What makes up biofuel

All three complex molecules in plants must be broken apart to access the sugar building blocks within, which can then be converted to biofuel.

One way to accomplish this biomass breakdown is to use a lot of harsh chemicals to break apart the plant tissues. However, these chemicals can be expensive — even toxic 2. Ideally, we would like to make breaking down plants easier, so we do not have to rely as much on these chemicals. One possible solution is to use a solvent — a liquid with chemical properties that allow it to dissolve other materials … like plants. Most of us use solvents every day, even if we are not aware of it.

For example, you use water as a solvent every time you wash your hands or make instant hot chocolate. Sometimes, only a certain kind of solvent can get the job done. For example, water may dissolve cocoa powder to make hot chocolate, but it would not remove nail polish — for that, you need chemicals called acetone, or ethyl acetate. Unfortunately, until recently, energy researchers could not find a solvent that was a cheap, b sustainable, and c good at breaking down plants.

GVL is such an interesting solvent because it is not only cheap — it is renewable, because it is made from biomass itself. This process is illustrated in Figure 2 , which shows the chemical reaction as it proceeds inside a biofuel reactor. Biofuel reactors are metal vessels that contain biofuel-processing reactions. They are specially designed to withstand the heat, pressure, and chemicals involved.

For any chemical reaction to begin, the ingredients involved the reactants must first gather enough energy. In common biofuel production reactions, lots of acids are mixed with water to help break down the biomass. This can take awhile, especially for very tough or woody plants, but adding GVL to the reaction gives the acids a big energy boost. This boost helps the system gather its activation energy faster, so the reaction can proceed more quickly 4 , 5 Figure 3.

To illustrate this phenomenon, imagine that two girls, Gemma and Valerie, are about to race each other to the top of a steep hill. Usually, both runners must stand behind a starting line to make sure that the race is fair. But in this race, Gemma is actually allowed a big head start: when the buzzer goes off, she gets to start running halfway up the steep hill, while Valerie must begin from the very bottom.

Who do you think will win? You guessed it — Gemma gets to the top of the hill way before Valerie. Just as the head start puts Gemma closer to the top of the hill in the race analogy, GVL brings the acid closer to the point of reacting with the biomass, allowing the reaction to proceed much faster.

Most ethanol is made from plant starches and sugars, but scientists are continuing to develop technologies that would allow for the use of cellulose and hemicellulose, the non-edible fibrous material that constitutes the bulk of plant matter.

In fact, several commercial-scale cellulosic ethanol biorefineries are currently operational in the United States. The common method for converting biomass into ethanol is called fermentation. During fermentation, microorganisms e. Learn more about Ethanol.

Biodiesel is a liquid fuel produced from renewable sources, such as new and used vegetable oils and animal fats and is a cleaner-burning replacement for petroleum-based diesel fuel. Biodiesel is nontoxic and biodegradable and is produced by combining alcohol with vegetable oil, animal fat, or recycled cooking grease. Like petroleum-derived diesel, biodiesel is used to fuel compression-ignition diesel engines.

Petroleum fuels, such as gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel, contain a complex mixture of hydrocarbons molecules of hydrogen and carbon , which are burned to produce energy. Pradhan, A. Wang, M. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Schaible, G. Malins, C. House of Representatives Resolution , th Congress. Cite as:. Unlike other renewable energy sources, biomass can be converted directly into liquid fuels, called "biofuels," to help meet transportation fuel needs. The two most common types of biofuels in use today are ethanol and biodiesel.

NREL researchers are developing technology to produce ethanol from the fibrous material cellulose and hemicellulose in corn stalks and husks or other agricultural or forestry residues. Ethanol is an alcohol, the same as in beer and wine although ethanol used as a fuel is modified to make it undrinkable.