. Brazil and USA controlled the market producing 90% of ethanol. European Union (EU) also followed suit. Large tracts of land were diverted towards production of palm and soya-bean to produce bio-diesel and towards corn and sugarcane to produce ethanol. This led to a surge in commodity prices throughout the period. According to IFPRI, if this trend continues, by 2020 prices of corn are estimated to rise from present 26% to 72%, of sugar from 12% to 277% and of oilseeds from 18% to 44%. This scenario is bound to have a serious impact on the poor strata of society with diet quality getting reduced and malnutrition spreading to large parts of Asia and Africa.

  In this situation, rich countries may continue to emit majority of green house gases (GHGs)  and the poor countries will bear the burden of climate change in terms of hotter climate, lesser rain, and deforestation, and also low incomes, malnutrition and greater dependence on agriculture and natural resources for living.

 It is feared that the risks in switching to agro-based fuels are real. The switch may trigger further deforestation and destruction of the ecosystem. Warnings are therefore being given that agro-fuel policies should not be pursued further without a proper risk analysis. (1). According to a UNIDO document, “the key concern here is the competition between land use for bio-energy production and food and animal food production.” The fuel versus food issue is really enigmatic. The document further states that “the coupling of energy market with food market can increase food prices and hence worsen the access to affordable food for many” (25). This warning can be ignored only at our peril.

  It should be clearly understood that increased prices may result in increased incomes for farmers and give them their food security, but the overall effect would depend upon the distribution of increased incomes. In the opinion of the Food and Agriculture Organization (2006) the food versus fuel issue needs detailed analysis of the possible outcomes of bio-fuels policy. The Stanford University’s Wood’s Institute for Environment claims that reliance on bio-fuels as part of America’s new energy plan is not a good strategy. It is a fact that USA’s Ethanol-from-Corn Program has led to a rise in prices of food crops due to farmland diversion. (23) This can happen anywhere and in India too. Lands can be diverted for production of soya-bean and sugarcane. The decision to switch from fossil fuels to crop-based fuels has therefore to be taken with extreme caution. Scientists state that agro-fuels production from oilseeds and corn has the potential to damage our climate catastrophically.

  Researches are being carried out to produce liquid bio-fuels for transport as such. Here the ‘first generation fuels refer to bio-energies made from sugar, starch, vegetable oils or animal fats using conventional technologies. ‘Second generation’ fuels refer to those from lingo-cellulose biomass feedback using advanced technologies. In India, we have resorted to gasification of solid bio-mass through setting up small scale plants mainly in rural areas which produce heat and energy. We should upgrade the technology so as to feed the gases into pipelines or alternatively compress them for use in transport vehicles. In this respect Brazil has a success story to report. The production of sugarcane ethanol has reduced that country’s dependence on fossil fuels and also ‘cleaned’ the industry. (   )

   In fine, as long as the thrust is on producing ‘clean’ energy and on scaling down petroleum consumption, bio-fuels can be considered as welcome. But we must carefully assess the fall outs of switching to bio-fuels. President Obama’s New Energy Plan for USA supports greater use of ethanol produced from maize. This has led to increase in food prices, especially of wheat. If we in the same way produce sugar ethanol in India, it may deplete our water levels and degrade soil quality. Bio-fuels may not prove to be so ‘green’ after all. (23) The sustainability of bio-fuels does not seem to be as strong as it appeared earlier.

