Petroleum Chemistry

Bioenergy and Biofuels

Bioenergy describes any energy source supported biological matter – everything from a dung cooking fire or a biomass power plant to ethanol-based automobile fuel. Unlike oil, coal or gas, bioenergy counts as a renewable energy option, because plant and animal materials are often easily regenerated. At present, bioenergy accounts for the bulk of renewable energy produced globally.

Bioenergy is usually considered to be environmentally friendly because, in theory, the CO2 released when plants and trees are burned is balanced out by the CO2 absorbed by the new ones planted to replace those harvested. However, the environmental and social edges of bioenergy are hotly contested – especially within the case of biofuels, which are usually produced from food crops like vegetable oil, corn or sugar.

The biofuels is usually used interchangeably with bioenergy, though more commonly it's used specifically to explain liquid bioenergy fuels like biodiesel (a diesel substitute) and bioethanol (which are often used in petrol engines).