In one of our previous posts we mentioned that the European Union had set some goals for 2020. One of the goals was to reduce CO2 emissions, so Europe was investing in R&D&i on biofuels. But 2020 is just around the corner and Europe is already reviewing its goals for 2030. On June 14th we were informed of an apparent change of course. “Europe now limits the use of biofuels due to environmental damage” the news announced. So in the end, what are biofuels, a solution or a problem?
Digging a little deeper into the news, we discover that the headline is misleading. Europe has not decided to abandon the use of all biofuels. But it does want to stop using the most problematic ones, first-generation biofuels .
What are first generation biofuels?:
Let's start at the beginning. What are biofuels? Biofuels are substances produced by living beings that we can burn to obtain energy. Think about what products this definition includes. The first things that come to mind are oil and alcohol .
Where do we get oil? From plants that we already grow for their oil, such as soybeans or palm oil . How do we produce alcohol? By fermenting sugars. And where do we get those sugars? From sugar-rich plants that we already grow, such as corn or sugar cane . This is the idea behind the first biofuels that were invented, the first generation biofuels.
Well, we were already growing these plants precisely to eat them list of mobile phone numbers australia . So now farmers have to decide who to sell their crops to. Who makes them more money, the food industry or the fuel industry? So the price of food goes up .
And that's just the beginning. Don't think that the farmer is a gentleman with a humble farm, no, we are talking about colossal companies. Corporations with practices such as cutting down the Amazon to grow genetically modified soybeans; or using the spraying of crops with herbicides so powerful that they poison the local population. People who, on the other hand, cannot compete economically with these large companies.
deforestation in the amazon
When you approach biofuel production in this way, it is not ecological, nor humanitarian, nor anything like that. But that is not the fault of biofuels . If you find out that a clothing brand sells items manufactured through child exploitation, do you become a nudist? No, you look for another brand.
The eco-label.
European Ecolabel logo
One of the advantages of living in Europe is the labelling of the products we have at our disposal. As consumers we can know practically everything about the products we buy. By looking only at food we know where it is made, its list of ingredients and its nutritional properties. In this case, what we should look for on the label is the organic label . It means that the labelled product was produced in a way that respects the environment and human rights.
There are various European ecological labels applied to different types of products. But for the products that interest us, which are biofuels, there is only one label that regulates them at the moment.
The White Swan label is an eco-label of Scandinavian origin. It is used in five Nordic countries: Norway, Sweden, Finland, Iceland and Denmark. Let's focus on Sweden's relationship with biofuels, because Sweden is where the most renewable energy is used.
Sweden and Biofuels:
Nordic Swan Logo Eco-label
So far we have only been talking about bioethanol and biodiesel , but there are not only liquid biofuels. Firewood and charcoal are the oldest biofuels in existence, although they are not the only solid biofuels. In Sweden, the sawdust produced in their extraordinary wood industry is compacted and formed into pellets. They are an excellent fuel for their large, efficient boilers that heat entire districts.
The organic waste produced in these cities is also a source of biofuels. It is transported through an elaborate system of pipelines to bioreactors where it is broken down into methane , a gaseous biofuel that can be used both in homes and to power vehicles.
The wood industry is also a source of liquid biofuels. Black liquor is a byproduct of the process of converting wood into paper. This black liquor can be treated to turn it into methanol , a compound that can be used as a fuel. All of these options would fall under what is known as second-generation biofuels .
What are second-generation biofuels?