The reporter learned that biofuels are currently dominated by ethanol fuels and biodiesel. Many experts questioned the encouragement for the development of biofuels, based on the fact that biofuels are increasingly showing signs of “fighting for food†and damaging the environment. They believe that biofuels are not green energy.
These experts suggest that the production of ethanol fuel requires a lot of food, because the production of 1 ton of ethanol requires more than 3 tons of food. Some countries in the world that have actively promoted ethanol fuel have risen in price, such as the United States, Mexico, and some countries in Asia. Ethanol is produced through corn, barley, wheat, sugar cane and sugar beets, while corn, barley, etc. are people's staple foods, and it will inevitably cause people to compete for food, leading to rising food prices. In the United States, for example, ethanol production from corn has prompted food prices to rise. In China, the incorporation of gasoline with 10% ethanol has become an important goal of China's energy substitution strategy, but the competition for food and ethanol fuel is also becoming increasingly intense. As a result, professional research institutions predict that during the “11th Five-Year Plan†period, the corn gap in China will reach 3.5 million tons. The rush to buy food sources by processing companies will inevitably lead to a substantial increase in the price of corn. Moreover, ethanol fuel is not only competing with people for food issues. Researchers have demonstrated that the environmental pollution caused by the production of ethanol fuel inhibits biodiversity and increases soil erosion. In addition, the use of non-food crops to produce ethanol also consumes more water, adding to the burden on the natural environment.
Experts also believe that even if China has a wealth of non-food biomass resources to be developed and utilized, these crops have problems in collection, storage and transportation, and there are many problems in production, such as the lack of technology, technology, and equipment. From a development point of view, biofuel technology is still difficult to solve the problem of competing for farmland and water resources. In addition, the seasonality of agricultural production and the continuity of industrial production also contradict the development of non-grain ethanol. In terms of biodiesel, China's vegetable oil resources are limited, and it is necessary to open up new oil sources such as Jatropha curcas and Jatropha curcas, or imported from abroad. It is difficult for waste oil to produce biodiesel that meets standards, and it is not suitable for large-scale production. At the same time, the cost of biodiesel production is close to twice that of petroleum diesel, and the development of biodiesel countries still needs substantial subsidies. Therefore, the development of biofuels is not optimistic.
Experts in favor of the development of biofuels believe that China is a net oil importer and its oil reserves are very limited. A lot of imported oil poses a threat to energy security. Therefore, the development of biofuels is more realistic for China. Moreover, compared with fuels such as oil and coal, biofuels have the advantages of being renewable, clean, and safe.
Experts pointed out that from a global perspective, the use of food crops to produce biofuels has little impact on the global food crisis. Some use of food crops to produce biofuels has just begun, and the blame for biofuels for rising food prices is clearly inadequate. Not only has Brazil developed the biofuel industry, it has also become one of the world’s most efficient, largest-scale and most-exported food powers. At present, Brazilian biofuels have replaced half of the fossil fuel needed for automobiles. U.S. corn is currently used to extract 1/3 of its ethanol, and gasoline sold on the U.S. market contains at least 3% of ethanol. The use of agricultural products such as corn to produce biofuels may be detrimental to food security, and the use of non-edible biological materials to produce biofuels does not pose a contradiction with food production. On the contrary, there is still great potential to be explored.
China's resources for the production of biofuels are also abundant. There are 1 billion tons of straw and forestry processing residues, 9 million hectares of woody oil plantations and pay forests, and more than 30 kinds of fuel tree species.
In order to avoid threats to food, the development of fuel ethanol in China is also shifting from a food-based raw material route to non-food. Therefore, biofuels are not a problem that should not be developed, but how to develop them. In the long run, it is beneficial to the country's economic development.
Biofuels have been widely considered as alternative energy sources for fossil fuels, but with the advent of the world food shortage crisis, the development of biofuels has been questioned by some experts. Some experts believe that the large amount of food-growing land was changed to the cultivation of biofuel crops, which led to a reduction in grain production and a rise in global food prices. Therefore, China should not encourage the development of biofuels. However, some experts also stated that biofuels are not the main cause of food price increases. The proportion of biofuel crops is very small. In the long run, the development of biofuels can evade energy risks and thus have strategic significance. For a time, it was difficult for all parties’ experts to reach a consensus on the discussion that "biofuels are a blessing or a curse". Reporter conducted an interview.