page_title: Biofuel
hierarchical_section_title: Biofuel
caption_attribution_description: English: The soil's potential for carbon sequestration depends on how much carbon there already is in the soil. Original caption text: "The modelled relationship between soil C [carbon] emissions and initial SOC [soil organic carbon] within the top 30 cm of soil when planting Miscanthus. The red sloping line (15 Mg) represents the mean peak surface biomass for the Midlands, UK harvest yield of 10 Mg ha−1."
context_page_description: A biofuel is a fuel that is produced through contemporary processes from biomass, rather than a fuel produced by the very slow geological processes involved in the formation of fossil fuels, such as oil. Since biomass technically can be used as a fuel directly, some people use the terms biomass and biofuel interchangeably. More often than not, however, the word biomass simply denotes the biological raw material the fuel is made of, or some form of thermally/chemically altered solid end product, like torrefied pellets or briquettes. The word biofuel is usually reserved for liquid or gaseous fuels, used for transportation. The U.S. Energy Information Administration follows this naming practice. If the biomass used in the production of biofuel can regrow quickly, the fuel is generally considered to be a form of renewable energy.
  Biofuels can be produced from plants, or from agricultural, commercial, domestic, and/or industrial wastes. Renewable biofuels generally involve contemporary carbon fixation, such as those that occur in plants or microalgae through the process of photosynthesis.
context_section_description: A biofuel (or clean fuel) is a fuel that is produced through contemporary processes from biomass, rather than a fuel produced by the very slow geological processes involved in the formation of fossil fuels, such as oil. Since biomass technically can be used as a fuel directly (e.g. wood logs), some people use the terms biomass and biofuel interchangeably. More often than not, however, the word biomass simply denotes the biological raw material the fuel is made of, or some form of thermally/chemically altered solid end product, like torrefied pellets or briquettes. The word biofuel is usually reserved for liquid or gaseous fuels, used for transportation. The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) follows this naming practice. If the biomass used in the production of biofuel can regrow quickly, the fuel is generally considered to be a form of renewable energy. 
  Biofuels can be produced from plants (i.e. energy crops), or from agricultural, commercial, domestic, and/or industrial wastes (if the waste has a biological origin). Renewable biofuels generally involve contemporary carbon fixation, such as those that occur in plants or microalgae through the process of photosynthesis.
  Some argue that biofuel can be carbon-neutral because all biomass crops sequester carbon to a certain extent – basically all crops move CO₂ from above-ground circulation to below-ground storage in the roots and the surrounding soil. For instance, McCalmont et al. found below-ground carbon accumulation ranging from 0.42 to 3.8 tonnes per hectare per year for soils below Miscanthus x giganteus energy crops, 
  with a mean accumulation rate of 1.84 tonne (0.74 tonnes per acre per year),
   
  or 20% of total harvested carbon per year. 
  However, the simple proposal that biofuel is carbon-neutral almost by definition has been superseded by the more nuanced proposal that for a particular biofuel project to be carbon neutral, the total carbon sequestered by the energy crop's root system must compensate for all the above-ground emissions (related to this particular biofuel project). This includes any emissions caused by direct or indirect land use change. Many first generation biofuel projects are not carbon neutral given these demands. Some have even higher total GHG emissions than some fossil based alternatives.
  Some are carbon neutral or even negative, though, especially perennial crops. The amount of carbon sequestrated and the amount of GHG (greenhouse gases) emitted will determine if the total GHG life cycle cost of a biofuel project is positive, neutral or negative. A carbon negative life cycle is possible if the total below-ground carbon accumulation more than compensates for the total life-cycle GHG emissions above ground. In other words, to achieve carbon neutrality yields should be high and emissions should be low.
  High-yielding energy crops are thus prime candidates for carbon neutrality. The graphic on the right displays two CO₂ negative Miscanthus x giganteus production pathways, represented in gram CO₂-equivalents per megajoule. The yellow diamonds represent mean values.
  Further, successful sequestration is dependent on planting sites, as the best soils for sequestration are those that are currently low in carbon. The varied results displayed in the graph highlights this fact. 
   
  For the UK, successful sequestration is expected for arable land over most of England and Wales, with unsuccessful sequestration expected in parts of Scotland, due to already carbon rich soils (existing woodland) plus lower yields. Soils already rich in carbon includes peatland and mature forest. Grassland can also be carbon rich, and Milner et al. argue that the most successful carbon sequestration in the UK takes place below improved grasslands. 
  The bottom graphic displays the estimated yield necessary to compensate for related lifecycle GHG-emissions. The higher the yield, the more likely CO₂ negativity becomes.
  The two most common types of biofuel are bioethanol and biodiesel.
  Bioethanol is an alcohol made by fermentation, mostly from carbohydrates produced in su
caption: Relationship between above-ground yield (diagonal lines), soil organic carbon (X axis), and soil's potential for successful/unsuccessful carbon sequestration (Y axis). Basically, the higher the yield, the more land is usable as a GHG mitigation tool (including relatively carbon rich land.)
exif: {}