7^th International Congress on Biofuels and Bioenergy October 2-4, 2017 Toronto, Canada

Biodiesel is a form of diesel fuel manufactured from vegetable oils, animal fats, or recycled restaurant greases. It is safe, biodegradable, and produces less air pollutants than petroleum-based diesel. Biodiesel is meant to be used in standard diesel engines and is thus distinct from the vegetable and waste oils used to fuel converted diesel engines. Biodiesel can be used Biodiesel can be used in pure form, or blended with petrodiesel in any proportions. Biodiesel blends can also be used as heating oil.  It also can be obtained from Pongamia, field pennycress and jatropha and other crops such as mustard, jojoba, flax, sunflower, palm oil, coconut and hemp. Multiple economic studies have been performed regarding the economic impact of biodiesel production. One study, commissioned by the National Biodiesel Board, reported the 2011 production of biodiesel supported 39,027 jobs and more than $2.1 billion in household income. Many countries around the world are involved in the growing use and production of biofuels, such as biodiesel, as an alternative energy source to fossilfuels andoil.The surge of interest in biodiesels has highlighted a number of environmental effects associated with its use. These potentially include reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, deforestation, pollution and the rate of biodegradation. However, environmental organizations, for example, Rainforest Rescue and Greenpeace, criticize the cultivation of plants used for biodiesel production; they say the deforestation of rainforests exacerbates climate change and that sensitive ecosystems are destroyed to clear land for oil palm, soybean and sugar cane plantations. Moreover, that biofuels contribute to world hunger, seeing as arable land is no longer used for growing foods.

Biogas typically refers to a mixture of different gases produced by the breakdown of organic matter in the absence of oxygen. Biogas can be produced from raw materials such as agricultural waste, manure, municipal waste, plant material, sewage, green waste or food waste. It is a renewable energy source and in many cases exerts a very small carbon footprint. Biogas can be produced by anaerobic digestion with anaerobic bacteria, which digest material inside a closed system, or fermentation of biodegradable materials. Biogas is primarily methane (CH₄) and carbon dioxide (CO₂) and may have small amounts of hydrogen sulphide (H₂S), moisture and siloxanes .Biogas is produced as landfill gas (LFG), which is produced by the breakdown of biodegradable waste inside a landfill due to chemical reactions and microbes, or as digested gas, produced inside an anaerobic digester. By converting cow manure into methane biogas via anaerobic digestion, the millions of cattle in the United States would be able to produce 100 billion kilowatt hours of electricity, enough to power millions of homes across the United States. In fact, one cow can produce enough manure in one day to generate 3 kilowatt hours of electricity; the dangers of biogas are mostly similar to those of natural gas, but with an additional risk from the toxicity of its hydrogen sulfide fraction. Biogas can be explosive when mixed one part biogas to 8-20 parts air.

The principle fuel used as a petroleum substitute is bioethanol. Bioethanol is mainly produced by the sugar fermentation process, although it can also be produced by the chemical process of reacting ethylene with steam. The main source of sugar required to produce ethanol comes from fuel or energy crops. These fuel crops are normally grown specifically for energy use and include maize, corn and wheat crops, waste straw, willow, sawdust, reed canary grass, cord grasses, Jerusalem artichoke, Myscanthus and sorghum plants. There is also ongoing research and development into the use of municipal solid wastes to produce ethanol fuel. Brazil and the United States account for over 70 percent of all ethanol production in the world today with the USA producing an estimated 6,500 Million gallons a year. Bioethanol produces only carbon dioxide and water as the waster products on burning, and the carbon dioxide released during fermentation and combustion equals the amount removed from the atmosphere while the crop is growing This fuel is not suitable for use in all cars and you should check compatibility with your vehicle manufacturer before using it. If in doubt use the standard SP95 or SP98 Octane unleaded fuel which continues to be available alongside the new fuel. Researchers have recently launched a proposal to cultivate massive amounts of seaweed or algae. They laims that the project could occupy about ten thousand kilometers of seaweed farm and they estimated that the farm would be able to produce bioethanol from algae, as much as 20 million kiloliters or 5.3 billion gallons of bioethanol per year.

