CASE STUDY AND USAGE
In this section, several cases around the world are studied where biofuel production has been successful and where alternative to petroleum based fuels is in dire need. More importantly, there is emphasis on emerging economic powers of the world such as China, India and Brazil because in the near future these countries will have greatest need for fuels.
CASE STUDY 1 - Brazilian Ethanol Programme
Brazil is a leading example of how a successful biofuel programme can help the economy grow as it has a very large national production of bioethanol from sugar cane. For many years, bioethanol has been used in blends with traditional fossil fuels as liquid transportation fuels. In 2005, it was announced that Brazil and USA were the world’s two leading ethanol fuel producers, each producing about 45% of the global supply[i].
It all began after the 1970s fuel crisis for Brazil, as it turned to ethanol to become energy independent thanks to vast amounts of land available for sugarcane plantations. Ethanol is also known as ethyl alcohol and when blended in with unleaded petrol, it increases the fuels performances and at the same time decreasing harmful emissions[ii]. Vehicles in Brazil do not run on pure petrol anymore. Ever since 1977, it was made compulsory to blend 20% ethanol with petrol which meant E20 category and this required a slight change to the normal petrol engine. Nowadays, the compulsory level has become anywhere between 20% and 25% ethanol which is used in all regular vehicles. The most amazing thing is there are 3 million cars running on 100% hydrated bioethanol and six million vehicles fitted with flex-fuel capability. A major Brazilian car manufacturer came up with full flexible-fuel vehicles which are able to run on any proportion of ethanol and petrol[iii]. The ethanol powered “flex” vehicles are manufactured to tolerate hydrated ethanol which comprises of 95.6% ethanol and 4.4% water[iv].
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| Figure 4 - Source: Goldemberg J, Coelho S T, Nastari P M and Lucon O 2003 Ethanol learning curve - the Brazilian experience Biomass Bioenergy 26/3 301–4 |
CASE STUDY 2 – China’s Biofuel initiative
China’s energy sector and economy will face a great problem ahead in the future if they are not able to embrace the biofuel technology quickly. There is an ever increasing demand for oil and power from this largely populated country. Currently China is already one of the largest consumers of fossil fuels worldwide; consuming a total of about 60-70 million tones of fossil fuels every year, about one-third of it being imported[v].
To understand China’s stance on biofuels, we take a look back in history. During World War II, China used to produce diesel fuel, lubricating oils, gasoline and kerosene from Tung and other vegetable oils by cracking process[vi]. After the war, they have reverted back to conventional fossil fuels as well as unconventional fossil fuels such as those derived from coal. In fact majority of the energy provided to households in China is by coal fired power plants even today while majority of transportation fuels are fossil fuels.
Only recently the Chinese government has shown interest in biofuel production by building the largest Bioethanol production in Changchun [Jilian Province] plant with the capacity to produce 600000tons of Bioethanol per year[vii]. Furthermore the Centre for Renewable Energy Development (CRED) in Beijing is working together with Austrian Biofuels Institute and Scottish Agricultural College (SAC) from INCO-programme of the European Union. This study was conducted to find out the different feedstock available in China for Biodiesel production namely rapeseed oil, cottonseed oil and used frying oils[viii]. Two biofuels are being produced and used in China bioethanol from maize and biodiesel from cooking oils and fat residues. A 10% ethanol blend with petrol is already being in 10 provinces in China which has been made mandatory by the government. The government has been enthusiastically promoting biofuels which they see as a solution to their energy security, rural development and pollution problems[ix]. In 2007, China produced 1.6 million tones of bioethanol, the figure below shows how bioethanol production has risen from 2002 to 2007.
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Figure 5 - China's Fuel Ethanol production 2002-2007 (x1000tons) Source: 2002 to 2006 NDRC (2008); 2007: Research and Market Biofuels Report (2008) |
CASE STUDY 3 – Worldwide Jatropha plantation programme
One of the major problems associated with biofuels is the Food vs. Fuel dilemma especially in the production of 1st generation biofuels which is discussed further in the next sections. Therefore research was conducted to produce biofuels from non-food crops and particular plant oil was of interest, Jatropha. In fact it was so successful that many countries in Asia, Africa and the Americas had started plantations.
It all started in India when Jatropha Carcus-“Honduras” were carried in by Portuguese sailors a few hundred years ago. They were planted around other valuable plantations as a fence because animals and insects were repelled away from it. Meanwhile, Indian farmers found out that the nut contained oil which they used in their oil lamps. Over the years, these farmers bred the plant to have higher oil content as high as 40-50%. India has always been interested to produce biofuels however it had to come from non-food crops. The Biodiesel produced required certain characteristics for example it had to come from non-food crops and grown in non-prime agricultural land. Jatropha fulfilled these requirements as it is resistant to droughts, requiring minimum use of pesticides and fertilizers. Jatropha plants are very hardy and grow very fast producing seeds for extraction within a few months. The picture below shows how fast the plant grows in a tropical country such as Malaysia.
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Figure 6 - Growth of Jatropha in 7 days. "1 Hingga 7 Hari": 1 to 7 days |
[iii] ICIS.COM News Article: Brazil’s flex-fuel car production rises, boosting ethanol consumption to record highs; http://www.icis.com/Articles/2007/11/12/9077311/brazils-flex-fuel-car-production-rises-boosting-ethanol-consumption-to-record-highs.html
[iv] Goettemoeller, Jeffrey; Adrian Goettemoeller (2007), Sustainable Ethanol: Biofuels, Biorefineries, Cellulosic Biomass, Flex-Fuel Vehicles, and Sustainable Farming for Energy Independence, Praire Oak Publishing, Maryville, Missouri, pp. 42, ISBN 978-0-9786293-0-4
[ix] Biofuels – At What Cost? Government support for ethanol and biodiesel in China (Nov 2008), Global Subsidies Initiative of the International Institute of Sustainable Development. http://www.globalsubsidies.org/en/research/biofuel-subsidies-china
Follow up with this four part series on BIOFUELS by clicking the link below:
Part I, Part II , Part III, Part IV
Follow up with this four part series on BIOFUELS by clicking the link below:
Part I, Part II , Part III, Part IV
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