Bio Fuels

The thirst for oil and its' byproducts appears to be insatiable. Oil allows the economies of the most powerful nations to thrive by providing the energy needed by their revenue generating ventures. This insatiable thirst is great for the economies of the world that produce oil but not good for the countries that are the consumers of the oil. The dependence on foreign oil weakens the consumer countries. Add to this that some of the countries that produce oil are hostile towards the US and other western countries and use the oil revenues to fuel actions against them and the need to move away from oil from the Middle East and other radical countries becomes crystal clear.

The search to wean us off foreign oil has been going for decades. Unfortunately it hasn't gotten too far. However with the recent steep cost increases of oil the impetus to reduce dependence on foreign oil is getting new life breathed into it. One of the ways to do this is with bio fuels. Bio fuels are produced domestically, which is a great first step towards energy independence.

Another consideration to take into account is that the use of oil-based products is poisoning the environment. Bio fuel is clean burning and doesn't contain any petroleum. Bio fuel is made from domestic resources like soybeans and is renewable. For combustion engines, for example the ones used in cars, then the bio fuel does need modifications so it can be used. However when mixed with diesel the bio-diesel can run without any modifications. The process of making bio-diesel is called 'transesterification'. This process removes the glycerin from the vegetable oil and produces as one of its' byproducts methyl esters. Methyl esters are another name for bio-diesel. The glycerin is used in the production of soap.

However all isn't rosy with bio fuels. Unlike oil that is already made and just needs some processing to make it usable bio fuels have to be grown. This means that energy has to be expended to make the bio fuels. This is the energy needed to power the tractors and farm equipment used by the farmers. Also the production of bio fuels uses another scarce resource, water. If you haven't been paying attention there is a growing shortage of drinkable water in the world. The production of bio fuels uses 10 gallons of water to produce one gallon of bio fuel. This is a problem that needs to be overcome before bio fuel will replace oil.

As the need for a replacement to foreign oil grows then the technology needed to produce bio fuels in an economical and ecologically beneficial way has a much greater chance to be found. The government needs to do its' part and provide incentives to the companies and individuals working to free us from the dependence on foreign oil. Another area that the government can help in is to foster the growth of the solar power industry. With the near limitless amount of solar energy available we should be doing far more to take advantage of it.