Energy Sources, Part B: Economics, Planning, and Policy

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The social, economic, and environmental

importance of biofuels in the future

Ayhan Demırbas

To cite this article: Ayhan Demırbas (2017) The social, economic, and environmental
importance of biofuels in the future, Energy Sources, Part B: Economics, Planning, and Policy,
12:1, 47-55, DOI: 10.1080/15567249.2014.966926

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ENERGY SOURCES, PART B: ECONOMICS, PLANNING, AND POLICY
2017, VOL. 12, NO. 1, 47–55
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/15567249.2014.966926

The social, economic, and environmental importance of biofuels in

the future
Ayhan Demırbas
Department of Industrial Engineering, College of Engineering, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

ABSTRACT KEYWORDS
Energy is an essential input for social development and economic growth. Biofuel from biomass;
The socioeconomic impacts on a local economy arising from providing biodiesel; ethanol;
power through renewable resources instead of conventional generation hydrogen; social political
environmental and
technologies are very important. Liquid biofuels (mainly ethanol and bio-
economic impacts
diesel) have been investigated as alternative resources to resolve the
demanding consumption of conventional gasoline and diesel fuels from
fossil fuels. Social, political, economic, and environmental aspects related to
biofuels are overviewed and issues associated with future liquid fuels
demand are proposed to encourage energy experts to contribute to the
emerging field of energy research. The promising transportation fuels are
ethanol, biodiesel, hydrogen, biogas, and natural gas. Electricity and hydro-
gen are principal energy carriers which can be produced from all primary
energy sources.

Introduction
Today, world is facing three critical problems: (1) high fuel prices, (2) climatic changes, and (3) air
pollution. Energy sources are divided into fossil and renewable. The fossil energy sources are
petroleum, coal and natural gas, and the renewable energy sources are solar, biomass, wind, and
hydropower, and nuclear and geothermal energies (Ramage and Scurlock, 1996; Sevim, 2010).
The global energy demand is growing, so the shortage of energy becomes the main factor of
restricting the development of world economy. Energy use is closely linked to a range of social issues,
including poverty alleviation, population growth, urbanization, and a lack of opportunities for
women. Although these issues affect energy demand, the relationship is two way: the quality and
quantity of energy services, and how they are achieved, which have an effect on social issues as well.
The term biofuel is referred to as liquid or gaseous fuels for the transport sector that are
predominantly produced from biomass. Biofuels are important because they replace petroleum
fuels. Biofuels are generally considered as offering many priorities, including sustainability, reduction
of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, regional development, social structure and agriculture, and
security of supply (Reijnders, 2006).
There are two global biomass-based liquid transportation fuels that might replace gasoline and diesel
fuel. These are bioethanol and biodiesel. It is assumed that biodiesel is used as a fossil diesel replacement
and that bioethanol is used as a gasoline replacement. Biomass-based energy sources for heat, electricity,
and transportation fuels are potentially carbon dioxide neutral and recycle the same carbon atoms. Due
to widespread availability opportunities of biomass resources, biomass-based fuel technology potentially
employs more people than fossil-fuel based technology (Kartha and Larson, 2000).
Bioethanol is a promising engine fuel for the future. It seems to be an important bio-based fuel and
it has become more attractive recently because of its environmental benefits. It is also oxygenated,

CONTACT Ayhan Demırbas [email protected] Department of Industrial Engineering, Faculty of Engineering,

King Abdulaziz University, P.O. Box 80204, Jeddah 21589, Saudi Arabia.
© 2017 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC
48 A. DEMIRBAS

thereby providing the potential to reduce particulate emissions in compression-ignition engines

(Agarwal, 2007). It can be used in any Otto engine, without modification. The use of biodiesel in
conventional diesel engines results in substantial reduction in emission of unburned hydrocarbons,
carbon monoxide, and particulate (Agarwal, 2007). Ethanol has a higher octane number (108), broader
flammability limits, higher flame speeds, and higher heats of vaporization than gasoline. These
properties allow for a higher compression ratio, shorter burn time, and leaner burn engine, which
lead to theoretical efficiency advantages over gasoline in an internal combustion engine.
Biodiesel policy should reflect that theme by aggressively eliminating the government-imposed
barriers to its success. Producers of all sizes must be free to compete in this industry, without farm
subsidies, regulations, and other interventions skewing the playing field. The production and
utilization of biodiesel is facilitated first through the agricultural policy of subsidizing the cultivation
of non-food crops (Demirbas, 2003). Second, biodiesel is exempt from the oil tax.