 References

  

1. Almuth Ernsting, Deepak Rughani, Dr. Andrew Boswell (2007): “Agro Fuels Threaten to Accelerate Global Warming”, UNFCCC, Bali Version, www.biofuelwatch.org.uk 2. Bowersox, Closs, & Cooper (2008), Supply Chain Logistics Management, McGraw Hill, 2nd edition 3. Central Pollution Control Board: National Ambient Air Quality Statistics of India, different years 4. Chopra Sunil and Peter Meindl (2007) : Supply Chain Management- Strategy, Planning and operation, Prentice Hall of India 5. Current Science (1999): “Urban Air Pollution- Commentary”, Vol.77, No.3, August 10, 1999. 6. Financial Express, November 3, 2008, Emerging Ventures India 7. John Browne (1997): “Bio fuels – A Solution for Climate Change- Our Changing Earth Climate”, A Presentation in the Council of foreign Relations, New York, Nov.13, 1997. 8. John Pucher, Nisha Korattyswaropan, Neha Mittal, Ninu Ittyerah (2005): “Urban Transport Crisis in India”, Transport Policy 12, Elsevier, pp. 185-198. 9. Prodosh Mitra (2009): “Biofuels are not so green- Counter view”, Times of India, February 17, 2009 10. Rodrigue Jean-Paul, Brian Slack, Claude Comtois (2001): “Green Logistics (The Paradoxes of)”, in The Handbook of Logistics and Supply Chain Management, Brewer et al (eds.), Pergamon/Elsevier publishers, London Greening Business Survey 2008 11. Financial Express, September 22 & 29, 2009: “Global Carbon Emissions Rise Despite Abatement Steps” – Carbon Budget and Trends Report, 2007 12. G. Raghuram and N. Rangaraj (2005): Logistics and Supply Chain Management- Cases and Concepts, Macmillan, Delhi 13. Hindustan Times, December 19, 2007: “India is on an eco drive”. 14. House of Representatives, Phillipines Policy Advisory No.2004-03 (2004): Addressing Urban Transport Pollution. 15. Indian Express, November 16, 2007:International Energy Agency (IEA) Report on World Energy Outlook 16. Jain, A.K. (2009): ” Retrofitting Cities and Built Form to Meet the Challenges of Climate Change and Carbon Emission”, Akruti Journal of Infrastructure, Vol. II, No. 2, pp. 101-121 17. Joachin von Braun (2008): “Food Prices, Biofuels, and Climate Change”, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) 18. Sahay B.S. (Ed.) (2004): Energy Issues in Supply Chain Management, Akruti Journal of Infrastructure, Vol. II, No. 2, pp. 122-1 19. Sanjay K. Singh (2005): “Review of Urban Transportation in India”, Journal of Public Transportation, Vol. 8, No. 1, pp. 79-97 20. Warwick J. McKibbin (2009): “Climate Change Policy for India”, 21. Sibal and Sachdeva (2001), “Urban Transport Scenario in India and Its Linkage with Energy and Environment”, Urban Transport Journal, Vol.2, No.1, pp.34-55 22. Sudarsanam Padam & Sanjay K. Singh (2002), “Urbanization and Urban Transport in India- The Sketch for a Policy, Central Institute of Road Transport, Pune 23. Times of India, November 28, 2007, “Global Warming- Earth on Fire”- Subodh Varma 24. Tiwari Geeta (2007), “Urban Transport in Indian Cities”, Urban Age, Newspaper Essay, L.S.E. 25. UNIDO (2007): Bio Energy Strategy- Sustainable Industrial Conversion and Productive Use of Bio Energy – Report

 e-mail: shankermodak@yahoo.co.in

Question by ???????: Which is worse? The high cost of gasoline or the high cost of grains for biofuel?

Either way not only do we have to struggle with the need of having fuel but also the struggle of groceries?

Best answer:

Answer by Helper
High cost of grains – of course.

If gasoline was high enough, we can car pool or conserve by bunching up few trips together.

But if food prices are too high, then we can’t share a meal, bunch up few meal in to one meal, etc.

Good Luck…

Give your answer to this question below!

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The World Takes Another Look at Biofuels

July 5, 2011 By

Article by Peter Verhoeff

Across the world, food shortages have taken on crisis proportions. In the U.S. and Europe this has taken the relatively mild form of sharply increased prices, but in other parts of the world riots are breaking out and governments are nearly being toppled, because people are starving.

The causes for these sudden food shortages are many. Climate changes have reduced the availability of food. For example, Australia, previously a major grain exporter, has suffered a drought condition for several years. Other food-producing countries have suffered from crop-devastating floods and other adverse weather conditions.

