Glossary of Terms

A vocabulary of glossary terms.

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Algae: Primitive plants, usually aquatic, capable of synthesizing their own food by photosynthesis. Algae is currently being investigated as a possible feedstock for production in biodiesel, jet fuel, and other bioproducts.
B100: Pure biodiesel.
Bagasse: A sugarcane waste currently used for as a feedstock for producing ethanol.
Biobutanol: An advanced biofuel that offers a number of benefits over conventional biofuels. Biobutanol has an energy content closer to that of petroleum. It can easily be added to conventional gasoline due to low vapor pressure and can be blended at higher concentrations than ethanol for use in standard vehicle engines.
Biodegradable Plastics: Are plastics that will decompose in the natural environment.
Biodiesel: Is a biofuel produced from various feedstocks including vegetable oils (such as oilseed, rapeseed, and soy beans), animal fat or algae. It can be blended with diesel for use in diesel engine vehicles.
Bioenergy: Energy derived from any biological material that can be used as fuel; this fuel is burned or converted in systems that produce heat, electricity, or both heat and power.
Bioethanol: Also known as ethanol, is a biofuel that is traditionally produced from the fermentation of starch or sugar crops such as corn, sugar beet or sugar cane. Bioethanol can also be produced from other feedstocks such as agricultural and forestry residues and biomass crops such as switchgrass. This is known as second generation or cellulosic ethanol. Bioethanol can be blended with petroleum for use in automotive and other transportation vehicles.
Biofuel: A term that applies to any solid, liquid, or gaseous fuel produced from organic (once-living) matter. The word biofuel covers a wide range of products, some of which are commercially available today and some of which are still in research and development.
Biomass: Is biological material including human, animal, agricultural and forestry waste materials that can be converted into biofuel or bioenergy.
Biopolymers: Are produced from biomass for use in the packaging industry. Biomass crops used to produce biopolymers are classified as non-food stocks. Also known as renewable polymers.
Bioreactor: Is a vessel in which a chemical process occurs. This usually involves organisms or biochemically active substances derived from such organisms.
BTL: Is a multi-step process which converts biomass into liqiud biofuels. BTL is also referred to as a second generation biodiesel production. There are many diferent methods of BTL, but many processes include Fischer- Tropsch, hydrogenation, or pyrolysis.
Byproduct: A substance, other than the principal product, generated as a consequence of producing a biofuel. For example, a byproduct of ethanol production is DDGS, and a byproduct of biodiesel production is glycerine.
Catalyst: A substance that increases the rate of a chemical reaction, without being consumed or produced by the reaction. Enzymes are catalysts for many biochemical reactions.
Cellulose: The fibrous substance which is contained in leaves, stems, and stalks of plants and trees. It is the most abundant organic compound on earth and can be used to produce ethanol and many other bioproducts.
Cellulosic ethanol: Ethanol fuel produced from cellulose, a naturally occurring complex carbohydrate polymer commonly found in plant cell walls. It is chemically identical to ethanol from other sources, such as corn or sugar, and is available from many biomass resources including urban, agricultural, and forestry residues. Cellulosic ethanol differs from ethanol in that it requires an extra step called cellulosis, which is the breaking down of cellulose into sugars.
Cetane number: A measure of biodiesel's combustion quality.
Concentrated acid hydrolysis: A method of converting biomass into cellulosic ethanol.
Conventional biofuels: Biofuels such as biodiesel and ethanol that are made from corn, sugarcane, beet, and wheat or oilseed crops such as soybeans and canola.
Corn starch: Also known as cornflour, is the starch of the maize grain, commonly known as corn. It is also ground from the endosperm, or white heart, of the corn kernel.
DDGS: Dried distillers grain with solubles is a byproduct of dry mill ethanol production that is used as livestock feed.
E85: A mix of 85% ethanol and 15% gassoline. It is a common ethanol blend used in flex fuel vehicles.
Emissions: Any waste substances which are released into the air or water.
