Bio-fuels

36 Pages·2007·0.776 MB·English

by  Frank Muschal

POWER UP!
Bio-fuels

POWER UP!
Bio-fuels
Frank Muschal
Cher r y Lake Publishing
Ann Ar bor, Michigan
0P1u)b Blisohdeyd | iCn otphye rUignhitt eTde xSttates of America by Cherry Lake Publishing
Ann Arbor, MI
www.cherrylakepublishing.c0o1m) Body | Copyright Text, Centered
Photo Credits: Page 10, Photo Courtesy of Library of Congress
01) Body | ISBN
Copyright ©2008 by Cherry Lake Publishing
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any
form or by any means without written permission from the publisher.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Muschal, Frank.
Bio-fuels / by Frank Muschal.
p. cm. — (Power up!)
Includes index.
ISBN-13: 978-1-60279-045-2 (lib. bdg.) 978-1-60279-094-0 (pbk.)
ISBN-10: 1-60279-045-0 (lib. bdg.) 1-60279-094-9 (pbk.)
1. Biomass energy—Juvenile literature. I. Title. II. Series.
TP339.M87 2008
662’.88—dc22 2007005618
Cherry Lake Publishing would like to acknowledge the work of
The Partnership for 21st Century Skills.
Please visit www.21stcenturyskills.org for more information.
Table of Contents
C H A P T E R O N E
Bio-fuels 4
C H A P T E R T W O
Bio-diesel 7
C H A P T E R T H R E E
Ethanol 10
C H A P T E R F O U R
Bio-methane 15
C H A P T E R F I V E
Into the Future 26
Glossary 30
For More Information 31
Index 32
CHAPTER ONE
Bio-fuels
Corn grows well in much of the United States, but
especially in states such as Iowa and Illinois.
M
ost Americans agree that we need new sources of energy. Even though
the U.S. has somepetroleum resources, we don’t have enough for our
needs. Much of the petroleum we use comes from other countries, and
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21st CENTURY SKILLS LIBRARY
it’s getting expensive. We do have lots of coal, but
earning
I
&
burning it can cause lots of air pollution. nnovation
Skills
Creating energy
Fortunately, other energy sources are being studied.
from animal waste
is not a new idea.
Solar power, wind power, and tidal power are some of In the 1800s,
people on the
Great Plains often
them. However, bio-fuels are the most promising.
used buffalo chips
(manure) as a
Bio-fuel is any fuel produced from organic matter. cooking fuel. The
joke was that steaks
cooked over buffalo
When organic matter is used in the production of
chips required no
pepper. Do you
this fuel, it is called biomass. It can be made from
already use bio-
fuels at your house?
crops that are widely grown in the United States. Hint: If you have a
fireplace, what do
you burn in it?
They include corn and soybeans. It can also be made
from other crops such as sugar cane. Biomass can
also come from processed animal fats, solid waste,
and many industrial wastes.
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POWER UP!Bio-fuels
21 Bio-fuels get their energy from the sun. So did
st
Century
C
ontent the coal, petroleum, and natural gas that Americans
The export of
use in huge amounts every day. However, coal,
petroleum products
is the major segment
of the economy petroleum, and natural gas take millions of years to
for countries such
as Saudi Arabia,
be created. Some bio-fuels can be made in less than
Venezuela, Mexico,
and Nigeria. How
do you think these a year. There are three major types of bio-fuel:
countries view
the development of
bio-diesel, bio-methane,andethanol. Each type has
bio-fuel?
its own process and ingredients.
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21st CENTURY SKILLS LIBRARY
CHAPTER TWO
Bio-diesel
Many of America’s favorite foods contain large amounts of fats and oils.
B
io-diesel is made chiefl y from animal fats and vegetable oils. Even
recycled cooking oil can be used to make bio-diesel. The oils and fats are
combined with alcohol and acatalyst to produce bio-diesel.
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POWER UP!Bio-fuels
When cars use this fuel, their exhaust often has a
earning
I
&
nnovation pleasant smell, similar to food that is cooking. That’s
Skills
In 1912, Rudolph
a big improvement over the exhaust of cars running
Diesel, the inventor
of the diesel
engine, predicted on petroleum-based fuels. Of course, people near a
that vegetable oil
would become as
bio-diesel car might get hungry from the aroma!
important a fuel as
petroleum. Why
do you think it has Diesel engines are good for heavy-duty jobs like
taken almost a
century for Diesel’s
pulling trains and propelling ocean liners, and bio-
prediction to start
coming true?
diesel can be used in these engines. The bio-diesel
can be as little as 5 percent or as much as 100 percent
of the total fuel. The more bio-diesel that is in the
blend, the more effi ciently the engines will run.
However, they do need some changes to run on
100 percent bio-diesel fuel. Engines running on lower
percentages of bio-diesel do not.
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21st CENTURY SKILLS LIBRARY