Current status of ethanol and biodiesel

The European Union (EU) production of biofuels amounted to around 2.9 billion liters in 2004, with
bioethanol totaling 620 million liters and biodiesel the remaining 2.3 billion liters. The feedstocks
used for ethanol production are cereals and sugar beet, while biodiesel is manufactured mainly from
rapeseeds. In 2004, EU biodiesel production used 27% of EU rapeseed crop. In the same year,
bioethanol production used 0.4% of EU cereal production and 0.8% of EU sugar beet production.
The EU is by far the world’s biggest producer of biodiesel, with Germany producing over half of the
EU’s biodiesel. France and Italy are also important biodiesel producers, while Spain is the EU’s
leading bioethanol producer (Demirbas, 2007).
Between 1991 and 2001, world biodiesel production grew steadily to approximately 1 billion liters.
Most of this production was in OECD Europe and was based on virgin vegetable oils. Small plants
using waste cooking oils started to be built in other OECD countries by the end of the 1990s, but the
industry outside Europe remained insignificant until around 2004. Since then, governments around
the world have instituted various policies to encourage the development of the industry, and new
capacity in North America, south-east Asia, and Brazil has begun to come on stream at a brisk rate.
As a result, between 2001 and 2007, biodiesel production will have grown almost 10-fold, to 9 billion
liters. Table 1 shows the top 10 bioethanol producers (RFA, 2007).

Costs, prices, and economic impact of the renewable liquid fuels

The cost of large-scale production of bio-based products is currently high in developed countries.
For example, the production cost of biofuels may be three times higher than that of petroleum fuels,
without, however, considering the non-market benefits. Conversely, in developing countries, the
costs of producing biofuels are much lower than in the OECD countries and very near to the world
market price of petroleum fuel (UN, 2006).

Table 1. The top 10 bioethanol producers (billion gallons).

Country 2004 2005 2006
USA 3.54 4.26 4.85
Brazil 3.99 4.23 4.49
China 0.96 1.00 1.02
India 0.46 0.45 0.50
France 0.22 0.24 0.25
Germany 0.07 0.11 0.20
Russia 0.20 0.20 0.17
Canada 0.06 0.06 0.15
South Africa 0.11 0.10 0.10
Thailand 0.07 0.08 0.09
 ENERGY SOURCES, PART B: ECONOMICS, PLANNING, AND POLICY 49

Economic advantages of a biofuel industry would include value added to the feedstock, an
increased number of rural manufacturing jobs, an increased income taxes, investments in plant
and equipment, reduced GHG emissions, reduced a country’s reliance on crude oil imports, and
supported agriculture by providing a new labor and market opportunities for domestic crops. In the
recent years, the importance of non-food crops increased significantly. The opportunity to grow
non-food crops under the compulsory set-aside scheme is an option to increase the biofuel produc-
tion. The possibility of growing non-food crops under compulsory set-aside scheme is an opportu-
nity for the biofuel market, but it is not an appropriate instrument to promote non-food production.
The need to increase biofuel availability to meet growing demand, maximize feedstock use, and
reduce production costs will necessitate switching to more sophisticated technologies (UN, 2006).
Renewable liquid fuels such as bioethanol, biodiesel, green diesel, and green gasoline are impor-
tant because they replace petroleum fuels. The renewable liquid fuels are generally considered as
offering many priorities, including sustainability, reduction of GHG emissions, regional develop-
ment, social structure and agriculture, and security of supply.
The evaluation of the economics of renewable energy development included the estimation of the
resulting economic costs and benefits to any country including: (1) cost of electricity; (2) direct and
indirect impacts on jobs, income, and economic output; and (3) renewable liquid fuel price impacts.
Electricity consumers directly affect on electricity costs or savings. To estimate the direct impact
of renewable liquid fuels on electricity costs, an economic model is used to measure the 23-year
(2008–2030) costs of meeting 10% of electricity consumption with renewable energy.
The economic impact analysis relied directly on the renewable energy technology and resource
characteristics developed in this section. The socioeconomic impacts on the local economy arising
from providing power through renewable resources instead of conventional generation technologies
are very important. These impacts include direct and indirect differences in the jobs, income, and
gross output. There are significant socioeconomic impacts associated with the investment in a new
power plant, including increases in employment, output, and income in the local and regional
economy. Increases in these categories occur as labor is directly employed in the construction and
operation of a power plant, as local goods and services are purchased and utilized.
The production of agriculture ethanol is more expensive of synthesis-ethanol from ethylene. The
simultaneous production of biomethanol (from sugar juice), in parallel to the production of
bioethanol, appears economically attractive in locations where hydro-electricity is available at very
low cost (~0.01 $ Kwh) (Grassi, 1999).
Currently, there is no global market for ethanol. The crop types, agricultural practices, land and
labor costs, plant sizes, processing technologies, and government policies in different regions
considerably vary ethanol production costs and prices by region. The cost of producing bioethanol
in a dry mill plant currently totals US$1.65/gallon. Corn accounts for 66% of operating costs, while
energy (electricity and natural gas) to fuel boilers and dry DDG represents nearly 20% of operating
costs (Urbanchuk, 2007).
Estimates show that bioethanol in the EU becomes competitive when the oil price reaches US$70
a barrel while in the United States it becomes competitive at US$50–60 a barrel. For Brazil, the
threshold is much lower—between US$25 and US$30 a barrel. Other efficient sugar-producing
countries such as Pakistan, Swaziland, and Zimbabwe have production costs similar to Brazil’s
(Dufey, 2006; Balat, 2007). Anhydrous ethanol, blendable with gasoline, is still somewhat more
expensive. Prices in India have declined and are approaching the price of gasoline.
For biofuels, the cost of feedstock (crops) is a major component of overall costs. In particular, the
cost of producing oil-seed-derived biodiesel is dominated by the cost of the oil and by competition
from high-value uses like cooking. The largest ethanol cost component is the plant feedstock.
Operating costs, such as feedstock cost, co-product credit, chemicals, labor, maintenance, insurance,
and taxes, represent about one-third of total cost per liter, of which the energy needed to run the
conversion facility is an important (and in some cases quite variable) component. Capital cost
recovery represents about one-sixth of total cost per liter. It has been showed that plant size has a
50 A. DEMIRBAS

