Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Third generation biofuels are relatively the cheapest and most energy producing
of all the three types of biofuels. Algal oil obtained from algae is utilized for the
synthesis of third generation biofuels. They may also be called as oilgae.
2
Historical Perspective
The use of biofuels dates back to the early sixteenth-seventeenth century. Humans
have consumed ethyl alcohol since before it was chemically discovered. In prewar
America the same alcohol was utilized as fuel for lightening a lamp. In the World
Fair of 1900 in Paris, biofuel in the form of peanut was used for the very first time as
engine fuel by Rudolf Diesel; since then the French government has been exploring
the possibilities of bio oils for the generation of transportation fuel.
Henry Ford, an American industrialist and the founder of Ford Motor Company,
made his first automobile using ethanol in 1916. America, one of the earliest grow-
ing economies of the world began working on promoting bio-alcohols during mid-
nineteenth century. Later towards World War II, when scarcity of fuel hit the mili-
tary camps, ethanol was considered as a viable alternative. But it was not until 1970
that bio fuels successfully captured the lime light for being the second most prefer-
able source of engine fuel after diesel. American Congress passed the Energy Tax
Act of 1978 that enforced incentives and economic subsidies for the development
of ethanol. Much to automobile industries amazement, The Clean Air Act Amend-
ments of 1990 and Energy Policy Act of 1992 issued a compulsive authorization for
the use of ethanol fuel in trucks and bus fleets. These laws were the catapult force
behind expanding the popularity of biofuels.
3
First Generation Biofuels
3.1
Bio Diesel (FAME)
Bio diesel is a fuel encompassed with mono alkyl esters derived from vegetable or
animal fats, of long chain fatty acids. It is a renewable transportation fuel consisting
of fatty acid methyl esters (FAME), mainly produced by trans-esterification of veg-
etable oils and animal fats (Wang et al.
2006
). Engine carbon monoxide emission
is reduced when biodiesel proportion in diesel fuel is increased. For example using
the blend B50, the carbon monoxide emission is lessened to 31 % compared to the
neat diesel fuel (Wang et al.
2006
).
The interest in biodiesel production increased because of some important reasons:
1. Concerns to reduce greenhouse gas emission for maintaining a stable climate.
2. A desire for renewable energy source.
3. Interest in developing domestic and more secure food supplies (Vyas et al.
2010
).
