Plant-based Biofuels are fuels removed from crops and plants. The most common type of fuels extracted from plants is Bioethanol/Ethanol and Biodiesel. When the fuels are blended with gasoline, it can be used as a substitute fuel for fuelling cars. Biofuels are extracted from renewable resources grown everywhere and have little carbon dioxide discharge in comparison with other fossil energy. These biofuels are economical because they are cheaply acquired and also help a struggling economy by allocating jobs to the youth while reducing greenhouses gases. There are a number of limitations associated with the use biofuels. First is the high expenditure on manufacturing. Still with the benefits accrued to biofuels, they are costly in production in the present market (Ragauskas, 2006). Monoculture is the other limitation associated with the use of the fuels. This is culture of producing same crops year after year, instead if producing different types of crops although this might be economical to the farmers, although growing the same crops each year may prevent the soil from getting its nutrients. Thirdly, the crops associated with biofuels require the use of fertilizers for better growth. The fertilizers may have harmful effects on the environment and may result in water pollution. Finally, biofuels result in water use and a future rise in price (Ragauskas, 2006). Large amount of water is necessary to water the biofuels crops which may inflict pressure in the scarce water resources.
There are a number of benefits connected with the use of plan-based biofuels. First, the cost benefit of using this fuel is quite higher than that of using gasoline. They are also clean and thus produce fewer emissions when burnt. These fuels are also easy to source and procure than gasoline and other types of fuels. They have another advantage of them being renewable sources
of energy (Hill, 2006). Most of the biofuels sources such as corn, manure, and soybeans, among others renewable and have a lower probability of running out anytime soon, making this source of energy an efficient one. Plant-based biofuels also reduce greenhouse gases. When this type of fuel is burnt, it produces big quantities of greenhouse gases such as carbon (iv) oxide. These gases entrap sun rays in the atmosphere causing the temperature of the planet to rise. Another benefit of the source of fuel is its economic security (Hill, 2006). Very few countries have large reservoirs of crude oil. If the country transforms to biofuels use, then the county can reduce its dependence on fossil fuels.
A more complex technology can be used in biofuels to make it more effective and reliable. Scientific research has pointed out that biofuels can be created from non-edible plants which are engineered to grow on land. The U.S. government for instance, has embraced plant-based biofuels and has funded multiple projects. For example, the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory received a grant of $4.9 million to re-engineer tobacco crops so that they can use energy from the sun to produce fuel molecules from their leaves (Börjesson, 2011). All the governments should embrace this technology because it has more advantages than the other fuel sources. Therefore, enough resources should be allocated to research facilities linked with plant-based biofuels. The effect of using plants for biofuels has effect on the food crops. First, when crops are used for biofuels, the price of staple foods may also rise. Also, there is a concern that using valuable cropland to grow the biofuels plants may have an effect on the prices of food and may also result to a shortage of the same. The social implications if using plant-based biofuels is that the community may benefit from selling the plants to companies that manufacture fuels (Börjesson, 2011).
References
Ragauskas, A. J., Williams, C. K., Davison, B. H., Britovsek, G., Cairney, J., Eckert, C. A., & Mielenz, J. R. (2006). The path forward for biofuels and biomaterials. science, 311(5760), 484-489.
Hill, J., Nelson, E., Tilman, D., Polasky, S., & Tiffany, D. (2006). Environmental, economic, and energetic costs and benefits of biodiesel and ethanol biofuels. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 103(30), 11206-11210.
Börjesson, P., & Tufvesson, L. M. (2011). Agricultural crop-based biofuels–resource efficiency and environmental performance including direct land use changes. Journal of Cleaner Production, 19(2), 108-120.