Endosperm: The albumin tissue produced in the seeds of most flowering plants around the time of fertilization. It surrounds the embryo and provides nutrition in the form of starch, though it can also contain oils or protein.
Energy crop: A plant domesticated for use in agriculture and is produced as low cost and low maintanance feedstock to be used for biofuels or directly exploited for its energy content.
Enzyme: A protein or protein-based molecule that speeds up chemical reactions occurring in living things. They also act as catalysts for a single reation, converting a specific set of reactants into specific products, such as biofuels for example.
Ethanol: Also known as bioethanol, is a biofuel that is traditionally produced from the fermentation of starch or sugar crops such as corn, sugar beet or sugar cane. Ethanol can also be produced from other feedstocks such as agricultural residues and biomass crops such as switchgrass. This is known as second generation or cellulosic ethanol. Ethanol can be blended with petroleum for use in vehicles.
FAME: Another name for fatty acid methyl ester that can be created by a catalysed reaction between fatty acids and methanol. The molecules in biodiesel are primarily FAMEs, usually obtained from vegetable oils by transesterification.
Fatty acid: A carboxylic acid with long hydrocarbon side chains. Feedstocks are first converted to fatty acids and then to biodiesel.
Feedstock: Any biomass resource destined for conversion to energy or biofuel. For example, corn and sugar cane are feedstocks for ethanol production, soybean and canola oils are feedstocks for biodiesel production, and switchgrass and forestry or wood waste are feedstocks for cellulosic ethanol production.
Fermentation: A biochemical reaction that breaks down complex organic molecules such as hydrocarbons into simpler materials like ethanol, CO2, and water. Bacteria and yeast can ferment sugars into ethanol.
FFVs: Known as flex fuel vehicles, are vehicles that can use either E85 or gasoline interchangeably.
Fischer-Tropsch: A method of producing renewable transportation fuels (biofuels) from natural gas or syngas, as well as gasified coal or biomass.
Glycerine: A liquid byproduct of biodiesel production that can be used in the manufacture of cosmetics, soaps, inks, and lubricants.
Green chemistry: Also known as sustainable chemistry, is a chemical philosophy encouraging the design of products and processes that reduce or eliminate the use and generation of hazardous substances.
GTL: Or gas to liquid, is a refinery process which converts natural gas into longer-chain hydrocarbons. Gas can be converted to liquid fuels via a direct conversion or using a process such as Fischer-Tropsch.
Hydrolysis: A chemical reaction that releases sugars, which are normally linked together in complex chains as in ethanol production. Here hydrolysis reactions are used to break down cellulose and hemicellulose in biomass.
Iodine value: A measure of the number of unsaturated carbon-carbon double bonds in a vegetable oil molecule. In liquid biofuel this gives a lower cloud point. Wile this makes for use in cooler temperatures, double bonds can allow polymerisation, leading to the formation of lacquers and possibly blockage and damage to engine or fuel train components.
LEED: An acronym for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, a certification program of the United States Green Building Council. LEED has a rating system for new buildings that are constructed to have less of an impact on the environment and are healthier for those who work in them.
Methanol: An alcohol containing one carbon atom per molecule, generally made from natural gas, with about half the energy density of petroleum. Methanol is used as a component in the transesterification of triglycerides to give a form of biodiesel.
Miscanthus: Is a genus of about 15 species of perennial grasses native to subtropical and tropical regions of Africa and southern Asia. The rapid growth, low mineral content and high biomass yield of Miscanthus makes it a favorite choice as an ethanol feedstock, Miscanthus is also known as elephant grass.
MTBE: MTBE, or methyl tertiary-butyl ether, is created from methanol and can increase octane and decrease the volatility of petroleum. It is often used as a petroleum additive because it raises the oxygen content of the fuel.
Nitrogen Oxides: Are a product of photochemical reactions of nitric oxide in ambient air, and are one type of emission produces from fuels.
Non Food Crop: Is an agricultural crop used for applications other than human (as food) or animal consumption (as feed).
Octane number: The octane rating of a fuel is indicated on the pump. The higher the number, the slower the fuel burns. Ethanol typically adds two to three octane numbers when blended with ordinary petroleum – making it a cost-effective octane-enhancer.
