How much does it cost to use biofuel?
Carbon offsets can be generated by almost any project that reduces or eliminates greenhouse gas emissions beyond a business-as-usual scenario. Common forms of offset projects include reforestation and improved forest management, methane gas capture and destruction, fuel switching, clean cookstoves, and energy efficiency. There are lots of more types of projects that can generate carbon offsets however. To obtain a feel for what project types exist, visit the methodologies page for the standards mentioned above.
The most common forms of biofuels are biodiesel, from oil-rich plants, and bioethanol from starch, which are called first generation biofuels.
First-generation biofuels have the main benefit of reducing the entire greenhouse gas emissions and zero carbon production in some cases as the carbon emitted during burning of biofuels is compensated by the carbon absorbed by the plants during growth.
Second-generation biofuels, on the other hand, are technologies that are still in development. This new technology focuses on producing second-generation biofuels by microbial fermentation of non-food crops.
Other sources include woody biomass from forestry, paper pulp, sawdust, bagasse, straw, stover, household food and garden waste. Know more about Biofuel Consulting.
The carbon footprint and overall energy yield is likely to be drastically improved in comparison with first generation biofuels as there's no significance of cultivating or harvesting the crops.
Biofuel Production
Bioethanol is conventionally produced through the enzymatic conversion of starchy biomass into sugars or fermenting 6-carbon sugars. Ethanol may also be produced from feedstocks like cassava, sorghum, potatoes, sugar beets, sugar cane, corn (maize) and cereal crops.
Researchers are actually concentrating on using ligno-cellulosic materials for advanced bioethanol production. This includes pre-treating biomass release a hemicellulose and cellulose, hydrolysis to release fermentable 5- and 6-carbon sugars, separation of non-hydrolysed cellulose and solid residues followed closely by distillation.
Biodiesel is made by trans-esterification of fats and vegetable oils via the addition of methanol and a catalyst, yielding glycerol as a by-product.
Other feedstocks include palm oil seeds, soy seeds, sunflower seeds and rapeseeds. Advanced methods include replacing methanol of fossil fuels with bioethanol, which yields fatty acid ethyl ester as opposed to fatty acid methyl ether.
Recent advancements in the production methods include hydrogenation of fats and oils for producing biodiesel that will blend with fossil diesel up to 50% without modifying engine efficiency.
What're co-benefits?
Co-benefits are positive outcomes from the carbon offset project, beyond the particular greenhouse gas emissions reductions. Co-benefits might be social, economic, or environmental. Samples of co-benefits include jobs created, health benefits, pollution mitigation (other than carbon), supporting gender equality, renewable energy generation, biodiversity, and education. Co-benefits are usually the deciding element in carbon offset purchases. Many carbon offset developers list the project co-benefits in terms of how they subscribe to the UN Sustainable Development Goals.