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FIND out more about biofuels, how they are regulated in the UK and in the EU and what potential they offer as a viable alternative to traditional fuels.

Biofuels

AS companies around the world look to source more fuel from renewable sources, one alternative fuel which has come to the fore is biofuels.

  • Biofuels are fuels produced from a renewable source
  • In principle, biofuels are a way of reducing greenhouse gas emissions compared to conventional transport fuels
  • The main types of biofuel for transport are biodiesel and bioethanol
  • Biofuels may be used in ordinary vehicle engines, unmodified for low blends or with modifications for higher blends
  • Brazilleads the world in production and use, making about 16 billion litres per year of ethanol from its sugarcane industry
  • The Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO) is the UK’s current biofuel policy instrument
  • European legislation governing biofuels includes the Biofuels Directive 2003/30/EC, the Renewable Energy Directive 2009/28/EC and the Fuel Quality Directive 2009/30/EC
  • The RTFO is monitored by the Renewable Fuels Agency (RFA) and came into operation in April 2008 with the aims of reducing greenhouse gas emissions from transport and promoting biofuel usage in the UK.
  • The general biofuel inclusion target for the RTFO year 2010/11 is 3.5% by volume
  • Biofuel inclusion in the transport fuel mix is set to increase to 5% (by volume) by 2013/14 under the RTFO
  • New RTFO targets for the next five years were implemented in April 2009.
  • Approximately 1.3 billion litres of biofuel was used in the UK between April 2008 and April 2009, this amounted to 2.7% (by volume) of all UK road transport fuel
  •  In 2011 the Renewable Energy Directive (RED) comes into force and will require inclusion of biofuels in the transport fuel mix in terms of energy. The target is 10% renewable energy in the transport fuel mix by 2020

Latest news

Click here for the latest news on biofuels from Farmers Guardian.

Biodiesel

A renewable alternative to diesel derived from mineral oil.  It is mainly produced from vegetable oils, including rapeseed oil.  Waste materials such as Used Cooking Oil (UCO) may also be used in production. Several processes exist to transform vegetable oils and UCO into biodiesel. The most common of these processes used in the UK is esterification where oils are esterified to produce Fatty Acid Methyl Esters (FAME). Co-products of this process include glycerol (which can be used in animal feed or in solid fuel pellets) and potassium sulphate.

Bioethanol

An alcohol-based alternative to petrol and is derived from starch or sugar based crops including wheat, maize, sugar cane and sugar beet. The production process involves yeast fermentation of sugars followed by distillation of the alcohol.

Biogas

A gas fuel (predominantly methane) derived from the Anaerobic Digestion (AD) of biomass, energy crops, manure, sewage and biodegradable waste. Biogas is a gas mix containing methane, carbon dioxide and small amounts of other gases such as hydrogen sulphide. Biogas can be upgraded to biomethane (by removing the carbon dioxide and other contaminant gases) and injected into the gas grid.

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