Feature Reports
Summary Biofuel Producers and Consumers
Because biofuels are renewable energies, their development has enjoyed significant backing from policy-makers. Nevertheless, biofuels’ role in the energy landscape is limited by the lack of available arable land, their poor ecobalance and competition with food crops.
Featured Figures
BiofuelsA fuel produced from plant or animal matter. There are currently two types of biofuel... are derived from biomassIn the energy sector, biomass is defined as all organic matter of plant or animal origin... . The two main types are ethanol fuelFuel is any solid, liquid or gaseous substance or material that can be combined with an oxidant... , which is blended with gasoline, and diesterBiofuel obtained by converting plant or animal oils, such as rapeseed, sunflower or used cooking oil... , which is used as a dieselDiesel is the name of an internal combustion engine that works by compression-ignition... blend or substitute. When quantified in thousands of barrels of oil equivalent per day (barrel of oil equivalent (boe)Unit of measurement used to convert an energy content into its equivalent in volume of oil... /d), biofuel output can be compared with daily crude oilOil that has not been refined. production (1 metric ton of oil = 7 barrels). Global biofuel output rose by 3% between 2018 and 2019, driven by the United States and Brazil. Indonesia has multiplied its production by 2.5 over the past four years. Demand for ethanol is greater than that for biodiesel. The largest ethanol producers are the United States and Brazil, which are also the biggest consumers. Biodiesel production is spread more evenly across the United States, Brazil, the European Union and Argentina.
