Bioelectricity Has More Potential than Biofuels

Ethanol may actually be doing more harm than good

Biofuel, obtained from the filtered residual oils of numerous types of plants, including algae, maize, sugar cane, and so on, has long been touted as the way to go in the fight against global warming. Its proponents say that it offers an inexpensive way of replacing fossil fuels, and of reducing emissions associated with climate change. However, its critics argue that bioelectricity may be a lot more suited for the task, because it impacts the environment even less, and is also cheaper to use.
Biomass may be the way to go at this point. Proponents of this method say that sawmill towns, for instance, have been employing this way of producing electricity for decades, burning the bark and other wood residues in steam boilers, which in turn generate current. Needless to say, large-scale power plants using this technology would also employ carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) technologies, which would capture CO2 and store it underground, for “safe” keeping.

When applying the potential that bioelectricity has on battery-powered vehicles, a new study has revealed that using current obtained in this manner could deliver 80 percent more miles of transportation per acre of crops, experts at the Carnegie Institution believe.

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