Biodiesel vs. Ethanol Essay -- Compare Contrast Fuel Essays Papers

Biodiesel vs. Ethanol Both biodiesel and ethanol are derivatives of biomass that have been processed to create a liquid biofuel. Both types of biofuels have been touted as secure and environmentally safe alternatives to fossil fuels, however the research verifying these claims is extensive but often contradicting. In the following paper, the efficiency and quality of the two types of biofuel will be discussed. The effects of variables such as source materials and production techniques on efficiency and quality will be considered. Due to the limited scope of this paper however, only generalized net analyses of ethanol and biodiesel production will be considered. The production of ethanol requires one of two source materials, cellulose or sucrose, both of which are complex sugars. Currently, corn and sugar cane are the primary source materials for ethanol; however it can be produced from any plant cellulose. Ethanol is created using chemical and non chemical processes. These processes include liquefication, saccharification, fermentation, and distillation (Malca and Freire, 2006). Today, the world’s ethanol is primarily produced in Brazil using sugarcane. The second largest producer of ethanol is the United States, where it is created from corn. Ethanol has the largest production mass of all the biofuels (Powlson, Riche, and Shield, 2005). In 2003 Brazil produced 9.9 million tons, as compared to 8.4 million tons produced by the United States, and 1.75 million tons produced in Europe (Malca and Freire, 2006). Biodiesel is produced by subjecting the triglycerides found in vegetables oils and fats to transesterification, which is the exchanging of the alkoxy group of an ester compound by another alcohol. This creates an ox... ... dbio-ethyl tertiary butyl ether (bioETBE): Assessing the implications of allocation. Energy, 31: pp. 3362-3380. McCormick R, Graboski M, Alleman T, and Herring A. (2001). Impact of biodiesel source material and chemical structure on emissions of criteria pollutants from a heavy-duty engine. Environmental Science Technology, 35 (9): pp. 1742-1747. Pimental D and Patzek (2005). Ethanol Production using Corn, Switchgrass and Wood; Biodiesel Production using soybean and Sunflower. Earth and Environmental Sciences, 14 (1). Powlson DS, Riche AB, and Shield, I. (2005). Biofuels and other approaches for decreasing fossil fuel emissions from agriculture. Annals of Applied Biology, 146: pp. 193-201. Van Gerpen JV. (1996). Cetane number testing of biodiesel. National Biodiesel Board Reports Database, Liquid Fuels and Industrial Products from Renewable Sources.