Biofuels: A Critical Examination of a Revolutionary Technology

As organizations seek to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to meet tightening regulatory standards worldwide, businesses are realizing that there’s no silver bullet that can solve all the problems. Rather, organizations are discovering that they need a suite of tools to mitigate carbon emissions successfully. 

Given the urgency of finding sustainable—and viable—energy solutions in the fight against climate change, businesses should look no further than biofuels. While fossil fuels such as heavy fuel oil and diesel will still have their place to power ocean vessels, trains, and trucks, freight transportation providers are exploring the extent that biofuels can be used, including whether they can be blended with fossil fuels or stand on their own.

Although the technology is still developing, biofuels could be a promising alternative to fossil fuels, as biofuels are less carbon intensive. This article seeks to examine the potential opportunities and challenges that might arise when using biofuels transfom transportation systems globally.

Understanding Biofuels: What are Biofuels?

In order to discuss the use of biofuels in the freight transportation space, we need to define the different types of biofuels.

According to the U.S. Department of Energy, biofuels are liquid fuels that have been converted from biomass, such as corn or soybeans. Corn is a feedstock for ethanol, while soybeans and vegetable oil are feedstocks for biodiesel. 

Unlike other renewable energy sources, biomass can be converted directly into liquid fuels, called “biofuels,” to help meet transportation fuel needs. The two most common types of biofuels in use today are ethanol and biodiesel, both of which represent the first generation of biofuel technology. Energy producers—including traditional fuel producers such as ExxonMobil and Chevron—are exploring developing these fuels.  

There have been several generations of biofuels produced. In a working paper available via the University of Montana, first-generation biofuels, such as ethanol and biodiesel, are also known as conventional biofuels. The biomass is typically sourced from feedstocks that would also be considered as food. Second-generation biofuels are those derived from non-food crops or agricultural waste. Emerging third-generation biofuels include algae-based fuels. 

The difference between the generations is the increasing sophistication in the production process of the feedstocks, which translates to higher production costs, according to researchers.

The Revolutionary Potential of Biofuels

There are several good reasons why using biofuels—or traditional fuels blended with biofuels—is beneficial to shippers.

First of all, there are environmental benefits. Compared to fossil fuels, biofuels and biofuel blends result in lower GHG emissions than traditional fuels alone. While biofuels don’t bring transportation fuel down to zero emissions, there is still the potential for carbon neutrality through lifecycle analysis. In other words, biofuels, when used in tandem with other carbon-cutting measures, can help a shipment be carbon neutral. Being carbon neutral occurs when a company successfully offsets its emissions by the same amount that it emits.

Second, there are economic and geopolitical advantages as well. For nations that are reliant on imported oil, biofuels enables them to become more energy independent. Meanwhile, domestic biofuels production enables the potential to create new industries and jobs. For example, the U.S. consumes most of the ethanol it produces by using ethanol as a gasoline additive, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Much of that domestic ethanol production occurs in the Midwest.

Lastly, biofuels may be compatible with the existing fuel infrastructure, which helps with their distribution. Ethanol-blended gasoline, which is 10% ethanol and 90% regular unleaded gasoline, is distributed through the existing gasoline network. The U.S. government has been seeking to provide financial support via grants to develop fuel infrastructure for higher blends of both ethanol and biodiesel.

Despite Significant Potential, Major Challenges Face Shippers Leveraging Biofuels 

Although there are many benefits to using biofuels as a way to reduce GHG emissions and take advantage of economic or geopolitical conditions, there are still some challenges to increasing biofuels consumption.

One challenge is resource competition. This is when there is a finite availability of arable land and water sources. Crop-growing regions may face pressure to grow crops for food production versus feedstocks for biofuels. Related to this pressure are also ethical concerns surrounding food security, particularly if a crop producer sees more economic windfall from producing crops for biofuels production.

Another challenge is the environmental trade-offs. In some countries where biofuel crop cultivation is a big industry, there have been concerns about deforestation and habitat destruction. This concern peaked in the early 2000s, but still remains an issue today as biofuels producers seek to use crops that might mitigate or lessen deforestation concerns, according to a policy document prepared for the European Union.

