What are Biofuels?

Traditionally, the fuel that we put in our cars is made from oil taken from the ground or from beneath the ocean. It can also be made from crops such as oilseed rape, wheat or sugar beet. In fact, the first 'Model T Ford' cars produced in America were designed to run on ethanol produced from corn. In each case the principle is the same: oil or crops can be processed to release the energy that runs our cars. However, there are many environmental benefits to using biofuels. To find out more about that subject click here.

The fuels that we traditionally use in our cars can be substituted by biofuels: biodiesel instead of diesel and bioethanol instead of petrol.

•      Biodiesel can be made from crops that produce suitable oils such as oilseed rape, palm, and soya. It can also be made by recycling oil that has already been used for cooking. However, it is important to note that the oil has to be specially processed before it can be used in your car.
•      Bioethanol is an alcohol, produced in a similar way to other alcohols such as spirits. However, it's not recommended for drinking! Like these products it requires crops such as wheat, maize, sugar beet, and sugar cane that contain starch or sugar which can be converted into alcohol.

While it is inevitable that biofuels will be imported into the UK to satisfy demand, as time goes by more and more biofuels will be produced in this country using locally produced crops. The UK biofuels industry is wholly committed to producing biofuels that will deliver significant reductions in the gases that cause climate change, and will not damage the environment in this country or any other countries that they are produced in.

In the future, developing technology will allow us to produce biofuels from other sources such as wood, or waste paper. However, this 'second generation' technology is some years off being a commercial reality, and will take even longer to introduce if we put off using 'current generation' biofuels.