For a very long time, scientists and policy-makers assumed that biofuels would serve as a harmless replacement of fossil fuels. Proponents of biofuels reasoned that since they are manufactured from biomass, they would eminently help reverse the global warming rates emanating from greenhouse gas emissions by directly removing carbon dioxide gas. However, recent and developing scientific studies have debunked that proposition, citing that the innovations equally pose substantial risks. In this paper, I will evaluate the chemistry around the production and consumption of biofuels as I defend the position that they are lethal to the environment.
In the process of synthesizing biofuel from short-rotation woody crops (SRWCs), gases with the potential of harming the Ozone layer are emitted. For instance, nitrous oxide gas (NO), a greenhouse gas with a potential 300 times more harmful than carbon dioxide, is produced (Yiu, 2020). Aside from NO, other potentially toxic gases are produced in subsequent stages. A 2018 study by the University of Peradeniya, in collaboration with the UK Renewable Fuels Agency, revealed that at least 35% of the other gases released were harmful directly to the user and the immediate environment (Kularathne et al., 2019). That said, biofuels might be as riskier as fossil fuels concerning greenhouse emissions, and it might only take a few research studies to confirm the untold risks they pose to users.
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A simple illustration of nitrogen oxide’s dangers might suffice to bring the point home. Under suitable conditions in the atmosphere, nitrogen oxide combines with oxygen atoms to form nitric oxide.
NO (g)+ NO2 (g) ⇌ ON (g) – NO2 (g)
The nitric oxide is unstable, and further combines with oxygen to form nitrogen dioxide as below;
2NO( g )+O2( g )→2NO2(g)
Together, nitrogen dioxide and nitric oxide (collectively known as NOx gases) react to form smog, responsible for acid rain. The following equation captures the formation of the acid responsible for acidic rain
4 NO(g) + O2(g) + 2 H2O(g) → 4 HNO2(aq)
Also, carbon monoxide emissions from heavy-weight biofuel engines are projected to rise significantly. Carbon monoxide, when inhaled, combines with oxygen in the lungs to form carbon dioxide. Given its higher affinity for oxygen, it causes suffocation in poorly ventilated environments.
2CO(g) + O2 (g) → CO2 (g)
Remarkably, most of these end products are harmful, and they are produced more rapidly with biomass than from fossil fuel.
Scientists also fear that since every biofuel bears a unique chemical structure, its combustion will yield a different phosphorus and carbon oxides ration. The distinctiveness makes it harder to arrive at a summative figure of the harmful waste products the way it is with fossil fuels. All in all, scientists have established that while a car running on biofuel releases less soot, it produces unstable carbon and phosphorus compounds that gasoline and diesel do not. In effect, hazardous chemicals like formaldehyde and acetaldehyde find their way into the biosphere. Unfortunately, these compounds are severe irritants to the human respiratory system (Bakhtiyari et al., 2017). In the company of carbon dioxide and monoxide, these two compounds render biofuels less appealing than it might be paraded to the general public.
Summing up, the trade-off between fossil fuel and biofuel boils down to a difficult choice between the dangers we can see and handle (fossil fuels) versus those so well concealed that we imagine they do not exist (biofuel). Notably, defending the position that biofuel equally poses risks to the consumer is not entirely denying it. Instead, exposing the deathly consequences the fuel poses to humanity is only a call to have it refined more, standardized, and double-checked against human safety before mass rollout.
References
Bakhtiyari, Z., Yazdanpanah, M., Forouzani, M., & Kazemi, N. (2017). Intention of Agricultural Professionals Toward Biofuels in Iran: Implications for Energy Security, Society, And Policy. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 69, 341-349.
Kularathne, I. W., Gunathilake, C., Rathneweera, A. C., Kalpage, C. S., & Rajapakshe, S. (2019). The Effect of Use of Biofuels On Environmental Pollution-A Review. International Journal of Renewable Energy Research (IJRER) , 9 (3), 1355-1367.
Yiu, J. (2020, April 17). “Could Biofuels Do More Harm Than Good?” Earth.org. Retrieved 23rd September 2020 from https://earth.org/could-biofuels-do-more-harm-than-good/
