"The use of vegetable oils for engine fuels may seem insignificant today. But such oils may become in course of time as important as petroleum and the coal tar products of the present time." Rudolf Diesel, 1911.
What are biofuels?
According to the Department of Energy, biofuels are biomass that has been converted to fuels such as ethanol, methanol, methane and hydrogen.
Basically, biofuels are fuels and oils made from renewable resources. Some biofuels are used to power vehicles, others are used in heating or electricity generation. Ethanol (for gasoline engines) and biodiesel (for diesel engines) are two types of biofuels often talked about in the US media. Sources of biofuels include waste vegetable oil, energy or feedstock crops such as soy, corn, or rapeseed, municipal solid waste, and other biomass. Researchers are currently finding ways to create biofuels from algae, flies and fungi.
This packet will focus on biofuels as alternatives to petroleum fuels for transportation.
