Biofuel

Bio-fuel is defined as all kinds of fuels at least 80% of whose content (in volume) is obtained from living organisms harvested within the last ten years. It is used in the form of biodiesel, bio-ethanol, biogas and biomass.

Biodiesel fuel type produced from animal fats and vegetable oils extracted from plants with oily seeds like canola, sunflower, soy, safflower, etc. Domestic frying oils and animal fats may also be used as biodiesel raw material. Biodiesel does not contain petroleum; but can be used as fuel in pure form or by being mixed at any ratio with petroleum-based diesel.

Flash point of biodiesel is higher than diesel (>110 °C), which makes biodiesel a safer fuel during use, transportation and storage. It also brings down the emission values of harmful gases released into the environment as a result of combustion, increases the rate of lubrication in the engine, and loosens the deposits that curtail engine power. Being plant-based, it does not aggravate the greenhouse effect since it accommodates the carbon cycle by transforming CO2 through photosynthesis.

For our country too, biodiesel is a fuel that can be used wherever diesel is used with the exception of very cold regions. While biodiesel replaces diesel fuel in the transportation sector, it can also be used in housing and manufacturing industries instead of fuel oil.

Bio-ethanol is an alternative fuel whose raw material is obtained through fermentation of sugar, starch or cellulose containing agricultural products like sugar beet, corn, wheat and other woody plants, and is used by blending at certain ratios with benzene. Used in the transportation industry in mixture with benzene, in small household appliances and chemical industry, bio-ethanol increases the oxygen level of the fuel making combustion more efficient, it reduces harmful gases in exhaust, is an environment-friendly alternative to carcinogenic substances, and it reduces exhaust emissions.

Having a total fuel-oil consumption of 22 million tons, 3 million tons of which is benzene, Turkey has an installed bio-ethanol capacity of 160 thousand tons.

Reserving of arable lands for biodiesel and bio-ethanol production, which poses a global threat against food security, is the strongest criticism against bio-fuel oriented agriculture.

Biogas is mainly methane and carbon dioxide gas which is a product of biological decomposition (of animal wastes, vegetable wastes, urban and industrial wastes) under anaerobic conditions (i.e. anaerobic fermentation). Biogas technology allows us both to obtain energy from organic wastes, and also to bring wastes back into the soil.

The amount of biogas that can be produced in Turkey, considering its animal waste potential, is reported as 1,5 to 2 MTEP (million tons equivalent of petroleum).

Our biomass sources include agriculture, forests, animals, organic urban waste, etc. While our waste potential is around 8,6 million tons equivalent of petroleum (TEP), 6 million TEP is used for heating. In 2007, the total amount energy obtained from biomass sources was 11 thousand TEP.

Source: Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources