Implication of Biofuels on Society.
Burning of biofuels
Biofuels are a renewable source of energy and when selected properly they can reduce harmful emissions when they are burnt. However, of these biofuels are not burnt completely they can produce harmuful emissions such as carbon monoxide etc.
Burning of Biodiesels
The main issue with burning biodiesels is the production of nitrogen compounds, mainly the production of nitric oxides which are very tosic to the environment and it can contribute to acid rain. By varying the temperature of the burning of biodiesels, the amount of nitric oxide produced will reduce however soot will be produced instead.
Burning of Ethanol
Alcohols contain little to no sulfur thus very little sulfuric compounds will be produced from the combustion of ethanol. However. they are produced from plants thus they will contain large amounts of nitrogen which will lead to the same problem seen in biodiesels.
Moreover, if ethanol is burnt under poor combustion conditions, the amount of environmentally harmful substances produced is even greater than the inefficient combustion of petroleum.
Thus the use of biofuels as an energy source may in fact produce more environmental pollutants than its counterparts, petrodiesel.
Production of Biomass for making biofuels
The production of biomass for the making of biofuels will result in rising food prices due to the lack of land mass for growing of food crops.
When land is used for making biomass for biofuels instead of food, it reduces the supply of food which may not be enough to meet the demand thus resulting in an increase in food prices. With the competition between food and biofuels for land space, the production of biofuels may not be able to meet the world’s growing energy demands.
http://www.biofuelsreform.org/social-impact-of-biofuels.html