Palm oil: Is a form of vegetable oil obtained from the fruit of the oil palm tree. It is a widely used feedstock The palm oil and palm kernel oil are composed of fatty acids, esterified with glycerol just like any ordinary fat. Palm oil is a widely used feedstock for traditional biodiesel production.
Petroleum: Refers to any petroleum-based substance comprising of a complex blend of hydrocarbons derived from crude oil through the process of separation, conversion, upgrading, and finishing, including motor fuel, jet oil, lubricants, petroleum solvents, and used oil.
PLA: Polylactic acid or polylactide is a biodegradable, thermoplastic, aliphatic polyester derived from renewable resources, such as corn starch (in the U.S.) or sugarcanes (rest of world).
Pyrolysis: Is one method of converting biomass into biodiesel, using heat.
Pyrolysis oil: Is a bio-oil produced by fast pyrolysis of biomass. It is a dark brown, mobile liquid containing much of the energy content of the original biomass, with a heating value about half that of conventional fuel oil. Conversion of raw biomass to pyrolysis oil represents a considerable increase in energy density and it can thus represent a more efficient form in which to transport it.
Rapeseed: Rapeseed (Brassica napus), also known as rape, oilseed rape or (one particular artificial variety) canola, is a bright yellow flowering member of the family Brassicaceae (mustard or cabbage family). Rapeseed is a tradition feedstock used for biodiesel production.
RFS: RFS, or The Renewable Fuel Standard is a U.S. program that will increase the volume of renewable fuel required to be blended into gasoline to 7.5 billion gallons by 2012. The RFS program was developed in collaboration with refiners, renewable fuel producers, and many other stakeholders.
RTFO: The Renewable Transport Fuels Obligation, is a UK policy that places an obligation on fuel suppliers to ensure that a certain percentage of their aggregate sales is made up of biofuels. The effect of this will be to require 5% of all UK fuel sold on UK forecourts to come from a renewable source by 2010.
Second generation biofuels: Are usually considered to be biofuels produced from biomass or non-edible feedstocks.
Starch: Is used in the manufacturing of adhesives, paper, textiles. It is a white powder, and depending on the source, may be tasteless and odorless.
Sustainable Chemistry: Also called green chemistry, is a chemical philosophy encouraging the design of products and processes that reduce or eliminate the use and generation of hazardous substances.
Switchgrass: Is native to the US and known for its hardiness and rapid growth. It is often cited as a potentially abundant second generation feedstock for ethanol
Syngas: Is a mixture of carbon monoxide (CO) and hydrogen (H2) which is the product of high temperature gasification of organic material such as biomass. Following clean-up to remove any impurities such as tars, synthesis gas (syngas) can be used to synthesise organic molecules such as synthetic natural gas (SNG - methane (CH4)) or liquid biofuels such as synthetic diesel (via Fischer-Tropsch synthesis).
Tallow: Is another name for animal fat, which can be used as a feedstock for biodiesel production.
Thermoplastic: Is a plastic that melts to a liquid when heated and freezes to a brittle, very glassy state when cooled sufficiently.
Transesterification: The name biodiesel has been given to transesterified vegetable oil to describe its use as a diesel fuel. The transesterification process involves mixing at room temperature methanol (50% excess) with NaOH (100% excess), then mixing vigorously with vegetable oil and letting the glycerol settle (about 15% of the biodiesel mix). The supernatant is biodiesel and contains a mixture of methylated fatty acids and methanol.
VOC: Volatile Organic Compounds, are air pollutants found in engine exhaust. Ethanol helps reduce VOC emissions.
Wet mill: Is an ethanol production facility in which the corn is first soaked in water before processing. In addition to Ethanol, wet mills have the ability to produce by-products such as industrial starch, food starch, high fructose corn syrup, gluten feed and corn oils
Yeast: Is any of various single-cell fungi capable of fermenting carbohydrates.ethanol is produced by fermenting sugars with yeast.