What are second generation biofuels?
Biodiesel and bioethanol are often referred as first generation biofuels as the technology is already in place. Second-generation biofuels are expected to be introduced on the longer term and include gas- or biomass-to-liquid (GTL, BTL) technologies. For the production of these fuels biomass or gas is processed into synthetic biodiesel. Also ethanol from cellulose is a second-generation-biofuel. The production of synthetic fuels from biomass is a relatively new development and products are not yet available on the market. At the moment, there are only small research and pilot plants, but great hopes are already linked with the fuel designated as biomass-to-liquid, as very different raw materials can be used for its production. The range extends from waste materials, such as straw, biological wastes and wood offcuts to energyproducing plants which can be specially cultivated for fuel production and fully utilised. The chemical properties of the hydrocarbons in BtL fuel permit efficient
