Biofuels can be defined as combustible fuels produced from biomass. These fuels are generally in the form of alcohols, esters, ethers, and other chemicals produced from biomass. The major fuels of global interest are liquid biofuels in the form of bioethanol (as a petrol/gasoline equivalent) and biodiesel (as a diesel equivalent).
Liquid biofuels are not new. In 1826, Samuel Morey developed an engine that ran on ethanol and turpentine. In 1860, German engine inventor Nicholas Otto used ethanol as the fuel in one of his engines. Otto is best known for his development of a modern internal combustion engine (the Otto Cycle) in 1876. In 1898, Rudolf Diesel premiered the diesel engine at the World’s Exhibition in Paris to run on peanut oil , . The fuels were not previously on the market generally because they could not, in terms of price, compete with fossil fuels.
For more info see:
1. Mittelbach M and Remschmidt C. 2005. “Biodiesel: the comprehensive handbook”. Institute for Chemistry, Karl-Franzens University Kraz, Austria.
2. Wikipedia Article on Biofuel, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biofuel
