Biofuel and fossil fuel: A comparative study
Fuel is a substance that is consumed to provide energy through combustion or through chemical or nuclear reactions. There are primarily two kinds of fuels – bio fuel and fossil fuel. Here is a low-down on both these types of fuels.
What is biofuel?
Any liquid fuel that is obtained from a renewable biological resource, especially biomass, is considered to be biofuel. It is a collective term that includes crop and plant residues as well as organic waste, things that are generated from a living source. The two most common types of biofuels are ethanol and biodiesel. This classification is based on how they are made and from what.
Ethanol: Also called grain alcohol or ethyl alcohol, ethanol is derived from the sugar content in the grains such as corn and barley. It is used as a substitute for gasoline that is used to run automobiles. Recent research suggests that ethanol can also be derived from cellulosic parts of plants.
Biodiesel: As the name suggests, this fuel is for diesel engines made of renewable organic raw materials like vegetable oils, cooking grease and animal fats. It can be used as a substitute to petroleum diesel to run compression-ignition engines.
What is fossil fuel?
As the name suggests, fossil fuel is created from fossils of organisms who lived millions of years ago. In other words, it is derived from hydrocarbon deposits of plants and algae. They are non-renewable because their formation takes millions of years under the natural influence of heat and pressure, and their burning generates the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide. They can be solid, liquid or gaseous. The most popular types of fossil fuels are coal, petroleum and natural gas. The lesser-known ones are peat, tar and bitumen.
Petroleum: Also called crude oil, petroleum is a flammable liquid consisting mainly of hydrocarbons, occurring naturally in deposits under the earth’s surface. It is used to fuel automobiles, on land, air and water.
Coal: It is a black rock (solid mass of hydrocarbons) formed from prehistoric plant remains, composed largely of carbons, and is burned as a fuel. If peat (a soft organic material formed out of decaying plant) is put under the influence of heat and pressure, it converts into coal. It is primarily used to generate electricity.
Natural gas: It is a mixture of gaseous hydrocarbons associated with petroleum deposits, mainly methane with smaller amounts of ethane, propane and butane. It is primarily used as a fuel to generate heating and electricity.
Biofuel vs fossil fuel: A comparison
Both biofuels and fossil fuels are derived from once living beings. They are also used for the same purposes globally—to power automobiles, generate electricity and produce heat. However, there are quite a few differences too. Here are they:
- While biofuels are renewable, fossil fuels are non-renewable.
- The sources of biofuel are plant grains and organic residues. In contrast, the sources of fossil fuels are millions of year-old dead organisms.
- While biofuels don’t have hazardous impact on human health, fossil fuels have toxic ingredients and byproducts like carbon dioxide, that cause respiratory problems in humans.
- Countries across the world are trying to replace fossil fuels with biofuels, since the former has toxic effects on the environment, while the latter is environment friendly.