biofuel

[bahy-oh-fyoo-uh l] /ˈbaɪ oʊˌfyu əl/
noun
1.
fuel, as wood or ethanol, derived from biomass.
Origin of biofuel
1970-75; bio- + fuel
Examples from the web for biofuel
  • How scarcity, affluence, and biofuel production are wreaking havoc on food prices.
  • The oil-rich countries may not seem the likeliest patrons of research on solar or wind or biofuel energy.
  • One way to cut the cost may be to tinker with the plants that biofuel is made from.
  • When it's processed, that oil can be turned into biofuel, an alternative energy source.
  • Of course the price of corn has little impact on it, that's why biofuel proponents use it as an example.
  • However, defining biofuel strictly as ethanol is a big mistake, albeit an honest one.
  • Seaweed may well be an ideal plant to turn into biofuel.
  • Every biofuel also consumes crops that could be feeding a hungry globe.
  • The algae's fatty oils could then be harvested as energy-rich biofuel.
  • The price of crude oil has created a growing market for palm oil biofuel.
British Dictionary definitions for biofuel

biofuel

/ˈbaɪəʊˌfjʊəl/
noun
1.
a gaseous, liquid, or solid substance of biological origin that is used as a fuel
Word Origin and History for biofuel
n.

also bio-fuel, by 1984, from bio- + fuel (n.).

biofuel in Science
biofuel
  (bī'ō-fy'əl)   
Fuel produced from renewable resources, especially plant biomass, vegetable oils, and treated municipal and industrial wastes. Biofuels are considered neutral with respect to the emission of carbon dioxide because the carbon dioxide given off by burning them is balanced by the carbon dioxide absorbed by the plants that are grown to produce them. The use of biofuels as an additive to petroleum-based fuels can also result in cleaner burning with less emission of carbon monoxide and particulates. ◇ Ethanol produced by fermenting the sugars in biomass materials such as corn and agricultural residues is known as bioethanol. Bioethanol is used in internal-combustion engines either in pure form or more often as a gasoline additive. ◇ Biodiesel is made by processing vegetable oils and other fats and is also used either in pure form or as an additive to petroleum-based diesel fuel. ◇ Biogas is a mixture of methane and carbon dioxide produced by the anaerobic decomposition of organic matter such as sewage and municipal wastes by bacteria. It is used especially in the generation of hot water and electricity.