major effect on cost (Whims, 2002). The plant size can reduce operating costs by 15% to 20%, saving
another $0.02 to $0.03 per liter. Thus, a large plant with production costs of $0.29 per liter may be
saving $0.05 to $0.06 per liter over a smaller plant.
The cost of feedstock is a major economic factor in the viability of biodiesel production. Using an
estimated process cost, exclusive of feedstock cost, of $0.158/l ($0.60/gal) for biodiesel production, and
estimating a feedstock cost of $0.539/l ($2.04/gal) for refined soy oil, an overall cost of $0.70/l ($2.64/gal)
for the production of soy-based biodiesel was estimated (Haas et al., 2006). Biodiesel from animal fat is
currently the cheapest option ($0.4–$0.5/l), while traditional transesterification of vegetable oil is at
present around $0.6–$0.8/l (IEA, 2007). Rough projections of the cost of biodiesel from vegetable oil and
waste grease are, respectively, $0.54–$0.62/l and $0.34–$0.42/l. With pre-tax diesel priced at $0.18/l in the
United States and $0.20–0.24/l in some European countries, biodiesel is thus currently not economically
feasible, and more research and technological development will be needed (Bender, 1999).

Social impacts
Bioenergy offers opportunities for additional value to be derived from products already in the
economy. The dispersed nature of most biomass resources lends itself to smaller scale operations
of up to 50MW. These are within the capability of communities to feed and operate, creating and
retaining wealth within the local economy. For example, 11,250 ha of short-rotation woody crops
could supply enough biomass for a 30 MW power station.
New employment opportunities arise in growing and harvesting biomass, transport and handling,
and plant operation. They also extend to equipment manufacturers and maintenance crews. Farmers
may improve returns as marginal crops become viable given an additional source of income from energy
byproducts. Degraded forests may be rejuvenated and waste streams diverted to produce energy.
Bioenergy can also contribute to local and national energy security which may be required to
establish new industries. Bioenergy contributes to all important elements of national/regional
development: economic growth through business earnings and employment; import substitution
with direct and indirect effects on GDP and trade balance; security of energy supply and diversifica-
tion. Other benefits include support of traditional industries, rural diversification, and the economic
development of rural societies. These are all important elements of sustainable development.
The increased use of bioenergy has stimulated a revival of cultural traditions. In the boreal forest,
many remote communities have no year-round road or connections to electricity grids and are
dependent on diesel generators supplied by fuel flown or barged in at high cost. These communities
are often surrounded by forest that could provide the necessary biomass for energy generation,
making the community more self-sufficient, reducing costs, providing employment, keeping wages
and benefits within the community, and generally integrating well with a forest-based culture.

