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 What is biofuel?

- Lucy Hargrave

Over the past couple of weeks my newsfeed has featured several articles about promising start-ups piloting new and potentially revolutionary biofuels. First was a London company, called Biobean, aiming to deliver coffee fuelled buses to the streets of our polluted capital. Next was a Scottish company, Celtic Renewables Ltd, who are pioneering fuel made from whisky residue. So, whether it is a caffeine induced car or a slight woozy one, what is a biofuel and are they any good?

The grand plan for biofuels is to replace petrol and diesel fossil fuels, which, as we all know, are derived from animal and plant matter that died millions of years ago and the burning of it is killing our planet. Biofuels, on the other hand, are most commonly harvested plants and at present consist three types of biofuel: 1. Fuel from food crops (e.g. corn, wheat and sugar); 2. Redundant by-products (e.g. coffee granules, whisky residue); 3. Algae. Each has the potential to deliver real advantages over mineral fuels, but for some there are potentially disastrous consequences.