Loose first generation biofuels They come from agricultural crops such as sugar cane, beets or molasses, grains such as wheat, barley or corn, or oils such as canola or soybeans. The biofuels second generation They are manufactured from organic waste, such as used cooking oil, agricultural or livestock waste and forest biomass.
“The benefits of the latter are innumerable, because they do not sacrifice agricultural land and create an advantageous economy in terms of CO₂ emissions, provided that the decomposition of abandoned organic matter produces greenhouse gases without any benefit. Moreover, if this decomposition is controlled and carried out in specific reactors for this purpose, it is possible to produce methane or ethanol, which can then later be used to generate energy or heat,” explains Roberto Gómez-Calvet, professor of economics at the university, out. University of Europe from Valencia and energy expert.
First or second generation biofuels
The European Commission has proposed a package of measures called ‘Fit for 55’ to reduce pollutant emissions over the coming decades and achieve climate neutrality by 2050. In this context, “it is a priority to continue research into reducing production costs, which are still double and even triple those of traditional fuels, thereby biofuels practically a chimera. As for the oil lobbies, we cannot expect altruistic gestures, because economic benefit is the reason for their existence,” says Gómez-Calvet.
About the recent decision of about thirty NGOs to ask Brussels to phase out support for soy biofuels that cause deforestation, the expert from the European University of Valencia explains that “soy-based biodiesel has been shown to emit up to twice as much CO₂ as the fossil diesel it replaces when indirect deforestation is taken into account.” And he adds that “in many cases, cultivated soybean varieties have been genetically modified to make them more resistant and profitable, which can cause changes in ecosystems with unpredictable consequences.”