Visit the Vega Controls UK web site
Click on the advert above to visit the company web site

Product category: Oil, Gas, Petrochemical Industry News
News Release from: IChemE (Institution of Chemical Engineers)
Edited by the Processingtalk Editorial Team on 17 March 2008

"Don't rush into binning Biofuels"

Request your FREE weekly copy of the Processingtalk email newsletter. News about Oil, Gas, Petrochemical Industry News and more every issue. Click here for details.

Dr David Brown, Chief Executive at the IChemE, has spoken out against the recent criticisms of biofuels, and warned they could still be a key source of global energy supplies in the coming years

In a letter published in last Wednesday's edition of The Times, Brown warned that a swathe of negative biofuels coverage in the media must not threaten further development: "There are both good and bad biofuels, and if we are to meet rising demands for food, fuel and industrial products, we cannot afford to ignore biofuels or simply dismiss them as wishful thinking While more research is required before we can fully understand their potential, to dismiss them all at this early stage would be ridiculous

Engineering best practice will ensure that any biofuel production that does happen will consider the totality of the new product, including the carbon footprint it creates and its impact on global food and energy supplies".

With international biofuel experts meeting at the World Biofuels Market Congress in Brussels this week, Brown went on to warn that suggesting all biofuels should be ruled out would be akin "to suggesting that we should all stop eating food because too much chocolate will rot our teeth".

Biofuels have come under increased scrutiny in recent months amidst claims first-generation biofuels are to blame for rising food prices with their production coming at the expense of growing crops for food.

IChemE (Institution of Chemical Engineers): contact details and other news
Email this article to a colleague
Register for the free Processingtalk email newsletter
Processingtalk Home Page

Search the Pro-Talk network of sites

Visit the Vega Controls UK web site