BioLife+Bib

Go to these websites for additional information about biofuels!

Donovan, Jennifer (2009, Oct 1). “In Search of Wildlife Friendly Biofuels.” National Science Foundation. []

By converting grasslands into corn fields for ethanol production, certain animals are losing their homes, especially birds. Donovan suggests using prairie plants already existing in grasslands for biofuels so as not to disturb the natural habitat there. The CRP, or Conservation Reserve Program, has begun paying landowners who convert agricultural lands to tree cover or grasslands to benefit wildlife. Using corn for ethanol also depletes the quality of the soil, releasing nitrogen, which flows into bodies of water when it rains, creating algal blooms and low levels of dissolved oxygen (Sanderson).

Torrey, Marguerite (2008, Dec). “The Biofuels Podcast.” Society of Tribologists and Lubrication Engineers. ProQuest Information and Learning Company. []

This podcast discusses the potential for algae as a biofuel. Algae does not compete with anything agriculturally and is essentially a “never ending” supply for a source of fuel.

Algae is an attractive source of alternate fuel for automobiles because it depletes the amount of dissolved oxygen in water, covers swimming pools, and forms scum. Algae is made up of about seventy five percent oil that can be refined into biodiesel, jet fuel, and gasoline. Algae does not compete with a human source of food, remove nitrogen from sewage waters, and can be grow even in deserts. A company called Valcent Products grows algae vertically to increase sunlight absorption producing up to 100,000 gallons of oil per acre per year.