Key Stage 3
Meaning
Biofuel is an energy resource made from plants and animals that have been grown to heat, light or to power electrical appliances.
About Biofuel
- Biofuel is a renewable energy resource.
- Biofuel has energy in its chemical potential energy store which can be transferred into a thermal energy store by combustion.
There are several types of biofuel:
- Wood
- Bio-ethanol
- Bio-diesel
- Bio-gas
Power
- 1. Biofuel is burned in a furnace.
- 2. The combustion of biofuel heats water in a boiler.
- 3. The water turns into steam and rushes down pipes.
- 4. The steam turns a turbine.
- 5. The turbine spins a generator.
- 6. The generator makes electricity.
Advantages
- Extremely reliable.
- When growing fuels Carbon dioxide is taken out of the atmosphere by the plants.
- Can be ‘carbon neutral’ as the same amount of Carbon Dioxide is taken out of the atmosphere to grow the biofuel as it put back into the [Earth's Atmosphere|atmosphere]] by burning them.
Disadvantages
- Cost of fuels is high.
- Large areas of land must be used to grow the fuel (this can mean cutting down forests for land).
- Burning the fuels produces carbon dioxide and if fuels are burned quicker than they can be grown then the produce more pollution.