Energy content of biofuel

A table of energy content and CO2 output of common fuels

Energy is the ability to do work. Per kilogram of mass, different substances can do different amounts of work.[1] In other words they have different energy contents. Of course to do work we usually use a machine of some type. These machines vary in efficiency, or useful work done, and none are 100% efficient. Thus the amount of useful work actually performed by these substances will never totally match these results. However this table gives us a relative measure of the amounts of these substances which could be equivalent in producing the required result (moving a car, heating a home, etc.). In the example of the first two entries, bagasse (cane stalks) has 9.6 MJ/kg (megajoules per kilogram) and chaff (seed casings) has an energy content of 14.6 MJ/kg. In other words 1 kg of chaff as a fuel would have 14.6-9.6, or 5 MJ more energy per kilogram energy content and potential work output than bagasse. The next column in the table (3) is the energy content per liter of volume, which is useful for liquid fuels. The next column (4) contains the ratio of CO2 mass produced to the mass of the fuel. For example bagasse has a ratio of 1.3 which means 1.3 kg of CO2 will be produced for every 1 kg of bagasse used as fuel. The last column (5), Energy in MJ per kg CO2 produced (MJ/kg) lists the energy produced per kilogram of CO2 produced. This is a measure of the potential environmental impact of the use of the substance as a fuel with respect to the release of CO2. The more CO2 released the worse it is for the environment. Thus a higher number in this column is better for the environment because we get more energy per kg of CO2 produced. For example gasoline produces 13.64-14.64 MJ/kg of CO2 but methane produces 20.05-20.30 MJ/kg of energy, or nearly 50% more energy for the same CO2 production. Fuel Type Specific Energy Density (MJ/kg) 9.6 Volumetric Energy Density (MJ/L) CO2 Gas made from Fuel Used (kg/kg) Energy per CO2 (MJ/kg)

Bagasse (Cane

Solid Fuels ~+40%(C6H10O5)n+15%(C26H42O21)n+15%(C9H10O2)n1.30

7.41

Stalks) Chaff (Seed Casings) Animal Dung/Manure Dried plants (C6H10O5)n Wood fuel (C6H10O5)n Charcoal Pyrolysis oil Methanol (CH3-OH) Ethanol (CH3CH2-OH) EcaleneTM Butanol(CH3(CH2)3-OH) Fat Biodiesel Sunflower oil (C18H32O2) Castor oil (C18H34O3) Olive oil (C18H34O2) Methane (CH4) Hydrogen (H2)

14.6 [1] 10-[2] 15 10 16 16 21 30 17.5 19.9 22.7 23.4 26.8 28.4 36 37.656 37.8 [4] 39.49 [5] 39.5 39.25 39.82 55 55.7 120 142 21.35 15.9 18.4 - 21.2 22.7 29.2 31.68 33.3 35.7 33.18 33.21 33 - 33.48 (Liquified) 23.0 23.3 (Liquified) 8.5 10.1

[Please insert average composition here] [Please insert average composition here] 1.6 - 16.64 [3] 2.56 - 21.84 IF50%(C6H10O5)n+25%(C26H42O21)n+25%(C10H12O3)n1.84 IF45%(C6H10O5)n+25%(C26H42O21)n+30%(C10H12O3)n1.88 85-98% Carbon+VOC+Ash 3.63 Liquid Fuels (Assumption Of Fuel: Carbon Content = 23% w/w) 0.84 1.37 1.91 75%C2H6O+9%C3H8O+7%C4H10O+5%C5H12O+4%Hx 2.03 2.37 [Please insert average composition here] ~2.85 (12%(C16H32O2)+16%(C18H34O2)+71%(LA)+1%(ALA))2.81 (1%PA+1%SA+89.5%ROA+3%OA+4.2%LA+0.3%ALA)2.67 (15%(C16H32O2)+75%(C18H34O2)+9%(LA)+1%(ALA))2.80 Gaseous Fuels (Methane leak exerts 23 greenhouse effect of CO2) 2.74 (Hydrogen leak slightly catalyzes ozone depletion) 0.0 ~13.26 14.04 14.80 14.03 5.448.70 8.5111.17 8.27 20.77 14.4916.53 12.2514.03 14.02 15.16

20.0520.30

Fossil Fuels (comparison)

Coal Crude Oil Gasoline Diesel Natural Gas Ethane (CH3CH3) Uranium-235 (235U) Nuclear fusion (2H-3H) DirectMethanol ProtonExchange (R&D) Sodium Hydride (R&D) Lead-acid battery Nickel-iron battery Nickelcadmium battery Nickel metal

