Introduction

Biofuels: Renewable Energy from Plants
In this unit you will learn about what role plants can play in offering alternatives to fossil fuels.
With the exception of nuclear and geothermal, all energy is derived from the sun. Life on earth is dependant on the process of photosynthesis in which plants capture energy from the sun to form food for their growth and for animals. Plants are nature's 'solar collectors'. The idea of using plants for fuel is not new. When cave men first discovered fire, wood and other plant parts were the first thing they grabbed to keep the fire burning. For thousands of years mankind relied on plants to provide the fuel for their horses and oxen as well as heat for their homes and to cook their meals. They dammed every little stream to get water power to grind their grain and saw their lumber. About 200 years ago, these methods began to be replaced by steam and internal combustion engines. The first fuels used for these were plant products also such as wood and alcohol. Gradually these plant fuels were replaced by fossil fuels. Fossil fuels are also plant products, products of solar energy, which were fossilized under the earth's surface. Coal and petroleum products like gasoline, heating oils and kerosene are used to heat homes run engines and generate electricity. Fossil fuels are a finite resource. No more are being made. At the start of the 21st century demand for fossil fuels is very high. Before they run out we need to look into some of the alternatives.
There are a number of ethical issues that may affect the acceptance of biofuels. Economics and logistics are a couple. Some people may say that 'trees are beautiful' 'save the trees' and we can't argue with that. However, trees are a renewable resource. In rural areas trees are abundant. Much of the country is forested. Simple forest management improvement practices like weeding and thinning would produce large amounts of wood chips for biofuels. Corn, soybeans, and other oil producing plants are grown so efficiently by American farmers that they may be an economic alternative to fossil fuels. Using them as fuels would mean the use of a product that is renewable and less toxic to the environment. There is no one answer or single thing that will replace fossil fuels. Instead, we must look at a variety of alternatives to supplement and extend the availability of fossil fuels. Solar and wind energy are a couple of examples. Scientists are looking at hydrogen fuel cells as an alternative.
Biofuels, or fuels derived from plants, is another alternative. In fact there are a number of biofuel systems already in use. We are not talking about cooking on fires and heating our homes with fireplaces. Instead, we will examine several methods in which plants are used to run engines, to produce electricity and to heat large complexes of municipal buildings.

Keep this question in mind as you work:

Plants are a renewable resouce. As we use them we can grow more. How could plants be used to replace fossil fuels?

Instructions

1. Explore the Internet sites linked below. You're looking for facts, quotes, examples, images, sound clips, videos, and animations that you think are important aspects of the topic.

2. When you find something you like, check its Web page for a copyright notice. Often, students are encouraged to copy things that will only be used in the classroom. Sometimes people don't want their work copied at all. A good practice is looking for an e-mail link on the page and then using it to ask permission.

3. Copy any text you want by dragging across the words, then using the Edit - Copy command on the menubar. Paste what you highlighted into a basic text editor, word processor, desktop publishing program or multimedia program.

4. Save images you like by downloading them. Paste the images you've downloaded into a multimedia, paint or desktop publishing program (like HyperStudio, Clarisworks, or PageMaker) or use one of the graphics viewers listed as Tools on this page to display your collection of images.

5. Be prepared to cut anything that copyright owners tell you they don't want you to have.

6. Once you have collected your information, go over it carefully so that you can give clear and thoughtful reasons why you found the things you collected especially important.
   

The Internet Resources

Biofuels for Engines

• Biofuels: Journey to Forever - Biofuels: Journey to Forever - how to make your own clean-burning biofuel, biodiesel from cooking oil, make an advanced ethanol still, alcohol distillation, etc. Description: Biofuels site provides comprehensive information about biodiesel and ethanol with a lot more about Biomass and Biofuels

Biomass

• Biomass Energy - BIOMASS -- Energy from Wood,Garbage, and Agricultural Waste. Biomass is organic material which has stored sunlight in the form of chemical energy.

Methane

• Methane Gas from landfills - One way to produce electricity on an every day basis using methane gas ... us to see how scientists monitor and store methane gas created in landfills

• Methane Gas from Dairy Cattle - BIOGAS: PRODUCTION OF METHANE GAS AND MANURE FROM DAIRY CATTLE / ... File Format: PDF/Adobe Acrobat ... research findings from a Project embarked upon by Rural Environmental Care Association, RECA, that is, The Generation of Methane Gas (for fuel) from Anaerobic decomposition of cow manure

Woodchips

• WOODCHIP COMBUSTION - File Format: PDF/Adobe Acrobat Although the capital costs of woodchip heating systems are substantial it is important to know how a woodchip combustion system works to power a turbine which generates electricity.

• Gazogen: Wood gasification - Gazogen will develop and test an automated containerized 100 kW electric cogeneration plant utilizing a new type of fixed bed gasifier, specifically designed to provide stationary power using wood chips.

• Wood Chip Furnace - The Messersmith Dragon - will move an inexpensive fuel into your furnace or boiler automatically. Here's how it works.

Additional Information

• About Rudolph Diesel - No. 64: Diesel No other engine inventor's name is as closely tied to his engine as Rudolph Diesel. Includes audio. Rudolph Diesel's is. But Diesel worked hard to make it that way.

• 'How Diesel Engines Work' - Howstuffworks Diesels are more efficient and cheaper to run than gasoline engines. Learn what makes diesel engines different! ... How Diesel Engines Work. ...

• Bioenergy Information Network - Description: Part of the US Department of Energy's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy outreach on Biomass Initiative: Biopower; Biofuels; Bioproducts. Bioenergy Topics. US Department of Agriculture: Biobased Industrial Products; Biofuels with Information on Biomass and Biofuels

• Burn a tree--plant a tree - Arbor Day Tree Planting information hot list

Tools

References

Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary

Get definitions to many words quickly.

Roget's Thesaurus

Find words that have similar meanings to words you run across.

Grabbing Web Images

Follow a friendly step-by-step tutorial on how to grab images from the Web.

Software

Windows

Software for image management

Macintosh

Software for image management

HyperStudio

Multimedia authorware used at many schools. Check out the Website for support, ideas, and the Netscape Plug-In

Shareware.com

Thousands of software programs you may want to download and use.

Free Web Tutorials

Create your own web pages, learn to program, whatever...