The European Union is planning to completely phase out the use of palm oil in biofuel by the year 2030. Previously, palm oil was seen as very important in its use for biofuel, but the EU sees it as a major factor to deforestation, as well as there being several trade predicaments involving palm oil. Although the cultivation of palm oil is controversial regarding its sustainability, it provides much more oil for the biofuels than the alternatives being offered by the EU.

I think that since the production of biofuels is so important to the climate and sustainability crises, their production has to be a top priority. My conflict arises from the fact that the production of palm oil means the cultivation of palm trees, which do lead to a lot of deforestation and loss of biodiversity. Even so, the efficiency with which palm trees produce palm oil is unrivaled, at least with what the EU is detailing as alternatives. Because of this, I do think that we should continue to produce palm oil to eventually harness all of the power that it possesses as a biofuel. This relates to environmental science because it involves aspects of economics, politics, ethics, and chemistry, which are all big parts of environmental science.

Generating Biofuel From Wheat Straw And Saw Dust. (2019). Retrieved 29 August 2019, from
https://www.asianscientist.com/2018/04/in-the-lab/mushroom-bacteria-biofuel-
production/

A group from the National University of Singapore discovered an inexpensive way of producing a biofuel using bacteria from mushroom crop residue. This process produces an alcohol called butanol which can directly replace gasoline in cars. The bacteria used directly converts cellulose into biobutanol. The plant matter used is not necessarily for food, meaning it is very sustainable. The process is very simple and cost-effective. Researchers had to let the microorganisms evolve for two years in order to develop the specific bacterium necessary for this process.

This relates to environmental science in the sense that chemistry and biology are being implemented in order to solve our lack of natural resources which is an economic problem. I think that this discovery is very useful in how it can directly replace gasoline in cars. It is easily implemented, meaning that there is no reason not to use it as long as it becomes abundant and is efficient. Since microorganisms produce the biobutanol, the production will not cause any problems with space, as long as it is kept to a reasonable amount. Since the primary ingredient is cellulose, we have an abundance of it, as it is found in plants.

Chan, J. (2019). Fueling The Future. Retrieved 29 August 2019, from
https://www.asianscientist.com/2019/07/print/biofuel-renewable-energy-sustainability/

Companies around the world are making new biofuels. A Japanese biotechnology firm called euglena just opened up its first biodiesel production plant in October, and is now running tests for biofuel production using microalgae. In their process, the microalgae acts both as a carbon sink and biofuel source. Neste, a Finnish energy company, has put effort into creating diesel with animal fats and vegetable oil, and has created a renewable diesel. The special thing about this biodiesel is that it can be used as more than 10% in a mixture with fossil diesel, or as a standalone fuel.

I think that both of these biofuels are very helpful and important, but especially Neste’s biofuel. Neste managed to break through the conventional limits of normal biodiesels by exceeding their 10% maximum threshold. A whole new world of possibilities have opened up now that it is possible to run an engine using pure biodiesel. The goal of biodiesel fuels is no longer to reduce the amount of fossil fuels used, but now can be to completely eliminate fossil fuels from engines. This article relates to environmental science since the subcategories of chemistry and biology are implemented in both of these alternative, ecologically clean versions of a very big economic resource.

IIT Hyderabad researchers use sugar and salt to produce nanocarbon catalyst for production of
biofuel precursors. (2019). Retrieved 29 August 2019, from https://www.indiatoday.in/
education-today/news/story/iit-hyderabad-researchers-use-sugar-and-salt-to-produce
-nanocarbon-catalyst-for-production-of-biofuel-precursors-1575242-2019-07-30

The Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad has developed a fuel from salt and sugar which proved to be more effective than what they were hoping for. The process is that sugar is dehydrated with concentrated sulfur which produces a lot of heat. The heat helps sugar turn into carbon without external heating and energy. Unfortunately, the carbon that this produces is not very predictable in its structure, but as Dr. Sunil Kumar Maity added, it would be very easy to transfer to large-scale production, such as jet fuel. The salt is added to make the structure uniform.

I think that this example is a very beneficial way to make large-scale biofuels. The fact that a simple chemical reaction and a very small amount of energy are needed in order to form this biofuel is great and easily replicable. The biofuel is also made of salt and sugar, common and abundant resources worldwide, meaning that it is not only able to be replicated easily in a certain area. I am referring to the water hyacinth in Kenya, which is mostly centralized in Kenya, meaning that it might not be a very useful biofuel to other regions. This is an example of environmental science because it uses chemistry to solve an economic and ecological problem.

Conboye, J., & Hook, L. (2019). Flight shame: Airlines are under rising pressure to cut their
carbon emissions. Retrieved 29 August 2019, from https://www.latimes.com/

business/story/ 2019-08-27/flight-shame-can-airlines-ever-reduce-their-emissions

With the rising awareness of the negative effects of air travel on the environment, pressure on airlines to find alternatives to jet fuel is increasing. Domestic air travel in Sweden has decreased 3% since last year. While planes only emit 2% of carbon dioxide emissions, they also release other substances like nitrogen oxide and contrails which are harmful, in total accounting for 5% of human-caused warming. Scandinavian Airlines has pledged to run domestic flights on biofuels soon. Airlines all over Europe and a few in the US are working with biofuel companies to produce a better alternative.

This article is related to environmental science because it shows that people are willing to use modern science to provide change that will better the environment, and it falls under the subcategories chemistry, ecology, economy, and politics. Obviously, I think that it would be great to be able to fly planes on biofuels, but as pointed out in the article, the farmland needed to support all the biofuels would greatly reduce the farmland that we have for food, actually reducing calorie intake by 2100 per capita. I honestly think that the best alternative is to not fly. Planes use so much energy that a massive leap in the science of biofuels would need to be made in order to support that. 

Nakweya, G. (2019). Kenya warms to the water hyacinth as wonder source of biofuel. Retrieved
29 August 2019, from https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2019 

/aug/27/kenya-water-hyacinth-wonder-source-biofuel

In certain communities in Kenya, families rely on fishermen to bring them food, but with their rivers and bodies of water being clogged by a foreign weed called water hyacinth, that is very difficult. About 75% of Kenya’s families depend on wood or charcoal to cook their daily meals, but sometimes the women will have to walk up to 10 kilometers in a direction to find it. The water hyacinth is now being used as a biofuel, as it is very abundant, and can release a lot of energy due to its molecular structure.

This article relates to environmental science in that it explains how a village turned what was seen as an environmental nuisance into a valuable resource. They used the science of their environment to their advantage, of which there are many. First, the villagers no longer have to walk 10 kilometers to get firewood, meaning that they have more time to make money, which they have done. Second, indoor air pollution is a massive problem in Kenya due to the unhealthy and even carcinogenic smoke and gases that come from cooking food in indoor kitchens. The new system implemented pipes gas made from the fermentation and decomposition of water hyacinth to the homes to be used for cooking, and burns cleanly. The only issue with this is the issue with almost any venture to help others. Each one of the machines used for this process costs around $750, which the villages have no hope of affording, meaning that they will have to be donated for the most part. In my opinion, the implementation of this system is an incredible find for the community, and $750 in the western world is relatively little, meaning that in a successful campaign, the whole problem of finding and using fuel in rural Kenya will be solved, as long as it is used sustainably, obviously.