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biofuel africa

Copyright (c) 2009 Wes Fernley

Actually, ethanol is the same type of alcohol as that found in alcoholic beverages. So can we just keep a jug of vodka in the car in case we run out of gas? Afraid not!

Widely used in Brazil and the United States—much more than in any other part of the world—ethanol in a blend of no more than 10% will work just fine in most cars. In some cities, a 10% blend is mandated. In Brazil, the mandatory blend is 25%.

What makes it so attractive is that it is renewable, unlike the petroleum we now depend upon. It can be produced from agricultural feedstocks such as sugar cane, potato, manioc, and corn. Because of the difficulties with obtaining enough of these feedstocks coupled with high costs of production, research has turned to alternative sources such as cellulose.

Cellulosic ethanol is made from cellusolic fibers, a component in plant cell walls. The discovery that these can be used to produce ethanol is turning around previous research and the hope is that by using wheat stalks instead of grain, and corn stalks instead of ears, for example, we can increase our production of ethanol substantially without putting food supplies in jeopardy.

Other sources for ethanol production are ethylene (acetylene), calcium carbide, coal, oil gas, among others. Plants in the United States, Europe, and South Africa produce two million tons of petroleum-derived ethanol annually.

How is it renewable?

It is renewable because it uses a source that is naturally replenished. That is, sunlight, the source for photosynthesis, accounts for the production of sugar cane or corn, or any other ethanol source. Agricultural products are considered renewable because they use photosynthesis to grow. Of course, certain minerals such as nitrogen and phosphorus must be returned to the land, so this must be accounted for in the cost of production. Some of the crops than can produce ethanol are as follow:

- Cotton

- Fruit

- Most grains

- Sugar Cane

- Sugar Beet

- Sorghum

- Switchgrass

- Potatoes

- Kenaf

- Hemp

- Barley

- Sweet Potatoes

- Cassava

- Corn

- Sunflower

- Straw

- Cellulose Waste

Ethanol is produced by the microbial fermentation of sugars followed by distillation, dehydration, and denaturing. Enzymes are sometimes used to convert starch into sugar before the fermentation process begins.

Conventional unleaded gasoline produces carbon dioxide and aldehydes in such quantities that urban, car-based cities like Los Angeles are unfit for some people to live in, especially those who suffer respiratory weaknesses or disabilities. Stanford University, in a study by its atmospheric scientists, discovered that if the shift were made to ethanol from unleaded gasoline, deaths would be reduced by 9% every year in Los Angeles. Unleaded gasoline increases ozone levels significantly resulting in a dramatic increase in photochemical smog and an increase in medical problems such as asthma, the bane of citizens of Los Angeles.

Because of all of these factors, if you're thinking of burning a fireplace, it would be wise for you and your family as well as the atmosphere where you live to explore biofuel fireplaces where you can fuel some of the heating of your house with fuel that will not add to the existing problems.

About the Author:

Pureflame is a leader in Vent Free Mobile Fireplace and Ethanol Biofuel products. They offer the highest quality biofuels and contemporary fireplaces available on the market today. For more information, visit www.purelame.com

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com - Exactly what is Ethanol?

What impact will in Africa to the world of the conversion of all foodstuffs in biofuels?

What will go to poor countries in Africa to convert the world its own surplus corn, soybeans, etc. into biofuel? Does this mean that you will not be "more free gifts" for the poor / war and drought-affected United Nations in Africa by the richer nations? Allready sunflower oil here in South Africa has more than doubled in price?

This is exactly what Africa needs. No alms. If the world has ceased to give any time Africa could perhaps get their lazy butts and do something for once. Do not expect everything to be given, but to work for it. How long we have had to give millions of people starving in Ethiopia? It is still a country. The money used for food could have been used in education to develop properly and be able to provide themselves. I think it's better this happened in Africa.