Environmental impacts
Biodiesel has become more attractive recently because of its environmental benefits. Biodiesel is
superior to conventional diesel in terms of its sulfur content, aromatic content, and flash point. It is
essentially sulfur free and non-aromatic, while conventional diesel can contain up to 500 ppm SO2
and 20–40%wt aromatic compounds. These advantages could be a key solution to reducing the
problem of urban pollution since gas emissions from the transportation sector contribute a sig-
nificant amount to the total gas emissions.
Among the liquid biofuels, biodiesel, derived from vegetable oils, is gaining acceptance and
market share as diesel fuel in Europe and the United States. Biodiesel has become more attractive
recently because of its environmental benefits and the fact that it is made from renewable resources.
Since the prices of edible vegetable oils are higher than that of diesel fuel No. 2, waste vegetable oils
and non-edible crude vegetable oils take priority over the edible vegetable oils in biodiesel produc-
tion (Demirbas, 2003).
 ENERGY SOURCES, PART B: ECONOMICS, PLANNING, AND POLICY 51

There is a consensus amongst scientists that biofuels used in a sustainable manner result in no net
increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2). Some would even go as far as to declare that
sustainable use of biomass will result in a net decrease in atmospheric CO2 (Jefferson et al., 1991).
This is based on the assumption that all the CO2 given off by the use of biomass fuels was recently
taken in from the atmosphere by photosynthesis. Increased substitution of fossil fuels with biomass
based fuels would therefore help reduce the potential for global warming, caused by increased
atmospheric concentrations of CO2.
Replacing fossil fuels with energy from wood has several distinct environmental implications.
If wood is harvested at a rate which is sustainable, using it for energy purposes does not result in
any net increase in atmospheric CO2 (Demirbas, 2006). This is because the CO2 given off during
the combustion of wood was recently taken from the atmosphere through photosynthesis. New
tree growth will also soon re-absorb an equal amount. Released into the atmosphere by the
burning of fossil fuels, CO2 is the most important GHG responsible for global warning. The use
of wood as a source of energy can also reduce the amount of acid gases emitted into the
atmosphere.
Producing and using biofuels for transportation offers alternatives to fossil fuels that can help
provide solutions to many environmental problems. Using biofuels in motor vehicles helps reduce
GHG emissions. Biodiesel and ethanol provide significant reductions in GHG emissions compared
to gasoline and diesel fuel. Due to the low or zero content of pollutants such as sulfur in biofuels, the
pollutant emission of biofuels is much lower than the emission of conventional fuels. Numerous low
emission scenarios have demonstrated that the Kyoto Protocol cannot be achieved without establish-
ing a large role for biofuel in the global energy economy by 2050. Low emission scenarios imply
50–70 EJ of biofuel raw material in 2050. Well-designed biofuel projects would have very significant
sustainable development benefits for rural areas, including creation of rural employment, rural
electricity supply, soil conservation, and environmental benefits [51].
The final environmental impact associated with the use of fuel wood is that of land use. Wood
energy plantations may displace natural forest ecosystems or land which could be used for food
production. Single-species “monocultures” of trees do not provide habitat for many other species of
plants and animals and are highly susceptible to damage from disease and insects. This may also result
in increased use of pesticides in these plantations, with their environmental and health problems.

Economic impacts
Sources of biomass are already concentrated in one location, often as a waste product of another
process, and tend to be cheapest since they require least collection and handling and no crop
production costs. Many forest and crop residues are not competitive with fossil fuels when they are
dispersed over large areas in small volumes. Costs will be minimized if biomass can be sourced from a
location where it is already concentrated, such as at sawmill or sugar mill, and converted nearby.
The cost of biomass conversion varies according to a range of factors including the types of
biomass and conversion process and the scale of operation. The competitiveness of bioenergy will
also depend on the availability of alternative energy options, relative costs and prices, and regulatory
frameworks. There are emerging markets for environmental services such as carbon sequestration
and biodiversity protection. As the policy environment around the Kyoto Protocol develops, for
example, the trade in “carbon credits” will impact on the economics of biomass and alternative
energy systems.
High petroleum price demands the study of biofuel production. Lower-cost feedstocks are needed
since biodiesel from food-grade oils is not economically competitive with petroleum-based diesel
fuel. Inedible plant oils have been found to be promising crude oils for the production of biodiesel.
The cost of biofuel and demand of vegetable oils can be reduced by inedible oils and used oils,
instead of edible vegetable oil. In the world, large amounts of inedible oil plants are available in nature.
52 A. DEMIRBAS

The continuous increasing of energy consumption in all economic sectors, the stringency of fossil
resources, and environmental pollution, lead to the emerging of new sources of energy. Biomass in
general and agricultural waste in particular seems to be a realistic alternative power generation,
leading to environmental, technical, and economical benefits (Bridgewater 1995; Sami et al., 2001).

