What are Biofuels? 

Biofuel is derived as any solid, gaseous or liquid fuel obtained from biomass; this may be in its natural form (e.g. wood, peat) or a commercially produced form (e.g. ethanol from sugarcane residue, diesel from waste vegetable oil).  Two types of biofuels are discussed in the draft Strategy, namely bioethanol and biodiesel. 

Bioethanol can be produced from traditional sugar-based crops, such as sugarcane, sweet sorghum and sugar beet, as well as from starch-rich crops, such as maize, barley, wheat and cassava. 

Biodiesel can be produced from oil seed crops, such as soya, rapeseed (canola) and sunflower, from used cooking oils and from animal fats. 

Worldwide national biofuels programmes were initiated primarily for supply security and to mitigate against massive trade deficits caused in 1973 by the oil price shocks.  Biofuels programmes are again gaining popularity, as they can replace crude oil, which is becoming more expensive and they can play a role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. 

There are however concerns about biofuels and their production processes, including the debate around food vs fuel, the use of water to produce the crops for biofuels and the impact that global climate change can have on future crop production. Some of these issues are discussed in the Feasibility Report developed by the Biofuels Task Team to underpin the draft Biofuels Strategy.  The Feasibility Report can be downloaded here. 

The African Sustainable Fuels Centre have kindly provided us with some of their comments on the draft Strategy.  Their key points are highlighted here.