29.3 33.5 41.868 45 48.3 48.1 38 50 51.9

39.85 - 74.43 28 31.4 32 34.8 40.3 (Liquified) 25.5 28.7 (Liquified) ~24.0

(Not Counting:CO, NOx, Sulfates & Particulates) ~3.59 (Not Counting:CO,NOx,Sulfates & Particulates) ~3.4 (Not Counting:CO,NOx,Sulfates & Particulates) ~3.30 (Not Counting:CO,NOx,Sulfates & Particulates) ~3.4 (Ethane, Propane & Butane N/C:CO,NOx & Sulfates) ~3.00 2.93

~8.169.33 ~12.31 ~13.6414.64 ~14.15 ~12.6716.67 17.71 ~55[2] ~90[3]

77,000,000

Nuclear fuels (comparison) (Pure)1,470,700,000 [Greater for lower ore conc.(Mining, Refining, Moving)] 0.0 (Sea-Bed Hydrogen-Isotope Mining-Method Dependent) 0.0

300,000,000 (Liquified)53,414,377.6

4.5466 up to 5.68

Fuel Cell Energy Storage (comparison) [6] 3.6 up to 4.5

~1.37 (IFF Fuel is recycled) 0.0

~3.31

up to 11.13

up to 10.24

(Bladder for Sodium Oxide Recycling) 0.0

0.108 [7] 0.0487 0.1127 0.162 0.288 0.22 - 0.324

Battery Energy Storage (comparison) ~0.1 (200-600 Deep-Cycle Tolerance) 0.0 0.0658 - 0.1772 ~0.24 (<40y Life)(2k-3k Cycle Tolerance IF no Memory effect) 0.0 (1k-1.5k Cycle Tolerance IF no Memory effect) 0.0

0.36

(300-500 Cycle Tolerance IF no Memory effect) 0.0

hydride Super iron battery Zinc-air battery Lithium ion battery Lithium-IonPolymer Lithium iron phosphate battery DURACELL Zinc-Air Aluminium battery PolyPlusBC Li-Aircell

0.33 0.396 - 0.72 0.54 - 0.72 0.65 - 0.87

[8] (1.5 * NiMH) 0.54 [10] 0.5924 - 0.8442 0.9 - 1.9 (1.2 * Li-Ion)1.08 2.28

[9] (~300 Deep-Cycle Tolerance) 0.0 (Recyclable by Smelting & Remixing, not Recharging) 0.0 (3-5 y Life) (500-1k Deep-Cycle Tolerance) 0.0 (3-5 y Life) (300-500 Deep-Cycle Tolerance) 0.0

1.0584 1.5912 1.8 - 4.788 3.6 - 32.4

5.148 - 6.3216 7.56 3.6 - 17.64

(1-3 y Shelf-life) (Recyclable not Rechargeable) 0.0 (10-30 y Life) (3k+ Deep-Cycle Tolerance) 0.0 (May be Rechargeable)(Might leak sulfates) 0.0

[edit] Notes

While all CO2 gas output ratios are calculated to within a less than 1% margin of error(assuming total oxidation of the carbon content of fuel), ratios preceded by a Tilde (~) indicate a margin of error of up to (but no greater than) 9%. Ratios listed do not include emissions from fuelCultivation/Mining, Purification/Refining & Transportation. Fuel availability is typically 74-84.3% NET from source Energy Balance. While Uranium-235 (235U) fission produces no CO2 gas directly, the indirect fossil fuel burning processes of Mining, Milling, Refining, Moving & Radioactive waste disposal, etc. of intermediate to low-grade uranium ore concentrations produces some amount of carbon dioxide. Studies vary as to how much carbon dioxide is emitted. The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reports that nuclear produces approximately 40 g of CO2 per kilowatt hour (11 g/MJ, equivalent to 90 MJ/kg CO2e) [3]. A meta-analysis of a number of studies of nuclear CO2 lifecycle emissions by anti-nuclear activist and researcher Benjamin Sovacool finds nuclear on average produces 66 g of CO2 per kilowatt hour (18.3 g/MJ, equivalent to 55 MJ/kg CO2e) [2]. One Australian professor claims that nuclear power produces the equivalent CO2 gas emissions per MJ of netoutput-energy of a Natural Gas fired power station. Prof.Mark Diesendorf, Inst. of Environmental Studies, UNSW.

