Fossil fuels including coal, oil and natural gas, are currently the world’s main energy sources. Formed from organic material from ancient times, they were an indisputable source of energy over six decades ago until the energy crisis in the 1970s. The dramatic increase in oil prices at this time, along with increasing evidence of the links between climate change and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions have awakened the interest in alternative energy sources. In recent years, bioethanol has become a promising alternative to fossil fuel in the transportation sector. It is generally classified into 1st, 2nd and 3rd generation. The 1st generation is produced on a commercial scale worldwide, using mainly corn, sugarcane and wheat, but it can also use sweet potato, cassava and sweet sorghum. Its production amounted to over 13 billion gallons in 2007 and to 27 billion gallons in 2017.

References

1. Renewable Fuels Association. 
2. US Energy Information Administration. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalizes Renewable Fuel Standard for 2019, Reflecting Cellulosic Biofuel Shortfalls (2018). 
3. Barros S., et al. “Global Agricultural Information Network (GAIN) Report Number: BR19029; US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Foreign Agricultural Service: Washington, DC, USA (2019). 
4. Padella M., et al. “What is still limiting the deployment of cellulosic ethanol? Analysis of the current status of the sector”. Applied Sciences (2019). 

Citation

Citation: Isadora Ferreira. “2G Bioethanol". Acta Scientific Biotechnology 1.6 (2020): 01-02.