WHAT ARE BIOFUELS?
As this sediment sank through the Earth, the plant matter was heated and put under immense pressure. After millions of years of heating and pressing, the plants became crude oil. On land, plants that died were also covered with mud and a similar process occurred, only this time the end result was coal.
Burning these fossil fuels – which is the collective name for crude oil and coal – releases all the carbon the ancient plants absorbed when they were alive, distributing excess carbon to the atmosphere. It’s not good news for the environment, and their resources are limited.
Bio-fuels, on the other hand, are unlimited and pose no harm to the environment. Most come from the pressed seeds of farm crops. Different countries specialise in different types of Bio-fuel depending on their climate. Oilseed rape is grown in Europe whereas the US grows corn and soybeans. Sugar cane is grown for Bio-fuel in Brazil and Asia grows palm oil.
People have been pressing seeds to make oil for centuries, but it was Rudolf Diesel who first used it for machinary fuel back in 1912. He invented an engine which could run on vegetable oil, hoping to make it more attractive to farmers who could then make their own fuel…much as we at Green Dragon do today.
