Can We Fuel the Future with Corn
With the repercussions of climate change looming larger each year, scientists and researchers are trying to find ways that we can lower greenhouse gas emissions and reduce our carbon footprint. Is fuel something we can add to this list?
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Biofuels are a renewable resource made from plant material or animal waste. The most popular biofuel developed in Canada is ethanol, with an estimated 1,750 million liters produced in 2018. It is produced using corn and wheat through fermentation and a process called transesterification - a chemical reaction that swaps acid and alcohol molecules, converting plant oils into biodiesel. Biofuels are mainly used for transportation, where most of it fuels cars. Canada’s Renewable Fuel Regulations require that any non-renewable fuel must contain on average 10% renewable fuel content, newly mandated in 2020.
While biofuels can offer a sustainable fuel solution it’s possible they will lead to a whole new slew of problems. On the side of solution, since they are developed using plant matter, they can be consistently grown to fuel our lives. As the plants grow, they absorb CO2 which can offset the CO2 produced when these biofuels are made or burned, helping them become carbon neutral.
Photo by Khamkéo Vilaysing on Unsplash
However, in order to meet the International Energy Agency’s targets for sustainable growth, biofuel production would need to triple by 2030. Increasing the amount of plants grown for biofuels creates another problem: how do we decide if land should be used for fuel or for food? When food crop, such as corn, is used for biofuel we decrease the amount of corn that is going toward food supply. A drop in supply drives price up, making it difficult for people to be able to afford to eat.
“The oils harvested [from algae] yield about 60 times more oil per acre than their land-based counterparts”
Before you start to give up on biofuel as an option, there are currently many people hard at work looking for other viable types of biomass. One such possibility is algae, an aquatic microorganism that converts sunlight into energy. Some species store this energy in the form of natural oils that can be harvested through solvents - or amazingly enough, sound waves. The oils harvested here yield about 60 times more oil per acre than their land-based counterparts, potentially allowing us to use less land than we would for land-based biofuels. Taking this one step further, there are thoughts of placing these farms next to fossil fuel power plants to help sequester the CO2 exhaust from these plants feeding the algae in the process. While they are not quite ready for commercial production, this does give us hope for the future of biofuels.
While our current model for biofuels is a good start, we can see that there are areas it’s clearly lacking. Fortunately, with avid researchers and a stronger global sustainable mindset, it looks like our next upgrade is in the not-too distant future.
