Biofuels Will Be A Key Part Of The Net-Zero Solution
Imagine a world where jets fly around the planet on fuel sourced from plants, replacing fossil fuels at cost parity, all without displacing huge amounts of forest land and animal life.
Today, such a fantasy probably seems as distant as Mars. Biofuel, which is a type of renewable energy made from living matter, makes up just 10% of U.S. gasoline, mostly in the form of ethanol. Ethanol made from corn provides the equivalent of about 1 million barrels of oil per day, according to Daniel Schrag, a professor of public policy, environmental science and engineering at Harvard University. It’s far from enough: the U.S. uses 20 million barrels of oil per day.
“But you can’t grow 20 times as much corn to actually eliminate oil from our energy system,” Schrag points out. While many motor vehicles will become electrified in the long run, “what you need is oil for the rest of the demand, such as from trucks, ships, and airplanes. There’s a big debate about what that winning technology will be.”
Environmentalists contend that the fuel of the future should be green hydrogen energy, which is produced by splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen using renewable electricity and is neutral in carbon emissions. However, the costs are too high to be competitive with fossil fuels for the foreseeable future and experts acknowledge it is not an immediate next step in transitioning the economy to a cleaner fuel source.
Source Link : https://www.forbes.com/sites/juergeneckhardt/2024/04/22/biofuels-will-be-a-key-part-of-the-net-zero-solution/?sh=50ef88bb5de9
