| Source: http://www.industrial-nanotech.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/CB_biofuel.jpg |
Many of you may not know that the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) has a Renewable Energy Standard as part of the National Energy Policy Act of 2005, that states 1:
The RFS program is a national policy that requires a certain volume of renewable fuel to replace or reduce the quantity of petroleum-based transportation fuel, heating oil or jet fuel. The four renewable fuel categories under the RFS are:
- Biomass-based diesel
- Cellulosic biofuel
- Advanced biofuel
- Total renewable fuel
With the following goal of 36 Billion Gallons of Renewable Fuel by 2022:
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| Source: http://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2015-09/congressional_volume_target-02_0.png |
With these standards, it sounds like a great goal, right? Meaning that the "renewable fuel" needs to reduce the Lifecycle Greenhouse Gas Emissions by 20%; Advance and Biodiesel by 50%; and, Cellulosic Fuels by 60%
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| Source: http://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2015-09/lifecycle_ghg_emissions-03.png |
Yet, where and how are we sourcing these fuels? Where do they come from? Algae, corn, food compost?? Well, on top of some of the algae posts I have done recently, yesterday the University of Illinois published a paper in Nature Energy talking about utilizing second-generation crops as a source for such biofuels 2:
Second-generation biofuels are much cleaner than corn ethanol thanks to a number of biological characteristics, said [Evan] DeLucia, a professor of plant biology at the U. of I. In a 2011 study, DeLucia used a model to show what would happen if the land being used to grow corn for ethanol production was instead converted to Miscanthus and switchgrass."Our results were staggering," DeLucia said.
"Our results were staggering," Delucia said. "Since both of those plants are perennial, you don't till every year, so you release less carbon to the atmosphere. The grasses also require less fertilizer, which is a source of nitrous oxide, and they store more carbon in the ground than corn."
[... Before second-generation biofuels can have an edge] the market for biofuel needs to grow, meaning the amount of cars that can take high ethanol fuel needs to increase, and biofuel producers need to be certain that the policy will stay intact
Sounds great, yes? Yeah, I thought so too! It sounds great that we can start to utilize more options for biofuel to decrease the societal dependency on fossil fuels, as well as decreasing the emissions that deplete our biosphere protection. Yet, more questions began to metaphorically burn in my mind. 36 billion gallons of biofuel sure sounds like a lot, so how many gallons does the US go through in a year, and how many gallons do we think we're going to use in 2022, when this 36 billon gallons of biofuel is supposed to be met? Let's go back to the volume goals of biofuel, in accordance to the EPA Energy Policy Act 1, and how much fuel is currently being consumed by USA citizens, in accordance to the US Department of Energy 3:
In 2014, about 136.78 billion gallons1 (or 3.26 billion barrels) of gasoline were consumed2 in the United States, a daily average of about 374.74 million gallons (or 8.92 million barrels).3
1 There are 42 U.S. gallons in a barrel.
2 EIA uses product supplied to represent approximate consumption of petroleum products. Product supplied measures the disappearance of these products from primary sources, such as refineries, natural gas processing plants, blending plants, pipelines, and bulk terminals.
3 Preliminary data for 2014.Woah, woah, woah... in 2014, the USA consumed 137 BILLION gallons of gasoline?? And the goal by the US EPA is 36 billion gallons of biofuel by 2022?? Even, if the EPA Renewable Energy Standard was put into place back in 2014, it's only 26.31% of the total fuel consumed in the United States. The scary thing is to realize that the fuel consumption, by the USA alone, has only increased since 2014. Are the US EPA Biofuel Goals Realistic? Honestly, I don't think so...
Based on a report by the US Department of Energy (US DoE) in 2004, the projection of fuel consumption were to increase up to 7% each year, resulting in 250 billion gallons by 2022 4. Now, this was nearly twelve years ago that the report was completed. However, it was reviewed again in 2013 by the US DoE Energy Information Administration, which provided another projection of 3.9% average yearly increase of consumption, resulting in a projection of 186.05 billion gallons of fuel consumed in 2022 5... So, if we do meet the 36 billion gallons of biofuel as mandated by the Biofuel Energy Standard in 2022, that's only 19.34% of the total fuel projected to be consumed.
This is not to say that the investigations of biofuels aren't worth while, or are a moot point. Quite the contrary! Looking for alternative energy sources that are less damaging to our atmosphere and environment is entirely necessary. Yet, supposing the bigger and more applicable question is: What can we do about the energy situation? Frankly, humans need to decrease the amount of energy is consumed. It's that simple. Humans cannot continue to consume the amount of energy and resources on Earth at the rate we are doing so, and expect to support an exponentially growing population.
If you're feeling brave enough, try this: consider what your footprint is. Go around your house and look at all the items you have that requires energy (electricity, petrol, or gas) and try to calculate how much you consume each day and average your year's consumption. How can you reduce your own consumption of energy?
Sources:
1) US EPA. "Program Overview for Renewable Fuel Standard Program." EPA. Environmental Protection Agency, 28 Sept. 2015. Web. 14 Jan. 2016. http://www.epa.gov/renewable-fuel-standard-program/program-overview-renewable-fuel-standard-program.
2) University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. "Second-generation biofuels can reduce emissions." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 11 January 2016. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/01/160111121025.htm.
3) US EIA. "U.S. Energy Information Administration - EIA - Independent Statistics and Analysis." How Much Gasoline Does the United States Consume? US DoE, 12 Mar. 2015. Web. 14 Jan. 2016. http://www.eia.gov/tools/faqs/faq.cfm?id=23&t=10.
4) US EIA. "Annual Energy Outlook with Projections to 2025-Market Trends - Oil and Natural Gas." Annual Energy Outlook with Projections to 2025-Market Trends - Oil and Natural Gas. US DoE, 26 Nov. 2004. Web. 14 Jan. 2016. <http://www.hubbertpeak.com/us/eia/2004/>.
5) US DoE. "The U.S. Economy to 2022: Settling into a New Normal : Monthly Labor Review: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics." U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2013. Web. 14 Jan. 2016. <http://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2013/article/the-u-s-economy-to-2022-settling-into-a-new-normal.htm>.
