What is Biofuel?

Biofuel, in the simplest terms, is a fuel made from biomass. Biomass can be anything from corn or algae, to soybeans and hemp. Essentially, biofuel is like any other energy source but is derived from renewable resources. Biofuels can be used to generate electricity, power vehicles, plus much more.

Biodiesel and Bioethanol, commonly referred to as ethanol, are the two most prevalent biofuels. Biodiesel is typically made from vegetable oils or animal fats. These oils usually include canola, soy, palm oil but anything from algae to hemp can be used to produce a viable biofuel.

Ethanol fuel on the other hand, is typically produced by fermenting sugars from plants like corn and other starch crops. Ethanol is the most common biofuel worldwide, it is typically mixed in with other traditional fuels around 10% content. Since producing ethanol biofuel is relatively easy and there is an abundant amount of feedstock (sugar cane, corn, and potato are all good), biofuel production of ethanol can have great effects on the supply of the feedstocks which are also typically used as food for humans.

There are many other types of biofuels we will increasingly see their appearance in a world with less petroleum and a demand to produce fuels in a renewable manner.