Petrochemistry and Natural Gas

Biofuels and Bioenergy

Bioenergy describes any energy source based on biological matter – everything from an dung cooking fire or a biomass power station to ethanol-based car fuel. Unlike oil, coal or gas, bioenergy counts as a renewable energy option, because plant and animal materials can be easily regenerated. At present, bioenergy accounts for the majority of renewable energy produced globally.

Bioenergy is often considered to be environmentally friendly because, in theory, the CO2 released when plants and trees are burned is balanced out by the CO2 absorbed by the new ones planted to replace those harvested. However, the environmental and social benefits of bioenergy are hotly contested – especially in the case of biofuels, which are often produced from food crops such as palm oil, corn or sugar.

The biofuels is sometimes used interchangeably with bioenergy, though more commonly it's used specifically to describe liquid bioenergy fuels such as biodiesel (a diesel substitute) and bioethanol (which can be used in petrol engines).