Kick the Habit: A UN Guide to Climate Neutrality

Biofuel production

Canada

United States

China

Sweden

Germany

Poland

Denmark France Spain

Czech Republic Slovakia Austria

Colombia

India

Italy

Brazil

Thousand million litres 16,5

Sources: EarthTrends Environmental Information Portal , World Resources Institute, 2007 (using Worldwatch 2006; US Department of Energy, 2006); REN21, Renewables 2006 global status report , Worldwatch Institute; F. O. Licht world ethanol & biofuels report 2005.

0,5 2,0 0,1

Biodiesel Ethanol

beer and wine-making. Ethanol can run in an ordinary petrol car engine without modifications up to a 10 per cent blend level (some manufactur- ers warrant 5 per cent only, some warrant up to 15 per cent). In Brazil, where about 40 per cent of all fuel used is produced from sugar cane, all cars operate with engines slightly modified to run on blends up to 25 per cent ethanol. A car engine can be further modified (in its design and con- figuration) to be “flex fuel”, that is to operate on fuel blends of anywhere from 0 up to 85 per cent ethanol. Biodiesel is produced from oil, which can be sourced from oil seed crops such as rapeseed, soy bean, sunflower or jatropha and from waste oil such as cooking oil. Water and other contaminants are removed from the oil and the fatty acid content present in the oil is separated and transformed. Biodiesel can be blended with conventional diesel in vehicles, usually in a 5 per cent blend (B5).In some countries it is sold in blends up to 20 per cent (B20) or in pure form (B100) that some specially modified diesel vehicles can handle.