Political impacts
In general, energy policy includes issues of energy production, distribution, and consumption. It is
the manner a given entity has decided to address these issues. The attributes of energy policy may
include international treaties, legislation on commercial energy activities, such as trading, transport,
storage, etc., incentives to investment, guidelines for energy production, conversion, and use, for
example efficiency and emission standards, taxation and other public policy techniques, energy-
related research and development, energy economy, general international trade agreements and
marketing, energy diversity, and risk factors contrary to possible energy crisis. Current energy
policies also address environmental issues including environmentally friendly technologies to
increase energy supplies and encourage cleaner, more efficient energy use, air pollution, greenhouse
effect, global warming, and climate change (Demirbas, 2015). Policy options include incentive
payments or tax breaks. Due to rising prices for fossil fuels, especially oil, but also natural gas and
to a lesser extent coal, the competitiveness of biomass use has improved considerably over time.
Biomass and bioenergy are now a key option in energy policies. Security of supply, an alternative for
mineral oil, and reduced carbon emissions are key reasons. Targets and expectations for bioenergy in
many national policies are ambitious, reaching 20–30% of total energy demand in various countries.
Similarly, long-term energy scenarios also contain challenging targets.
Current EU policies on alternative motor fuels focus on the promotion of biofuels. The definition
of the marginal producer depends on the policy stance on biofuels. Biofuel pricing policy should not
be employed as an anti-inflationary instrument. It should be applied in such a way that it does not
create cross-subsidies between classes of consumers. The EU has set the goal of obtaining 5.75% of
transportation fuel needs from biofuels by 2010 in all member states in February 2006. In the
Commission’s view, mandating the use of biofuels will (a) improve energy supply security and
(b) reduce GHG emissions, and (c) boost rural incomes and employment (Jansen, 2003;
Hansen et al., 2005).
The general EU policy objectives considered most relevant to the design of energy policy are
(Jansen, 2003): (1) competitiveness of the EU economy, (2) security of energy supply, and (3)
environmental protection.
The main biofuel opportunities where suitable land is available are in developing countries. The
issue of energy security has been accorded top-most priority. Every effort needs to be made to
enhance the indigenous content of energy in a time-bound and planned manner. The additional
benefit of biofuel development is creation of new employment opportunities in manufacturing,
construction, plant operation and servicing, and fuel supply. Rural jobs are created in fuel harvesting,
transport, and maintenance of processing areas (Demirbas, 2008; Pehlivan and Demirbas, 2008).
The EU has also adopted a proposal for a directive on the promotion of the use of biofuels, with
measures ensuring that biofuels account for at least 2% of the market for gasoline and diesel sold as
transport fuel by the end of 2005, increasing in stages to a minimum of 5.75% by the end of 2010
(Hansen et al., 2005). The French Agency for Environment and Energy Management (ADEME)
estimates that the 2010 objective would require industrial rapeseed plantings to increase from
currently 3 million ha in the EU to 8 million ha [77].
In Germany, the current program of development of the biodiesel industry is not a special
exemption from EU law, but rather is based on a loophole in the law. The motor fuel tax in
Germany is based on mineral fuel. Since biofuel is not a mineral fuel, it can be used for motor
transport without being taxed. Unlike France and Italy, where biodiesel is blended with mineral
diesel, biodiesel sold in Germany is pure or 100% methyl ester. There is no mineral tax on biodiesel
 ENERGY SOURCES, PART B: ECONOMICS, PLANNING, AND POLICY 53

in Germany, so when diesel prices were high and vegetable oil prices were low biodiesel became very
profitable. Additionally, there have been no restrictions on the quantity of biodiesel that can be
exempted from the mineral fuel tax, so there has been a huge investment in biodiesel production
capacity (USDA, 2003). In 2005, capacity is supposed to increase to 1,600,000 tons (Brand, 2004).

