Bioenergy and Biofuels

Bioenergy accounted for roughly ten percent of the world total primary energy supply in 2009. Most of this is consumed in developing countries, where between two and three billion people rely on solid biomass (wood, charcoal, agricultural residues and animal waste) for cooking and heating, often in open fireplaces or traditional cook stoves. Biomass refers to non-fossil material of biological origin, such as energy crops, agricultural and forestry wastes and by-products, manure or microbial biomass. Biofuel is fuel produced directly or indirectly from biomass such as fuelwood, charcoal, bioethanol, biodiesel, biogas (methane) or biohydrogen. However, most people associate biofuel with liquid biofuels (bioethanol, biodiesel and straight vegetable oil). In this note the term ”biofuels” refers to liquid biofuels used for transport. Bioenergy is energy derived from biofuels.