Bio Fuel

Food vs. Fuel

The Debate Goes On!

bio fuel

What is the Answer?

Food vs. fuel is the dilemma regarding the risk of diverting farmland or crops for biofuels production in detriment of the food supply on a global scale. The "food vs. fuel" or "food or fuel" debate is international in scope, with good and valid arguments on all sides of this issue. There is disagreement about how significant the issue is, what is causing it, and what can or should be done about it.

There are many types of biofuels that do not require using a food product and the use of these should be greatly covered and researched.

Biofuels created from trees and grasses are a great format to begin with and we are in full support of this concept. We would love to hear your opinion and give you the opportunity to vote in a national poll that we hope will have a long term impact in a positive way.

Join is in the debate and concern over food for fuel.

Bio Fuels

Food for Energy

Not a Good Choice

At HydroNaturals we understand the need for new and sustainable energy sources, but we also understand what we feel is a greater need and that is to feed the world's people.

We feel that until that is done there is no leeway for utilizing a food source to power someones car or truck.

We do know that some bio fuels come from non food sources and can condone and support those uses but that is where it stops until the world is not hungry anymore.

Bio-fuels will be a great source once we have fed our people. As long as there are hungry people in the world we will not support or condone the use of food for energy. Let us know if you agree or disagree and send us your comments

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Vote Now on this topic!

Biofuel is a type of fuel whose energy is derived from biological carbon fixation. Biofuels include fuels derived from biomass conversion, as well as solid biomass, liquid fuels and various bio gases. Although fossil fuels have their origin in ancient carbon fixation, they are not considered biofuels by the generally accepted definition because they contain carbon that has been "out" of the carbon cycle for a very long time. Biofuels are gaining increased public and scientific attention, driven by factors such as oil price spikes, the need for increased energy security, concern over greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuels, and support from government subsidies.

Bio-ethanol is an alcohol made by fermentation, mostly from carbohydrates produced in sugar or starch crops such as corn or sugarcane. Cellulosic biomass, derived from non-food sources such as trees and grasses, is also being developed as a feedstock for ethanol production. Ethanol can be used as a fuel for vehicles in its pure form, but it is usually used as a gasoline additive to increase octane and improve vehicle emissions. Bio-ethanol is widely used in the USA and in Brazil. Current plant design does not provide for converting the lignin portion of plant raw materials to fuel components by fermentation.

Bio-diesel is made from vegetable oils and animal fats. Bio-diesel can be used as a fuel for vehicles in its pure form, but it is usually used as a diesel additive to reduce levels of particulates, carbon monoxide, and hydrocarbons from diesel-powered vehicles. Bio-diesel is produced from oils or fats using transesterification and is the most common biofuel in Europe.

In 2010 worldwide biofuel production reached 105 billion liters (28 billion gallons US), up 17% from 2009, and biofuels provided 2.7% of the world's fuels for road transport, a contribution largely made up of ethanol and bio-diesel. Global ethanol fuel production reached 86 billion liters (23 billion gallons US) in 2010, with the United States and Brazil as the world's top producers, accounting together for 90% of global production. The world's largest bio-diesel producer is the European Union, accounting for 53% of all bio-diesel production in 2010. As of 2011, mandates for blending biofuels exist in 31 countries at the national level and in 29 states/provinces. According to the International Energy Agency, biofuels have the potential to meet more than a quarter of world demand for transportation fuels by 2050. Current bio fuel production in the United States has reached 134 million gallons for the month of January 2020. This is a higher increase then expected and much higher then the projections were ten years ago. Shame on us, after all there are still hungry people right here in the U.S.

Issues With Biofuel Production And Use

There are various social, economic, environmental and technical issues with biofuel production and use, which have been discussed in the popular media and scientific journals. These include: the effect of moderating oil prices, the "food vs fuel" debate, poverty reduction potential, carbon emissions levels, sustainable biofuel production, deforestation and soil erosion, loss of biodiversity, impact on water resources, as well as energy balance and efficiency. The International Resource Panel, which provides independent scientific assessments and expert advice on a variety of resource-related themes, assessed the issues relating to biofuel use in its first report Towards sustainable production and use of resources: Assessing Biofuels. In it, it outlined the wider and interrelated factors that need to be considered when deciding on the relative merits of pursuing one biofuel over another. It concluded that not all biofuels perform equally in terms of their impact on climate, energy security and ecosystems, and suggested that environmental and social impacts need to be assessed throughout the entire life-cycle.

New Methodology

There are methods that use non-fodd crops or energy crops to produce fuel for use in cars and heating systems. This is an acceptable form of creating bio-fuels because it does not require land that can be used for growing food crops and it does not create a food shortage or higher prices.

Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Total net savings from using first-generation biodiesel as a transport fuel range from 25-82% (depending on the feedstock used), compared to diesel derived from crude oil. Producing lignocellulosic biofuels offers greater greenhouse gas emissions savings than those obtained by first generation biofuels. Lignocellulosic biofuels can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by around 90% when compared with fossil petroleum, in contrast first generation biofuels were found to offer savings of 20-70%.

The following is a linked list to more information about the different types of biofuels:

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