The use of foodstuffs as raw materials for energy production and possible future food crisis
The rapidly growing world population and rising consumption of biofuels are increasing demand for
both food and biofuels. After the year 2037, it is believed that the Otto and diesel engines will replace
the electric motors. Electric vehicles will work with hydrogen and fuel cells. The use of foodstuffs as
raw materials for energy production, such as ethanol from corn or biodiesel from vegetable oils,
increases the prices of meat and milk. Extensive use of crop foodstuffs (maize and vegetable oils)
may cause other significant problems such as starvation in developing countries. The rise in the
production of biofuels based on food grains has contributed to global food price increases since
2006. The root causes of the global food crisis are complex, fluid, persistent, and multidimensional.
This is not a simple problem. The use of foodstuffs as raw materials for energy production, such as
ethanol from maize and sugar cane, and biodiesel from soybean and canola, increases the prices of
meat and milk. To reduce these risks should be initiated application of food operating certificate. For
this purpose, a Food Using Protocol must be organized with broad participation. This should be an
international protocol like Kyoto Protocol (Demirbas, 2011; Sahin, 2012).

Hydrogen and electricity

Hydrogen is a fuel for the future promising. Hydrogen is clean and a high energy content of fuel.
Hydrogen is a peaceful energy carrier for all countries. The widespread use of hydrogen as a result,
in developed, developing, and undeveloped countries, will be reduced gradually their level differ-
ences between them.
Regardless of the energy sources of the future, there will always be a need for convenient, clean,
safe, efficient, and versatile energy carriers or forms of energy that can be delivered to the end user.
One of these energy carriers is electricity, which is already being used worldwide. Electricity is a
convenient form of energy, which can be produced from various sources and transported over large
distances. It is clean, although its production from fossil fuels is not. Hydrogen is another clean,
efficient, and versatile energy carrier, which supplements electricity very well. Together, these two
carriers may satisfy all the energy needs and form an energy system that is permanent and
independent of energy sources (Bockris et al., 1991).
Hydrogen, an alternative energy source, is the subject of a lot of research work and some consider
it as the energy of the future. If hydrogen is to become the energy of the future, it must be produced
using renewable energy sources and the technical and economic problems on its production, storage,
transportation, and use should be solved. There are various methods used in hydrogen production.
These methods may require both electricity and heat inputs, and renewable energies such as solar,
wind, hydro-, and nuclear energy use are being investigated.
Hydrogen will directly affect the economies of nations and countries will follow a more liberal
and more peaceful policies. The technological advantages will be to protect the location, but the
advantage of being energy raw materials will be lost between all the countries in the future. The
issues of biohydrogen economy, policy, and environmental impact will be re-configured.
In the future, how to use fuels will be in the forefront. Therefore, strategic developments are
expected on the fuel and engine technologies. Fuel cells, photovoltaic cells, hybrid fuels, electric cars,
and fly vehicles are more energetic tools that are already emerging. Hydrogen is a promising fuel that
will provide the facilities for future. Several hydrogen technologies are under development; the most
promising of these is the fuel cell. Fuel cells use hydrogen, oxygen, catalyst, and electrolytic solution
to produce energy in the form of heat and electricity (Akinci et al., 2012; Demirbas, 2012).
54 A. DEMIRBAS

A fuel cell produces electricity directly from the electrochemical reaction of hydrogen, from a
hydrogen-containing fuel, and oxygen from the air. Hydrogen is the ideal fuel for a fuel cell, the
infrastructure for producing and storing. Developing of flying cars depends on the development of
hydrogen as a motor fuel is used.

Conclusions
Experts suggest that current oil and gas reserves would suffice to last only a few more decades. To
exceed the rising energy demand and reducing petroleum reserves, fuels such as biodiesel and
bioethanol are in the forefront of the alternative technologies.
Biofuels have been investigated as alternative resources to resolve the demanding consumption of
conventional fossil fuels, to minimize the economic and environmental impact, and to secure the
sustainability for decades.
It is well-known that vehicle transportation is almost totally dependent on fossil, particularly
petroleum-based fuels such as gasoline, diesel fuel, liquefied petroleum gas, and natural gas. An
alternative fuel to gasoline and petro-diesel must be technically feasible, economically competitive,
environmentally acceptable, and easily available. Accordingly, the viable alternative fuel for compres-
sion-ignition engines is biodiesel. Bioethanol and biodiesel use may improve emission levels of some
pollutants and deteriorate other. Usage of bioethanol and biodiesel will allow a balance to be sought
between agriculture, social, economic, political, and environmental developments in the future.

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