Biofuel development encounters bottleneck

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Due to the rapid development of biofuels, which require the consumption of a certain amount of crops, it is bound to create a conflict with food for "turf". In this case, it becomes increasingly difficult to choose between filling your stomach and meeting your energy needs. The Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations have recently warned that if biofuel production continues to expand in the future, it will further worsen the problem of rising world food prices. Last year, the FAO predicted that the import prices of coarse grains and vegetable oils, the main raw materials for biofuel production, would rise sharply, becoming the main reason for the increase in food import bills. The development prospects of biofuels have always been optimistic, especially today with high oil prices. Biofuels can help get rid of dependence on traditional fossil energy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. All parties involved seem to benefit.: Scientists can get research funding, venture capitalists can make money, and environmentalists are welcome, so why not? However, after all is said and done, the most basic issue of filling one's stomach has not been given sufficient attention. Due to the reduction of arable land, lack of water resources and the instability of global food production in the past two years, the cultivation of biofuel crops has gradually become contradictory to the cultivation of food. The surge in oil prices has contributed to the rise in prices of most agricultural products. On the one hand, it has increased the cost of agriculture, and on the other hand, it has intensified the demand for crops in biofuel production as an alternative energy source. For example, Malaysia and Indonesia have been the world's leading producers of palm oil. In recent years, more and more palm oil has been used to produce biodiesel, which has begun to cause the price of edible oil to rise. The pursuit of biofuels has even the United States, a food-exporting country, feeling the pinch. Increased U.S. bioethanol production was the main reason corn futures prices rose 75% on U.S. exchanges more than a year ago. In the international political arena, Venezuelan President Chavez and Cuban leader Fidel Castro frequently expressed their opposition to the U.S. bioenergy plan last year. Chavez said that Venezuela produces 3 million barrels of oil per day, which is only a small part of the world's daily oil production. If the world produces 3 million barrels of bioethanol per day, then all the land will not be enough to grow sugar cane or corn. Castro also pointed out that the first priority in the world today is to feed everyone. Relevant experts point out that biofuel production will also affect the environment. Because producers must grow crops used to produce biofuels on a large scale in order to obtain raw materials. When it is difficult to obtain raw materials from agricultural land, the drive for profit may cause the Amazon rainforest, Atlantic rainforest and many precious grasslands and woodlands to be violated. The trees on these lands absorb a large amount of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide every year, and sacrificing them for biofuels may appear to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but in fact the gains outweigh the losses. In addition, growing crops for biofuel production itself requires energy because sowing, fertilizing, harvesting, and transportation may require the use of machinery that burns fossil fuels. All this indicates that the development of biofuels has encountered a bottleneck. The European Commission recently stated that due to the unforeseen hazards caused by the use of biofuels, the EU has decided to set new and more stringent standards and ban the import of certain biofuels. Some experts believe that the raw materials for producing biofuels in the future will not all be crops, but more cellulose-rich organic matter, such as wood, wormwood and crop residues. Because of their abundance, there may be a new path for biofuel development. In fact, many well-known companies have already conducted research in this area.