Biofuels made from cellulose are twice as environmentally friendly and cheaper than gasoline

The production and use of second-generation biofuels derived from cellulose is far more profitable than previously thought compared to gasoline and bioethanol from corn, according to the authors of the publication in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciecnes.

David Tilman, an ecologist at the University of Minnesota, USA, and his colleagues for the first time estimated and compared the cost of producing and using one liter of each type of fuel used by various modes of transport, and took into account the environmental impacts of each stage of the fuel production and combustion cycle.

In their work, the authors used mathematical models developed by the US Department of Energy and the US Environmental Protection Agency to estimate harmful emissions and their impact on human health and well-being, calculated per liter of fuel.
According to scientists, the aggregate price, taking into account the harm to the environment and human health, for one liter of gasoline is 18 cents, while the cost of modern bioethanol ranges from 18 cents to 40 cents.

The equivalent amount of ethanol, when obtained from cellulose, will cost from 5 to 9 cents, depending on which of the processing technologies will be commercialized and what type of cellulosic raw materials will be used.

Although the production of ethanol from cellulose has not yet become an industrial technology, among its advantages are undoubtedly the reduction in the cost of fertilizers and pesticides required to grow large quantities of corn, which is the main raw material of the modern biofuel industry. This circumstance will make it possible in the future to reduce the environmental load on agricultural land.

Scientists have found that when cellulose fuel is burned, a smaller amount of aerosols is released into the atmosphere, which negatively affects the health of the population of large cities.

Another advantage of cellulose biofuels is that when cellulosic feedstocks are converted into ethanol, additional usable energy is released that can be used in the form of electricity.

The production of biofuels from cellulose is not the only alternative to hydrocarbon energy, along with hydrogen energy technologies, the development of technologies for hybrid and electric motors for vehicles. However, the study's authors believe that biofuels may become a cheap and safe alternative to gasoline and diesel in the future.

Source: Ecology.md