Questions on biofuels

Questions on biofuels

of FITs, Q-cells became one of the fastest-growing companies in Europe, and is now the second largest manufacturer of photovoltaic cells in the world, surpassed only by the Japanese electronics giant Sharp. And this growth continues unabated. For the first quarter of 2007, Q-cells reported a 43 per cent year-on-year increase in sales, and a 45 per cent increase in production. The output stands ...

Biofuels

The global energy market provides humans with about 370 exajoules of energy per year, which is equivalent to about 170 million barrels of oil per day (Box 1) or about 11.73 terrawatts (TW) per hour [1]. Approximately 95% of this energy comes from fossil fuels. Additionally, the International Energy Agency suggests that direct combustion of plant biomass provides about one-third of the energy ne...

Challenges on the Road to Biofuels

meet the growing demand for transportation fuels. The main hurdles to be overcome include feedstock-supply logistics, conversion technology and workforce availability. agronomists, agricultural engineers, and implement-manufacturing companies are addressing feedstock production, harvest, storage and transportation. Several universities, especially those in the Midwest, are developing new curric...

Future Prospects and Perspectives on Biofuels

Biofuels 2020: Biorefineries based on lignocellulosic materials

The production of liquid biofuels to blend with gasoline is of worldwide importance to secure the energy supply while reducing the use of fossil fuels, supporting the development of rural technology with knowledge-based jobs and mitigating greenhouse gas emissions. Today, engineering for plant construction is accessible and new processes using agricultural residues and municipal solid wastes ha...