Aviation biofuel is a biofuel used for aircraft. It is considered by some to be the primary means by which the aviation industry can reduce its carbon footprint. After a multi-year technical review from aircraft makers, engine manufacturers and oil companies, biofuels were approved for commercial use in July 2011. Since then, some airlines have experimented with using of biofuels on commercial flights. The focus of the industry has now turned to second generation sustainable biofuels that do not compete with food supplies. Drop-in" biofuels are biofuels that are completely interchangeable with conventional fuels. Deriving "drop-in" jet fuel from bio-based sources is ASTM approved via two routes. The first route involves using oil which is extracted from plant sources like Jatropha, algae, tallows, other waste oils, Babassu andcamelina to produce bio-SPK (Bio derived synthetic paraffinic Kerosene) by cracking and hydroprocessing. The growing of algae to make jet fuel is a promising but still emerging technology. Companies working on algae jet fuel are Solazyme, Honeywell UOP, Solena, Sapphire Energy, Imperium Renewables, and Aquaflow Bionomic Corporation. The second route involves processing solid biomass using pyrolysis to produce pyrolysis oil or gasification to produce a syngas which is then processed into FT SPK (Fischer–Tropsch Synthetic Paraffinic Kerosene). The International Air Transport Association (IATA) supports research, development and deployment of alternative fuels. IATA thinks a 6% share of sustainable 2nd generation biofuels is achievable by 2020, and Boeing supports a target of 1% of global aviation fuels by 2015. This is in support of the goals of the aviation.

In some poor countries the rising price of vegetable oil is causing problems. Some propose that fuel only be made from non-edible vegetable oils such as Camelina, Jatropha or seashore mallow which can thrive on marginal agricultural land where many trees and crops will not grow, or would produce only low yields.

Others argue that the problem is more fundamental. Farmers may switch from producing food crops to producing biofuel crops to make more money, even if the new crops are not edible. The law of supply and demand predicts that if fewer farmers are producing food the price of food will rise. It may take some time, as farmers can take some time to change which things they are growing, but increasing demand for first generation biofuels is likely to result in price increases for many kinds of food. Some have pointed out that there are poor farmers and poor countries that are making more money because of the higher price of vegetable oil. There is ongoing research into finding more suitable crops and improving oil yield. Other sources are possible including human fecal matter, with Ghana building its first "fecal sludge-fed biodiesel plant. A group of Spanish developers working for a company called Ecofasa announced a new biofuel made from trash. The fuel is created from general urban waste which is treated by bacteria to produce fatty acids, which can be used to make biodiesel. Another approach that does not require the use of chemical for the production, it involves the use of genetically modified microbes.

A biorefinery is a facility that integrates biomass conversion processes and equipment to produce fuels, power, and chemicals from biomass. The biorefinery concept is analogous to today's petroleum refineries, which produce multiple fuels and products from petroleum. Industrial biorefineries have been identified as the most promising route to the creation of a new domestic biobased industry. By producing multiple products; a biorefinery can take advantage of the differences in biomass components and intermediates and maximize the value derived from the biomass feedstock. A biorefinery might, for example, produce one or several low-volume, but high-value, chemical products and a low-value, but high-volume liquid transportation fuel, while generating electricity and process heat for its own use and perhaps enough for sale of electricity. The high-value products enhance profitability, the high-volume fuel helps meet national energy needs, and the power production reduces costs and avoids greenhouse-gas emissions.

Bioenergy is renewable energy made accessible from materials acquired from biological origin. Biomass is any organic matter which has deposited sunlight in the form of chemical energy. As a fuel it may comprise wood, straw, wood waste, sugarcane, manure, and many other by-products from different agricultural engineering processes. In its most exclusive sense it is a synonym to biofuel, which is fuel obtained from biological sources. In its wider sense it includes biomass, the biological matter utilized as a biofuel, as well as the social, scientific, economic and technical fields related with utilizing biological sources for energy. This is a common misbelief, as bioenergy is the energy cultivated from the biomass, as the biomass is the fuel and the bioenergy is the energy stored in the fuel.

