Last December, United Airlines flew from Chicago to Washington DC completely on sustainable aviation fuel. The aviation industry’s goal is to be 100% powered by biofuel by 2050. The airlines have to sign long-term contracts with bio-refineries for the plan to succeed.
According to the Environmental Leader, biofuel is made from algae, waste carbon, and corn or wood chip-based ethanol.
“Algae is a good alternative fuel source for this industry. It’s an alternate feedstock for bioethanol refinery without the need for pretreatment. It’s lower cost than coal or natural gas. It also provides for a more efficient way of carbon capture and utilization,” says Joshua Yuan, chair of Synthetic Biology and Renewable Products in the Texas A&M College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Department of Plant Pathology and Microbiology.”
The biofuels industry is currently expanding — it’s expected to grow $1.31 million between 2022 and 2026, which is a growth rate of 6.74%.
One concern regarding the biofuel industry is that its production creates more greenhouse gasses compared to using petroleum. The good news is that the report published by the US Energy Department says that the biofuels industry has manufactured 17 billion gallons of fuel so far, which prevented 544 million metric tons of CO2.
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