Could the use of Biofuels actually Increase Greenhouse Gas Emissions?
A new study co-authored by Nobel Prize winning chemist Paul Crutzen argues that growing some of the most common biofuel crops, including corn bioethanol, releases around two times the amount of the potent greenhouse gas Nitous Oxide (N2O) than earlier studies supported, which, according to the study, would erase any benefits from not using fossil fuels. “What we are saying is that growing many biofuels is probably of no benefit and in fact is actually making the climate issue worse,” said co-author Keith Smith from the University of Edinburgh in Scotland. According to the article from Chemistry World, some previous estimates had suggested that biofuels could cut greenhouse gas emissions by up to 40 per cent. Not everyone agrees with the results of this study. Simon Donner, a nitrogen researcher from Princeton University is critical of the study and says there is little evidence to show the nitrous oxide yield from fetilized plants is really as high as 3 to 5%. He believes Crutzen’s bas
A new study co-authored by Nobel Prize winning chemist Paul Crutzen argues that growing some of the most common biofuel crops, including corn bioethanol, releases around two times the amount of the potent greenhouse gas Nitous Oxide (N2O) than earlier studies supported, which, according to the study, would erase any benefits from not using fossil fuels. “What we are saying is that growing many biofuels is probably of no benefit and in fact is actually making the climate issue worse,” said co-author Keith Smith from the University of Edinburgh in Scotland. According to the article from Chemistry World, some previous estimates had suggested that biofuels could cut greenhouse gas emissions by up to 40 per cent. Not everyone agrees with the results of this study. Simon Donner, a nitrogen researcher from Princeton University is critical of the study and says there is little evidence to show the nitrous oxide yield from fetilized plants is really as high as 3 to 5%.
