New biofuels made from agricultural waste materials and non-food crops are forecast to be available soon. Why don’t we just wait for those?
A. It is actually likely to be a long time before economic technology for converting waste materials and non-food (cellulosic) crops to bioethanol is available commercially. More importantly, the current wheat to ethanol process which Ensus is using is actually more advanced than ‘second generation’ processes, since it provides food AND bioethanol (unlike cellulosics), and has a better carbon footprint when indirect effects are considered. There is therefore no need to wait. In fact, it is more eco-friendly to burn cellulosic crops for energy, than use them for (expensive) conversion to biofuels.
Related Questions
- Ive heard that there will be new biofuels made from agricultural waste materials and from non-food crops, and that these will be available soon. Why don we just wait for those?
- What are the pros and cons of using agricultural waste versus other renewable (i.e., starch-based materials such as corn) as raw material for packaging products?
- New biofuels made from agricultural waste materials and non-food crops are forecast to be available soon. Why don’t we just wait for those?
