Is bioenergy America’s energy future?

Is bioenergy America’s energy future?

Bioenergy is America’s energy future for various reasons. One of them is that it provides the potential to supply domestic clean energy sources. Therefore, America will be exposed to limited levels of pollution, otherwise, brought about with the use of unclean sources like fossil fuels. The investment of bioenergy will, therefore, bear a positive impact on the environment significantly. Also, the US is likely to invest more in biofuel in the future so to reduce its level of dependence on foreign oil (Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy, 2020). The situation will enable the US to attain some level of sufficiency, which will be essential in boosting its sustainability. Also, where one billion tons of biomass is produced in the US, there will be the creation of 1.1 million jobs to the US economy. Therefore, the household income of people in the US will increase significantly.

Why should we assess land change issues in the context of bioenergy? 

We should assess land change issues in the context of bioenergy so to establish the specific crops which we could invest in so to ensure that there is an increased production of biofuel. Some crops are established to be sources of biofuel. Therefore, it is necessary to focus more on these crops with the need to increase upon the chances of production of sufficient amounts of bioenergy (NRCS, 2020). It is also necessary to invest in plants that take significantly shorter periods. For instance, wood cultivation is a wrong idea because it involves significant levels of risks and ties large tracts of land for up to 10 years.

However, the cultivation of herbaceous annuls appears to be preferable as farmers can harvest them often. Harvesting of the plants can begin one season after planting. Therefore, it offers farmers significant levels of opportunities.

What is food versus fuel debate?

The food versus fuel debate entails the idea that an investment in biofuels means that large tracts of land where food crops were grown would have to be sacrificed. Therefore, an increase in the bioenergy level of production indicates that there is bound to be a challenge concerning the amount of food that is produced (FAO, 2012). Also, an investment in biofuels means that there is a chance of reduction of available water. Water is necessary for food production. Therefore, the situation would serve significant levels of harm to the amount of food that is bound to be produced eventually. The impact will serve a considerable degree of damage to the concept of food sustainability. Therefore, a significant level of balance needs to be attained.

Explain co-firing and co-products briefly in the context of bioenergy?

Co-firing entails the burning of two or more types of material at the same time to produce energy. Solid mixtures may be put together inside a combustion chamber and, after that, heated up (NRCS, 2020). The aim is to produce large amounts of energy through the use of small quantities of materials of interest. The situation contributes positively to proper resource use. It leads to the production of large amounts of energy at a lower cost. Co-products are two or more elements that are created from a particular process. For instance, the reaction of oil crops such as soybeans or sunflowers with sodium hydroxide and methanol leads to the production of biodiesel and glycerol.

 

 

 

References

FAO. (2012). Bioenergy and biofuels http://www.fao.org/fileadmin/templates/nr/sustainability_pathways/docs/Factsheet_BIOENERGY.pdf

NRCS. (2020). Biomass for On-Farm Energy https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/nrcs141p2_023114.pdf

Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy. (2020). Bioenergy https://www.energy.gov/eere/bioenergy/bioenergy-basics