Algal biofuel is an alternative to liquid fossil fuels that uses algae as its source of energy-rich oils. Several companies and government agencies are funding efforts to reduce capital and operating costs and make algae fuel production commercially viable. Like fossil fuel, algae fuel releases CO₂ when burnt, but unlike fossil fuel, algae fuel and other biofuels only release CO₂ recently removed from the atmosphere via photosynthesis as the algae or plant grew.  With current technology available it is estimated that the cost of producing microalgal biomass is $2.95/kg for photobioreactors and $3.80/kg for open-ponds. These estimates assume that carbon dioxide is available at no cost. If the annual biomass production capacity is increased to 10000 tonnes, the cost of production per kilogram reduces to roughly $0.47 and $0.60, respectively. Assuming that the biomass contains 30% oil by weight, the cost of biomass for providing a liter of oil would be approximately $1.40 and $1.81 for photobioreactors and raceways, respectively. Oil recovered from the lower cost biomass produced in photobioreactors is estimated to cost $2.80/L, assuming the recovery process contributes 50% to the cost of the final recovered oil. Numerous Funding programs have been created with aims of promoting the use of Renewable Energy. In Canada, the ecoAgriculture biofuels capital initiative (ecoABC) provides $25 million per project to assist farmers in constructing and expanding a renewable fuel production facility. In Europe, the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7) is the main instrument for funding research. Similarly, the NER 300 is an unofficial, independent portal dedicated to renewable energy and grid integration projects.

The Bioeconomy comprises those parts of the economy that use renewable biological resources from land and sea – such as crops, forests, fish, animals and micro-organisms – to produce food, materials and energy. It is an essential alternative to the dangers and limitations of our current fossil-based economy and can be considered as the next wave in our economic development. Bioeconomy ,biobased economy, bioeconomy or biotechonomy refers to all economic activity derived from scientific and research activity focused on biotechnology. In other words, understanding mechanisms and processes at the genetic and molecular levels and applying this understanding to creating or improving industrial processes. The term is widely used by regional development agencies, international organizations, biotechnology companies. It is closely linked to the evolution of the biotechnology industry. The ability to study, understand and manipulate genetic material has been possible due to scientific breakthroughs and technological progress. The bioeconomy encompasses the production of renewable biological resources and their conversion into food, feed, bio-based products and bioenergy via innovative and efficient technologies provided by Industrial Biotechnology. It is already a reality and one that offers great opportunities and solutions to a growing number of major societal, environmental and economic challenges, including climate change mitigation, energy and food security and resource efficiency. The ultimate aim of the bioeconomy is to help keep,  innovative and prosperous by providing sustainable, smart and inclusive economic growth and jobs, and by meeting the needs of a growing population whilst protecting our environment and resources.

Advanced biofuels are fuels that can be processed from numerous types of biomass. First generation biofuels are processed from the sugars and vegetable oils formed in arable crops, which can be smoothly extracted applying conventional technology. In comparison, advanced biofuels are made from lignocellulose biomass or woody crops, agricultural residues or waste, which makes it tougher to extract the requisite fuel. Advanced biofuel technologies have been devised because first generation biofuels manufacture has major limitations. First generation biofuel processes are convenient but restrained in most cases: there is a limit above which they cannot yield enough biofuel without forbidding food supplies and biodiversity. Many first generation biofuels rely on subsidies and are not cost competitive with prevailing fossil fuels such as oil, and some of them yield only limited greenhouse gas emissions savings. When considering emissions from production and transport, life-cycle assessment from first generation biofuels usually approach those of traditional fossil fuels. Advanced biofuels can aid resolving these complications and can impart a greater proportion of global fuel supply affordably, sustainably and with larger environmental interests.