biofuel from fermentation Flashcards
how is biofuel created?
biofuel is created from biomass, plant and animal material.
how is biofuel sourced?
sourced through industries like agriculture and forestry.
what do biofuels offer an alternative to?
traditional fossil fuels like coal and gas, which are non renewable.
why are fossil fuels non renewable?
their rate of production is lower than rate of consumption, which is high.
why are biofuels carbon neutral?
they are carbon neutral because CO2 that is released during combustion was orignally captured by the plant during photosynthesis.
what does the neutrality of carbon in biofuels mean?
it means that the carbon used is cycled back into the atomosphere and can be used again as input for other photosynthesising plants in the future. there is no net increase in amount of CO2 released into the atmosphere.
what are the steps of biofuel production?
deconstruction, digestion, fermentation and purification
how is biofuel made?
it is made from fermentation which breaks down glucose in plants into ethanol and CO2. the source of ethanol is harnessed and refined to produce the biofuel we need.
what happens in the deconstruction stage of biofuel production?
in deconstruction, biomass breakdown is improved for efficient fermentation. involves methods such as using biological approaches such as enzyme breakdown, acid exposure, mashing and grinding, and heating to increase surface area for fermentation
what happens during digestion stage of biofuel production?
the broken down biomass is exposed to enzymes such as amylase which break down the starch and cellulose and convert them into glucose and other sugars. aided by the presence of water, known as hydrolysis.
what happens during ethanol fermentation process?
yeast facilitates the anaerobic fermentation of sugars produced during digestion. a large amount of ethanol is produced as a product of this fermentation. ethanol is diffused out of yeast cells and harnessed as biofuel.
what happens during the purification and dehydration stage?
ethanol is distilled via removal of water, creating E10 which is used for transport and contains 10 percent ethanol and 90 percent gasoline.
what are some strengths of biofuels?
-they can reduce carbon emissions
-they reduce dependance on finite resources such as fossil fuels.
-they reduce risks associated with fossil fuel transport as it doesnt rely on being transported
what are some weaknesses of biofuels?
-large scale biomass harvesting may strain agricultural output, conflicting with food demands.
-production is more costly
-they do emit increased nitrous oxide emissions
-deforestation and reduced crop diversity