[edit] Yields of common crops associated with biofuels production

Crop Oil Oil Oil Oil (kg/ha) (L/ha) (lb/acre) (US gal/acre) Oil per seeds (kg/100 kg) (Kernel)42 62 35 - 42 32 - 36 -5 16 14 -10 12 40 - 60 10 60 - 70 -12 115 - 124 75 65 53 Melting Range (C) Oil / Methyl Ethyl Fat Ester Ester Iodine number Cetane number

Groundnut Copra Tallow Lard Corn (maize) Cashew nut Oats Lupine Kenaf Calendula Cotton Hemp Soybean Coffee Linseed (flax) Hazelnuts Euphorbia Pumpkin seed Coriander Mustard seed Camelina Sesame Safflower Rice Tung oil tree Sunflowers Cocoa (cacao)

145 148 183 195 230 256 273 305 375 386 402 405 440 449 450 481 490 585 655 696 790 800 863

172 176 217 232 273 305 325 363 446 459 478 482 524 534 536 572 583 696 779 828 940 952 1,026

129 132 163 175 205 229 244 272 335 345 359 362 393 401 402 430 438 522 585 622 705 714 771

18 19 23 25 29 33 35 39 48 49 51 51 56 57 57 61 62 74 83 88 100 102 110

(Seed)13

-1 - 0

-5 -10

-8 100 - 115 -12 125 - 140 178

55 53

14 -16 - -12 -24

35 50

-2.5 32 -18 - -17

-12

168 -14 125 - 135

52

Peanuts Opium poppy Rapeseed Olives Castor beans Pecan nuts Jojoba Jatropha Macadamia nuts Brazil nuts Avocado Coconut Chinese Tallow Oil palm Algae Crop

1,059 795 113 1,163 873 124 1,190 893 127 37 1,212 910 129 1,413 1,061 151 (Seed)50 1,791 1,344 191 1,818 1,365 194 1,892 1,420 202 2,246 1,685 240 2,392 1,795 255 2,638 1,980 282 2,689 2,018 287 4,700 500 5,000 5,950 4,465 635 20-(Kernal)36 95,000 10,000 Oil Oil Oil Oil Oil per seeds (kg/ha) (L/ha) (lb/acre) (US gal/acre) (kg/100 kg)

890 978 1,000 1,019 1,188 1,505 1,528 1,590 1,887 2,010 2,217 2,260

3 -10 - 5 -12 - -6 -18 -10 - 0 -12 - -2 -6 -8

93 97 - 115 77 - 94 85 55 - 58 60

20 - 25 20 - 40

-9 -8 - 21

-6 -8 - 18

8 - 10 12 - 95 Iodine number

70 65 - 85 Cetane number

Melting Range (C) Oil / Methyl Ethyl Fat Ester Ester

Oil per seeds = Typical oil extraction from 100 kg of oil seeds - Note: Chinese Tallow (Sapium sebiferum, or Tradica Sebifera) is also known as the "Popcorn Tree". Source: Used with permission from The Global Petroleum Club

[edit] See also

Conversion of units Energy density Heat of combustion

[edit] References

1. ^ "Bioenergy Conversion Factors". Oak Ridge National Laboratory. http://bioenergy.ornl.gov/papers/misc/energy_conv.html. Retrieved 2008-05-18. 2. ^ a b Benjamin K. Sovacool.Valuing the greenhouse gas emissions from nuclear power: A critical survey. Energy Policy, Vol. 36, 2008, p. 2950. 3. ^ a b Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (2007). "4.3.2 Nuclear energy". IPCC Fourth Assessment Report: Climate Change 2007, Working Group III Mitigation of Climate Change. http://www.ipcc.ch/publications_and_data/ar4/wg3/en/ch4s43-2.html. Retrieved 2011-02-07.

Bioenergy Biofuels Energy from foodstock Algae fuel Bagasse Babassu oil Biobutanol Biodiesel Biogas Biogasoline Cellulosic ethanol Corn stover Ethanol fuel Methanol fuel Stover Straw Vegetable oil Barley Cassava Grape Hemp Maize Oat Potato Rapeseed Rice Sorghum bicolor Soybean Sugarcane Sugar beet Sunflower Wheat Yam

Non-food energy Arundo Big bluestem Camelina Chinese tallow Duckweed Jatropha curcas Millettia crops pinnata Miscanthus giganteus Switchgrass Wood fuel Technology Concepts Bioconversion Biomass heating systems Biorefinery Fischer-Tropsch process Industrial biotechnology Pellet mill Pellet stove Thermal depolymerization Cellulosic ethanol commercialization Energy content of biofuel Energy crop Energy forestry EROEI Food vs. fuel Sustainable biofuel