Countries around the world are accelerating the development of second-generation biofuels

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Countries around the world are accelerating the development of second-generation biofuels http://china.chemnet.com February 23, 2009, 09:15:06 Economic Daily [Large Medium Small] Business News reported on February 23 that not long ago, Japan Airlines (JAL) used biofuels derived from plants such as camelina for a demonstration flight for the first time. During the one-and-a-half-hour flight test, the engine powered by biofuel performed normally, showing no difference from the engine using kerosene. The success of this experiment opens up new possibilities for the use of second-generation biofuels. As traditional fossil fuels such as oil, natural gas, and coal become increasingly depleted, and the pressures related to the environment and climate change on humanity continue to rise, countries around the world are actively developing green and environmentally friendly bioenergy. Among them, second-generation biofuels that do not use crops such as grains as raw materials and do not occupy valuable farmland are particularly favored. 　　In Japan, a country rich in bamboo, a new technology has been developed to produce bioethanol using bamboo as raw material. This technology involves grinding bamboo into fine powder of 50 microns, then using microorganisms to convert the cellulose in it into glucose, which is subsequently processed into ethanol. This new technology can increase the conversion rate of glucose from 2% in the past to 75%, thereby reducing the production cost of bioethanol made from bamboo to around 100 yen per liter. It is estimated that Japan has about 93 million tons of bamboo resources. The Japanese Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries believes that if this bamboo is used to produce bioethanol, production could reach 220 million liters by 2020, accounting for 10% of Japan’s total bioethanol production, which could help alleviate Japan’s energy shortages to some extent. 　　Brazil is the world’s largest producer of biofuels, having started using sugarcane to produce ethanol since the 1970s. Today, Brazilian researchers are also turning their attention to second-generation bioenergy. The Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation is using genetic modification technology to develop a type of cassava whose roots contain sugar rather than starch, thereby reducing the cost of ethanol production by 25% compared to ordinary cassava. To date, Brazil has built three pilot cassava ethanol fuel plants, and it is expected that ethanol produced from sugary cassava will be officially launched on the market in 2010. Petrobras is exploring ways to use agricultural waste such as straw, rice husks, and sugarcane bagasse, as well as forestry waste, to produce ethanol, with the goal of increasing ethanol production by around 60%. The company plans to build its first plant cellulosic ethanol factory in 2011 and commercialize the production of plant cellulosic ethanol by 2015. 　　Experts from Colombia’s Petroleum Agency are developing production processes for \"algae diesel\" based on the country’s local resources, while also testing the use of various locally abundant materials such as castor beans, pine nuts, sunflower seeds, sweet potato starch, beetroot, bananas, avocados, and coffee bean residues as raw materials for producing biodiesel. 　　In recent years, the United States has also placed increasing emphasis on biofuels. The Renewable Fuels Association of the United States states that ethanol has become an economic engine for America’s agricultural states; in 2005, the ethanol industry helped create 153,000 jobs and increased household incomes in rural areas of the U.S. by $5.7 billion. However, since biofuels in the United States are mostly made from crops such as corn (1692, 6.00, 0.36%), the issue of competition with food crops for land use is very prominent; therefore, it is imperative to develop second-generation biofuels. There is a wild plant called switchgrass on the North American continent, and the United States is studying it as an important raw material for second-generation biofuels. 　　Compared to first-generation biofuels, second-generation biofuels utilize a wider range of raw materials; in addition to the plants mentioned above, agricultural straws, sugarcane bagasse, wood chips, coffee bean residues, and even animal waste can all be used to produce second-generation biofuels, thereby offering greater sustainability. With continuous technological advancements, its production costs are expected to keep falling, and the efficiency of energy conversion will continue to improve; therefore, the prospects for market development are promising. 　　The second-generation biofuel used by Japan Airlines in this demonstration flight was produced by mixing linseed oil (84%), jatropha oil (less than 16%), and algae oil (less than 1%). The head of American Sustainable Fuels, the company responsible for providing perilla oil for this test flight, said that the company currently operates several thousand acres of perilla fields, with the plan to expand this area to hundreds of thousands of acres within 3 years. Over the next 5 years, it is estimated that 100 million to 200 million gallons of sustainable aviation fuel derived from linseed will be produced. 　　The international financial crisis has posed new challenges to the world economy, but it has also created new opportunities for the development of a green economy, including the industry of second-generation biofuels. A recent report published by the United Nations Environment Programme predicts that the global green economy on the rise will have a significant impact on employment. The efforts of various countries to develop second-generation biofuels will create numerous \"green jobs,\" increase farmers’ incomes, and thereby promote the expansion of related industrial chains, contributing to economic development.