14 DAY TRIAL // Biofuel, obtained from the filtered residual oils of numerous types of plants, including algae, maize, sugar cane, and so on, has long been touted as the way to go in the fight against global warming. Its proponents say that it offers an inexpensive way of replacing fossil fuels, and of reducing emissions associated with climate change. However, its critics argue that bioelectricity may be a lot more suited for the task, because it impacts the environment even less, and is also cheaper to use.
One of the main problems related to the use of biofuels is the fact that they take up large stretches of land to grow on, they consume massive amounts of water during the cultivation process, as well as the fact that they require chemical pesticides, fertilizers and other such substances in order to grow to their full potential. And considering the water shortages that the world is already facing, it may not be such a good idea to invest money and resources in a technology that will most likely prove not to be sustainable within the next ten to 20 years, critics say.
Biomass, on the other hand, may be the way to go at this point. Proponents of this method say that sawmill towns, for instance, have been employing this way of producing electricity for decades, burning the bark and other wood residues in Steam boilers, which in turn generate current. Needless to say, large-scale power plants using this technology would also employ carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) technologies, which would capture CO2 and store it underground, for “safe” keeping.
When applying the potential that bioelectricity has on battery-powered vehicles, a new study has revealed that using current obtained in this manner could deliver 80 percent more miles of transportation per acre of crops, experts at the Carnegie Institution believe. As an example, a small-scale bioelectric SUV could travel an average of 14,000 highway miles on the amount of energy an acre of switchgrass generates, whereas an internal combustion engine would only propel the same car for 9,000 miles.
“The internal combustion engine just isn't very efficient, especially when compared to electric vehicles. Even the best ethanol-producing technologies with hybrid vehicles aren't enough to overcome this,” University of California in Merced expert Elliott Campbell explained, quoted by LiveScience.