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The production of biofuels can be very energy intensive, which, if generated from non-renewable sources, can heavily mitigate the benefits gained through biofuel use. A solution proposed to solve this issue is to supply biofuel production facilities with excess nuclear energy, which can supplement the power provided by fossil fuels. [112]
Renewable fuels are fuels produced from renewable resources. Examples include: biofuels (e.g. Vegetable oil used as fuel, ethanol, methanol from clean energy and carbon dioxide [1] or biomass, and biodiesel), Hydrogen fuel (when produced with renewable processes), and fully synthetic fuel (also known as electrofuel) produced from ambient carbon dioxide and water.
It is the only renewable biodiesel that can potentially completely displace liquid fuels derived from petroleum. Economics of producing microalgal biodiesel need to improve substantially to make it competitive with petrodiesel, but the level of improvement necessary appears to be attainable."
The US National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) states that energy security is the number one driving force behind the US biofuels programme, [114] and a White House "Energy Security for the 21st Century" paper makes it clear that energy security is a major reason for promoting biodiesel. [115]
Biofuels are also considered a renewable source. Although renewable energy is used mostly to generate electricity, it is often assumed that some form of renewable energy or a percentage is used to create alternative fuels. Research is ongoing into finding more suitable biofuel crops and improving the oil yields of these crops.
The EU Renewable Energy Directive requires that the lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions of biofuels consumed be at least 50 percent less than the equivalent emissions from gasoline or diesel by 2017 (and 35 percent less starting in 2011). Also, the feedstocks for biofuels "should not be harvested from lands with high biodiversity value, from ...
First generation biofuels such as biodiesel [4] are produced directly from crops, such as cereals, maize, sugar beet and cane, and rapeseed. Second generation fuels are produced from byproducts from production of food and other goods, as well as from household waste, used frying oil from restaurants, and slaughterhouse waste.
An article suggests that this technology does not create an alternative to fossil fuel but rather converting renewable energy into liquid fuel. The article also states that the energy return on energy invested using fossil diesel is 18 times higher than that for e-diesel.