Bio Fuels

Bio fuels are liquid fuels that are a clean alternative for powering our vehicles and generators that typically use petroleum. The two main types of bio fuels are biodiesel and ethanol. Methanol is another potential biofuel that is popular in today’s drag racers. These biofuels can be created directly from biomass and then used in conventional engines with little or no modifications.

Biodiesel, simply put, is diesel fuel made from vegetable oil or animal fats. Rudolf Diesel invented the diesel engine in the late 1800’s and demonstrated the new engine using peanut oil. The diesel engine was born to run on biodiesel. Today, most biodiesel is produced from soybean oil. Another source of oil is waste vegetable oil (WVO) produced at restaurants. WVO represents the perfect opportunity to transform waste into a valuable product. For a model development on biodiesel production see Pacific Biodiesel based in Hawaii.

Ethanol is an alcohol that is more popularly known for its use as a socializing agent for engineers and scientists. Ethanol is most commonly used in a gasoline mix, such as E85, in order to reduce emissions. Besides providing cleaner air, using ethanol supports our local economy and agricultural industry.

Methanol, or wood alcohol, can also be produced renewably from gasification or fermenting biomass. However, the majority of methanol is currently produced from natural gas.