UK government report suggests using waste instead of wheat to make biofuels
By Bob Yirka, Tech Xplore.
(Tech Xplore)—The Royal Academy of Engineering, a U.K. governmental entity has released a lengthy document called "Sustainability of liquid biofuels" outlining the current state of biofuel manufacture and use in the U.K. The group suggests that more of the fuel should be made using waste and less from regular food crops such as wheat.
Unlike the U.S. and some other countries that make biofuelmainly out of corn or sugarcane, the U.K. relies heavily on wheat and used cooking oil. But the authors of the report say using land changes as a means to grow more of the crops used to produce the fuel will likely release more emissions than continued use of gas or diesel fuel. To gain the greatest benefit, they conclude, the government will need to impose restrictions on crops grown to make it.