Natural disasters, such as the recent earthquakes in China and hurricane damage in Myanmar, have made millions of people dependent on food aid.

Increased prosperity in China and India has raised the worldwide demand for dwindling supplies of oil from the Middle East, pushing up the price of oil and consequently raising food prices, due to increased transportation costs.

Increased prosperity in Asia also has increased the demand for meat and other previously considered “luxury” food items. Livestock animals are big consumers of corn, thus making less of it available for human consumption. According to a May 19, 2008, article in U.S. News and World Report, it takes about seven pounds of corn to produce one pound of beef. The same article states that since 1980 Brazilian meat consumption has more than doubled to 197 pounds per person per year and China’s demand for meat has quadrupled to 109 pounds. Americans have an even stronger appetite for meat: 273 pounds per year. Clearly, a reduction in meat consumption would help alleviate food scarcity.

The production of biofuels has also had an impact on food prices and availability. Because of soaring oil prices and reduced availability, the U.S. has implemented a program to produce ethanol from corn. Gasoline at the pumps is now increasingly supplemented with ethanol to relieve the soaring cost and reduced availability of oil. The Federal government heavily subsidizes this program and many American farms, particularly in Iowa, are now growing corn for ethanol.

According to an April 2008 article in Time Magazine, soybean production in the U.S. has decreased as a result, leading to an increase in soybean production in Brazil, which in turn has led to farmland expansion at the expense of further encroachment on the dwindling Amazon rainforest. Brazil itself produces biofuels from sugar cane, which is claimed to be a far more efficient biofuel source than corn. In Europe and Asia, rapeseed and palm oil are used for biofuels, which also encroaches on existing forests, the clearing of which increases the emission of greenhouse gases.

More biofriendly alternative sources of biofuels, that have less of an impact on the food chain and the environment, are being considered, such as grass, timber waste and algae. It is too soon to tell whether these alternatives will be commercially viable and capable of large-scale implementation.

There do not appear to be simple answers to alleviating food and energy shortages across the planet. With over six billion human mouths to feed, there is a need to review food and energy policies worldwide and to work out effective steps to remedy hunger and energy scarcity.

Many brilliant minds are at work to improve conditions in the direction of adequate food and energy supplies for all, but these improvements will take time to develop and bring to fruition. Meanwhile, it is important to use food and energy more effectively. Individuals in developed countries can contribute by reducing meat consumption and wasting less food and energy.

Energy conservation is being taken seriously by Biofriendly Corporation, whose Green Plus® liquid fuel catalyst provides a cleaner, more linear burn of fuel in internal combustion engines, thus reducing harmful emissions and increasing torque and fuel economy.

For more information on Green Plus visit the Biofriendly website at http://www.biofriendly.com.

About the Author

Author, Peter Verhoeff, contributes articles on environmental issues for Biofriendly Corporation. More information on these and other topics can be found on the Biofriendly site.

Question by JR L: What is the name of the plant fully abondant in Haiti capable of being used for biofuel?

For long Haiti has been known for its ecological degradation due to the oversuse of the trees to produce charcoal a commodity commonly used for cooking. Scientists have recently discovered a plant commonly used by vodou practitioners for treating ailment and conjure evil spirits. What is the name of this plant?

Best answer:

Answer by Brigitte H
Jatropha curcas, a native Haitian shrub, is by now grown in several countries to produce biofuel.

“Haiti’s Hopes for Biofuels Rest on Jatropha Plant”:

http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/story?id=50480

“Voodoo shrub is alternative fuel”:

http://current.com/items/89350483_voodoo_shrub_is_alternative_fuel

Give your answer to this question below!

default The World Takes Another Look at Biofuels

Pimental. Focus on the ethics of corn use as biofuel and consequences of US consumption.1700 gallons of water per gallon ethanol…IPS,Intl Forum on globalisation sept 2007 DC.

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