Biofuel Woes

[David B. Benson]

The Uncomfortable Truth About Biofuels
Robert Rapier
2019 Nov 06
Oilprice.com
oilprice.com/Alternative-Energy/Biofuels/The-Uncomfortable-Truth-About-Biofuel.html

Palm seed oil production is destroying the rain forests of Southeast Asia.

[David B. Benson]

Turning California's Biggest Liability Into A Biofuel Boom
Haley Zaremba
2020 Jun 30
Oilprice.com
oilprice.com/Alternative-Energy/Biofuels/Turning-Californias-Biggest-Liability-Into-A-Biofuel-Boom.html

Dead and deseased trees. Contentious plan.

[David B. Benson]

Is Burning Trees CO2 Neutral?
Willem Post
2016 Nov 30
EnergyCentral
energycentral.com/c/ec/burning-wood-co2-neutral

Much worse than coal.

h/t to engineerpoet

[David B. Benson]

Energy sorghum may combine best of annual, perennial bioenergy crops
Julie Wirth
2021 Jan 07
Phys.org
phys.org/news/2021-01-energy-sorghum-combine-annual-perennial.html

Like Goldilocks, in the middle.

[David B. Benson]

Is corn ethanol really sustainable?  Researchers analyze the true cost of biofuel production
Anne Manning
2023 Apr 24
Phys.org
techxplore.com/news/2023-05-corn-ethanol-sustainable-true-biofuel.html

Land use and water costs, …

[cyrilr]

Biofuels are part of the problem. This has been known and understood by most energy experts for years. We need to stop pretending we can burn our way out of our energy problems. Our problems are caused by burning too much. We need to stop burning stuff. Only non combustion based energy solutions scale up to the point of sustainability.

[David B. Benson]

Airlines Race Towards a Future Of Powering Their Jets With Corn
Max Bearak et al.
2023 Nov 30
The New York Times
www.nytimes.com/interactive/2023/11/30/climate/airlines-jet-fuel-ethanol-corn.html?unlocked_article_code=1.CU0.sio9.aqFaDWAtmg21&smid=url-share

Insufficient water in much of the American Midwest.  
As always, doubts about whether this is actually ‘carbon neutral’.