Biofuel and Fossil fuel are both used for the generation of energy. Biofuel is made from natural wastes, like dead plants or organic wastes. On the other hand, Fossil fuels are gained from Fossils of the remaining dead animals and plants from the past.
Biofuel is formed mainly from biomass, i.e. the remains of dead plants and animals or organic wastes or any kind of things that are originated from living organisms. Biofuels can be divided into many types depending on the things it is made up of. One of the most common examples is Ethanol.
Fossil fuel is a kind of fuel that is extracted from the underground. These are the remaining dead animals and plants for many millions of years ago. This can be any living organism when was buried never decayed totally with heat and pressure became Fossils fuels for millions of years.
Biofuel vs Fossil Fuel
The main difference between Biofuel and Fossil fuel is that Biofuel is renewable while the other is non-renewable. Biofuels, as they are made from the waste of living organisms or dead organisms, this makes renewable. On the other hand, Fossil fuels take millions of years to form, which makes it impossible to form again.
Biofuels are non-toxic fuels which makes them very nature friendly. Biofuel, as they are nontoxic when they are burned, don’t produce any dangerous gases and makes no pollution atoll. These gases, due to their non-polluting nature, are becoming more popular and user friendly.
Fossil fuels, on the other hand, produce toxic gasses when burned, but due to need in the market, it is a very important part of our system. Fossil fuels help in the production of electricity. It also helps in another important thing which is transport. Like this, there are many other hundreds of examples that state the importance of Fossil fuels.
Comparison Table Between Biofuel and Fossil Fuel
| Parameters of Comparison | Biofuel | Fossil Fuel |
| Type of resource | These are Renewable resources. | These are Non-Renewable resources. |
| Usage | Heating, transport, lubrication, etc. | Electricity production, transport, etc. |
| Growth | Due to its nature-friendly behaviour, the use of Biofuel is growing day by day. | Due to the limitation and toxic nature of this Fossil fuel, the uses are in the process of decreasing. |
| Consequences | Highly nature friendly but doesn’t have sufficient energy. | Highly dangerous to not only nature but to human health as well. |
| Sources | Wastes produced by living organisms or organic wastes | Dead animals or organisms buried underground for millions of years |
What is Biofuel?
Biofuels are seen as an alternative to Fossil fuels. Bio gases are produced by different kinds of processes. Ethanol is a type of Biofuel is produced from plant sugars extracted from grains like barley or corn or sorghum, etc. This kind of ethanol is used as a replacement for petroleum.
This kind of replacement of petroleum is divided into two types, mainly mixtures of ethanol-petroleum gasoline different in the amount of ethanol used. The first one consists of 10% of ethanol (E10), while the other consists of 50%-80% ethanol (E85). These different kinds of ethanol petroleum fuels can be used in different kinds of vehicles using petroleum.
Bio-diesel is another kind of Biofuel that is used as a replacement for diesel. These kinds of Biofuels are made from vegetable oil or fats of animals or greases. This type of fuel can replace petroleum-based diesel in ignition engines. Without any modification of the engine, these kinds of fuels can be used.
These fuels are very nature friendly, but the energy level of these fuels, when compared to Fossil fuels, are low. To be equal to the energy of Fossil fuel, a huge amount of Biofuel is needed, which at this moment is only possible if we convert the non-urban areas also into farmland. At this moment in time in the world, Fossil fuel cannot be replaced by Biofuel.
What is Fossil Fuel?
Fossil fuels are the fuels that are extracted from Fossils. The Fossils are the remaining of the dead animals and plants which were buried under the earth for millions of years. This dead remaining due to heat and pressure underground transform into Fossil fuels. These remains are extracted and then transformed.
There are many forms and types of Fossil fuels. This can be in the form of gas, liquid or solid. Example Natural gas is a very important source in the production of electricity. Coal is another solid form of Fossil fuel that consists of hydrocarbons. These are mainly formed from deal plants with heat and pressure for millions of years underground.
Oil is the liquid form of Fossil fuel that is used in different kinds of forms like petroleum or diesel. These are mainly formed from living organisms and is composed of hydrocarbons as well. These are used in transport systems like land vehicles and aircraft.
Fossil fuels, as a consequence, produce a huge amount of toxic materials. For example, the Burning of oils produces carbon dioxide and particles into the air, widely affecting the lungs. The extraction and burning of coals immensely harm nature by producing harmful gasses and releasing toxic wastes.
Main Differences Between Biofuel and Fossil Fuel
- Biofuel is a nature-friendly renewable fuel, while Fossil fuels are harmful and non-renewable.
- Biofuel has limited energy when compared to Fossil fuel which has much more energy.
- Biofuel doesn’t release any toxic gases, but when Fossil fuels are burned, it releases sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide, mercury, etc., into the air.
- Biofuel doesn’t harm human or nature, while Fossil fuels, when burned not only, harm the earth’s atmosphere but also harms human health.
- Biofuel consists of forms like ethanol or bio-diesel, etc., while Fossil fuel consists of Coal or Natural gas or Oils, etc.
Conclusion
The transformation of usage from Fossil fuel to Biofuel is visible throughout the world. As Fossil fuels have been used for a long time, it will take time to replace them with something new like Biofuel. But eventually, it is believed that the use of Fossil fuel will decrease.
Saving the environment and the lives of human beings are important, and to be successful in it, Fossil fuels are to be used as little as possible. One should not just use fuel less but also should save all other resources which are given by nature to human beings.
References
- https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0954407020916989
- https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780128237649000273
- https://www.scientific.net/AMR.824.429
- https://acp.copernicus.org/articles/8/1195/2008/