Still another issue related to environmental trade-offs are questions over whether biofuels actually reduce emissions. This concern appears when considering the lifecyle emissions of biofuels, from production to transportation. Research is still being conducted on the lifecycle analysis of various biofuels, and the answer so far is that the GHG reductions vary on the feedstock, where it grows, and whether any changes to the land occurred to grow the crops.

An additional challenge is economic viability. Biofuels production has the potential for higher costs when compared to fossil fuels or other renewables such as solar and wind. Furthermore, in some situations, government subsidies and incentives toward biofuel production are neessary for biofuels production to be viable.

Lastly, technological limitations are a challenge, hindering biofuels production. It takes time, resources, and funding to scale up the production of second and third-generation biofuels, such as cellulosic ethanol and dimethyl ether. That’s because even though the feedstocks, which might include agricultural and forest residues as well as municipal solid wastes, are less costly than vegetable oil, corn, or sugarcane, the feedstocks or biomass are more complex to convert and production relies on the development of new technologies, researchers have said.

The Future is Bright for Biofuels: Innovations and Advancements

Despite the challenges mentioned above, shippers, transportation providers, and energy producers should continue exploring advancements in biofuels production because biofuels are still an important piece of the puzzle when it comes to reducing GHG emissions from the supply chain.

To address these challenges head on, stakeholders and regulators must both work at creating an environment where progress in biofuels production can be encouraged and celebrated. 

This means working on furthering advanced biofuel technologies and turning progress into algae-based biofuels and synthetic biology into viable market solutions. It also means continuing work on integrating biofuels production with carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies. According to the International Energy Agency, bioenergy CCS, or BECCS, “involves capturing and permanently storing CO2 from processes where biomass is converted into fuels or directly burned to generate energy. Because plants absorb CO2 as they grow, this is a way of removing CO2 from the atmosphere.”

Regulators can also work with companies and energy producers to understand how best to develop policy solutions that make the regulatory landscape more friendly for advanced biofuels development. This means looking at how international agreements, such as the Paris Agreement, promote biofuels as a viable means to reduce GHG emissions and combat climate change. It also means continuing to develop case studies exploring successful biofuel implementation in the aviation, marine, and shipping industries.

Another important action that regulators and companies can do is strengthening collaboration across sectors. This might be developing more public-private partnerships to scale biofuels adoption or finding synergies with other renewable energy technologies such as solar and wind. 

For example, the U.S. Department of Energy’s Bioenergies Technologies Office, with support from DOE national laboratories and other federal agencies, oversees the U.S. Maritime Decarbonization Action Plan to reduce GHG emissions from the maritime transport sector. This includes continuing research on advanced biofuels as well as partnering with groups such as the American Bureau of Shipping to further clean energy development and decarbonization of the maritime industry.

Collaboration is Key to Reducing GHG Emissions

As the urgency to combat climate change intensifies, biofuels have emerged as a promising alternative to fossil fuels. Derived from organic materials like crops, agricultural waste, and algae, biofuels are categorized into first, second, and third-generation types based on their sources and production methods. They offer significant environmental benefits, including reduced greenhouse gas emissions and carbon neutrality potential, while presenting opportunities for energy independence and economic growth.

With advancements in algae-based fuels, carbon capture integration, and international collaboration, biofuels hold transformative potential, especially for sectors like shipping and aviation. However, challenges like resource competition, environmental trade-offs, and high costs persist. To address these challenges requires a collaborative approach where regulators, shippers, biofuels producers, researchers, and even emissions technology developers such as Searoutes work together to realize the potential that biofuels have in reducing GHG emissions in the supply chain. 

If you’re a company that needs to reduce GHG emissions, we’re here to help. We have technological tools that provide you with visibility into the volume of emissions occurring along your supply chain. That visibility includes looking at how emissions involving biofuel blends compare with emissions coming primarily from fossil fuels. Each of our products—our CO2 API, our Routing API and our Vessel API—can guide you if finding additional ways to reduce GHG emissions, whether that’s through opting for a different transportation route that results in lower emissions or avoiding hotspots in order to avoid delays.

Contact us today and learn how we can work together to help you fulfill your sustainability goals.