Round Table Africa @ MSM, Workshops Biofuel and Supermarkets

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The Biofuel Delusion $79.95 Faced with the twin threats of peak oil and climate change, many governments have turned for an answer to the apparent panacea of biofuels. Yet, increasingly, the progressive implementation of this solution demonstrates that the promise of biofuels as a replacement to fossil fuels is in fact a mirage that, if followed, risks leaving us short of power, short of food and doing as much damage to the climate as ever -- let alone the consequent impact on biodiversity due to additional loss of habitat for agricultural production and on rural development due to the additional stress on traditional farming systems. Worse still, these risks are being ignored.In this definitive exposé, Mario Giampietro and Kozo Mayumi present a theoretical framework and exhaustive evidence for the case against large scale biofuel production from agricultural crops. This book will be vital, sobering reading for anyone concerned with energy or agricultural policy, or bioenergy as a complex system.

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Soil Quality and Biofuel Production $129.95 Presents a review of soil properties and processes negatively impacted by crop residue removal. This title outlines the ecological consequences of biofuels and evaluates land use in the production of raw material for biofuel.

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Africa $18.98 Africa

Biofuels in Africa $19.99 A new economic opportunity for sub-Saharan Africa is looming large: biofuel production. Rapidly rising energy prices are expected to remain high for an extended period of time because of the increasing demand in prospering and populous countries such as China and India, the depletion of easily accessible supplies of crude oil, and concern over global climate change. As a result, there is renewed interest in biofuels as an alternative to fossil fuels.Africa is uniquely positioned to produce these new cash crops for both domestic use and export. The region has abundant land resources and preferential access to protected markets with higher-than-world-market prices. The rapid growth in the demand for transport fuels in Africa and high fuel prices create domestic markets for biofuels. The European Union and the United States have approved legislation that requires large increases in the consumption of biofuels over at least the next decade. Imports are expected to be needed to meet these mandates, thus opening the door to African and other developing countries that can produce biofuels or feedstocks for biofuels competitively. Expanding the production of crops for biofuels will affect the entire rural sector in Africa as resources are shifted away from traditional crops and the prices of all agricultural commodities rise. Even smallholders can participate in producing biofuel crops. To promote the sustainability and significant contribution of this enterprise, Biofuels in Africa provides guidance in formulating suitable policy regimes, which are based on protecting the rights of current land users, developing revenue-sharing schemes with local communities, safeguarding the environment and biodiversity, expanding institutional capacity, formulating new regulations and procedures, and emulating best practices from experienced countries.This volume will be of value to anyone interested in biofuels, including policy makers, development practitioners, private investors, researchers, and the general public.

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Biofuel Support Policies $42 Governments in many OECD countries, as well as in a number of countries outside the OECD area, actively promote the production and use of alternative transport fuels made from agricultural commodities. This report, jointly produced by the OECD and the IEA and drawing on information from a number of other organisations, analyses the implications of this support from various perspectives. The report shows that the high level of policy support contributes little to reduced greenhouse-gas emissions and other policy objectives, while it adds to a range of factors that raise international prices for food commodities. It concludes that there are alternatives to current support policies for biofuels that would more effectively allow governments to achieve their objectives.

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Biofuels, Land Grabbing and Food Security in Africa $39.95 Biofuels have been much debated, but to date the focus largely has been on Latin America and deforestation. Biofuels, Land Grabbing and Food Security in Africa breaks fresh ground by looking at the African perspective. Using cutting-edge empirical case studies, the book examines the effects of large-scale biofuel production on African agriculture, scrutinizing in particular ‘land grabbing’ and food security.

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Biofuels, Land Grabbing and Food Security in Africa (Paperback) $35.74 Energy crises and climate change have generated global demands for alternative non-fossil fuel sources. This has led to a rapid increase of investments in production of liquid biofuels based on agricultural feed stocks such as sugar cane. Most African governments see biofuels as a potential for increasing agricultural productivity and export incomes and thus strengthening their national economies, improving energy balances and rural employment. At the same time climate change may be addressed through reduction of green house gas emissions. There are, however, a number of uncertainties mounting that challenge this scenario. Using in-depth African case studies -- with Brazil as a comparative reference -- this book addresses this knowledge gap by examining the impacts of large-scale biofuel production on African agriculture, particularly with regard to vital land outsourcing and food security issues. The surge for African biofuels has also opened space for private investors -- both domestic and external -- to multiply and network "independently" of the state. The biofuel expansion thus generates new economic alliances and production relations, resulting in new forms of inclusions and exclusions within the rural population. This is an essential book for anyone wishing to understand the startling impact of biofuels on Africa.

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