Biofuel

Biofuel is defined as solid, liquid or gas fuel derived from recently dead biological material and is distinguished from fossil fuels, which are derived from long dead biological material. Theoretically, biofuels can be produced from any (biological) carbon source; although, the most common sources are photosynthetic plants. Various plants and plant-derived materials are used for biofuel manufacturing. Globally, biofuels are most commonly used to power vehicles, heating homes cornstoves and cooking stoves. Biofuel industries are expanding in Europe, Asia and the Americas.

What such good news is that recently the technology developed at Los Alamos National Lab in USA even allows for the conversion of pollution into renewable bio fuel, this means that the carbon dioxide that believe to be a threat of our health will transform it into a useful renewable energy that might use for other purposes.

Do we need Biofuels in Timor Leste?

Well, technically speaking, in the short term we do not need the biofuel, but if we dream about this country one day to be a developed country then we need to look at long term that in the future we might need biofuel, and we use it for powering our cars engine and electrified our homes. For time being the biofuel isn’t an interesting topic to be discussed by our politicians, since it is not an urgent. Believe or not in the future we have to use other form of energy to use in our daily lives as we are running out of fossil fuel in the future.

The American Petroleum Society and Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) estimated that the world still have sufficient reserve of oil and gas from fossil fuel for the next 50 years, this is because recent years many international oil and gas companies discovered many new fields and invention of advanced technologies to rig the oil and gas from the beneath of the earth surface (i.e. deep water) that was impossible, therefore the expected life of the fossil fuel might be a bit longer. But, if we only focus on the oil and gas we might not that concern as we do now, but the world also faces new challenge, about its atmosphere, the amount of the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. The concentration of carbon dioxide (CO₂) on the atmosphere will increase as much as 3 times in the next 50 years if the world leaders do not take necessary actions now.

The Timorese leaders need to have a far vision about this issue because ignorance of today’s problems, the new generation will pay-cost in the future, Timor Leste is an half island, with this small country we need to take necessary actions to save it, or else, our dreaming to be a developed country yet achieved, our country no longer exist, or so-called “melted”

In addressing these two tremendous problems so called dependent oil and gas and global warming, Scientists and engineers all over the world have proposed many alternative solutions that will be good candidates of replacing the fossil fuel in the future, the candidates are: biomass/biofuel, wind power, solar power

Biofuels offers the possibility of producing energy without a net increase of carbon into the atmosphere. This is because the plants used in the production of the fuel removed CO₂ from the atmosphere; unlike fossil fuels, which return carbon that was stored beneath the surface for millions of years back into the atmosphere. Therefore, biofuel is, in theory, more carbon neutral and less likely to increase atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases. (However, doubts have been raised as to whether this benefit can be achieved in practice). The use of biofuels also reduces dependence on petroleum and enhances energy security.

There are two common strategies of producing biofuels. One is to grow crops high in sugar (sugar cane, sugar beet, and sweet sorghum) or starch (corn/maize), and then use yeast fermentation to produce ethyl alcohol (ethanol). The second is to grow plants that contain high amounts of vegetable oil, such as oil palm, soybean, algae, or jatropha. When these oils are heated, their viscosity is reduced, and they can be burned directly in a diesel engine, or they can be chemically processed to produce fuels such as biodiesel and its by products can also be converted into biofuels such as woodgas, methanol or ethanol fuel. It is also possible to make cellulosic ethanol from non-edible plant parts, but this can be difficult to accomplish economically.

Biofuels are discussed as having significant roles in a variety of international issues, including: mitigation of carbon emissions levels and oil prices, the "food vs. fuel" debate, deforestation and soil erosion, impact on water resources, and energy balance and efficiency.

Beside the biofuel, the wind power also stands as a good candidate and its clear alternative energy, with it environment-friendly the wind power will be great renewable resource that we will use when we run out of oil or will be using to replace the fossil fuel, because the wind power does not contribute much carbon dioxide into atmosphere compare to the fossil fuel.

The solar power is also one of greater candidate for the alternative energy; it uses sun rays power and transforms it in the form energy. This energy will use to generate electricity and appliances such as Radio, Television, and Freezer and also can be used to cook our food.