Biofuels 101: It’s more than just ethanol!

Biofuels Primer - Biofuels 101

Ethanol tends to get the most publicity in the biofuels industry, due to the long-standing history of US Government subsidies for corn ethanol, and the wide adoption of significantly blended ethanol fuel in Brazil, where > 85% of cars run on a substantial ethanol blend (E20 or greater). 

Ethanol has been a major component of the global biofuels market for two decades, and the US and Brazil account for roughly 88% of total global ethanol production.  Global ethanol fuel production reached 86 billion liters (23 billion gallons US) in 2010, and that market grew to 29.5 billion gallons in 2023, with 52% coming from the US alone. But ethanol is one of many fuels either in use, or being considered for widespread commercial usage as an energy source.

In 2010 worldwide biofuel production reached 28 billion gallons US, up 17% from 2009, and biofuels provided 2.7% of the world’s fuels for road transport, a contribution largely made up of ethanol and biodiesel. In 2023, worldwide biofuel production stood at 89.6 billion gallons - a 320% increase in 13 years! Ethanol production, once the majority of the biofuels market has only increased 28% over the same timeframe, indicating that the growth in biofuels has been largely driven by other sources. What are they?

Before breaking down the other sources, let’s get some terms straight:

Cellulosic: (Of or relating to) A complex carbohydrate composed of glucose.  It forms the main constituent of the cell wall in most plants.

Biofuel: Biofuel is a type of fuel whose energy is derived from biological processes. Biofuels include fuels created by converting organic substances such as plant matter, as well as solid biomass (wood products, organic waste)/Biologically produced alcohols, most commonly ethanol, and less commonly propanol and butanol, are produced by the action of microorganisms and enzymes through the fermentation of sugars or starches (easiest), or cellulose (which is more difficult). [Source: Wikipedia]

NextGen or Second Generation Biofuel: Second generation biofuels or NextGen biofuels are biofuels produced from sustainable feedstock. Sustainability of a feedstock is defined among others by availability of the feedstock, impact on GHG emissions and impact on biodiversity and land use. Many second generation biofuels are under development such as Cellulosic ethanol, Algae fuel, biohydrogen, biomethanol, DMF, BioDME, Fischer-Tropsch diesel, biohydrogen diesel, mixed alcohols and wood diesel.  [Source: Wikipedia]

Pertinent Regulation

The 2024 US elections will substantially impact policy support and domestic biofuel support and market growth. A little background, NextGen biofuel quotas are mandated by the US Renewable Fuels Standard act, administered by the US EPA, which is a subset of the Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA) of 2007, implemented under the Bush Administration.  Under the 2012 RFS, (the last time an administration persisted for two terms), 18.7 billion gallons of fuel production was required by US manufacturers.  These consisted of 2.6% non-specified cellulosic biofuel, 5.4% biomass-based diesel, 10.8% advanced biofuels, and 81.3% renewable fuels. EISA and the RFS are providing a substantial economic foundation to the industry, and and vacillation in support around the RFS could negatively impact biofuel research and development.  This will be a factor to watch in the 2024 US Presidential elections.

Types of Biofuels

• Cellulosic Ethanol (BioEthanol)

• BioButanol

• BioDiesel

• BioCrude

• BioMethanol

• BioMethane

Biofuels differ in several ways.  It is helpful to think of each biofuel as a separate value chain, with an upstream component (feedstock and feedstock nourishment), an inbound transportation component, a processing and refining component, a post-processing and transmission component, and and end-market consumption component.  Each of these components differs for the specific fuel.  For example, bioethanol can be refined from wheat, corn, sugar beets and sugar cane, whereas biocrude is generated from wood pulp.  The methods for getting these energy sources, or “feedstocks” to market, can differ substantially.  The refining process and required facilities, likewise differ substantially as well.

In future posts, we will analyze each biofuel via each of the above mentioned components.  Different companies operate in one or several value chain components, and some are dedicated to one biofuel, whereas others span several biofuels.  There are exciting innovations happening in all of the value-chain components, which we will cover soon