STEM-based training – how e-learning biofuels can land you tomorrow’s green jobs
July 05, 2021
Have you ever seen a flexible-fuel vehicle (FFV)? These vehicles can run on gasoline-ethanol blends of up to 85 percent ethanol (E85). Ethanol is an organic chemical compound and is also considered as a transportation fuel or biofuel by blending with gasoline. In the industry, such gasoline-ethanol blends are termed low-ethanol blends – E5 or E10 – or high gasoline-ethanol blend such as E85.
E5 fuel simply represents gasoline-ethanol blend that has up to 5 percent renewable ethanol, while E10 gasoline-ethanol blend contains 10 percent renewable ethanol. This addition of ethanol to gasoline reduces the demand for gasoline, a fossil fuel. The gasoline-ethanol blend also reduces the green-house gas emissions, after combustion. This ensures a cleaner environment by reducing the global warming effects of gasoline.
E5, E10 or E85 fuels are produced by blending gasoline with ethanol. The process of blending is simply done by adding a certain percentage of ethanol to gasoline to form a mixture, a blend, or a new kind of fuel, encoded as E5, E10 or E85 depending on the percentage of ethanol added.
The car and vehicle manufacturing industry is now designing many vehicles that are compatible with high gasoline-ethanol blend E85, suggesting their ever-increasing demand along with low-ethanol blends such as E5 and E10.
With biofuels gaining more attention, only those who are knowledgeable and have training about these new kinds of transportation fuels can benefit from it. Therefore, as a high school or college student, you should be thoroughly informed about biofuels, if you plan to advance your career and grab the vast job opportunities available in the biofuel industry.
That is the essence of this blog, to show why you need to take a e-learning biofuel-related curriculum that will open you up to job opportunities. This blog also talks about biofuel online learning or e-learning biofuels program that you can take from the comfort of your home.
What are biofuels?
Biofuels are energy sources obtained from biomass such as plants, animals, and even algae. Unlike fossil fuels – such as petroleum, natural gas, and coal – biofuels are sourced from natural materials that can be replenished. Therefore, biofuels are classified as renewable energy sources.
Introducing biodiesel
Ethanol, however, is not the only liquid biofuel in use today. Biodiesel is another alternative, with a wide application. As a liquid biofuel, biodiesel is a renewable, clean-burning diesel replacement that can be used in existing diesel engines without modification.
A biodiesel blend is a mixture of biodiesel fuel meeting ASTM D 6751 with petroleum-based diesel fuel, designated Bxx, for example, B20. In this case, xx represents the percentage volume of biodiesel fuel in the blend.
Biodiesel is produced or sourced from cooking oil and animal fats as well as from renewable plant materials (biomass) like plant oils (such as coconut oil, sunflower, hemp, and palm, to name a few) – click here to see more information.
About bioethanol
Ethanol – whose formula is C2H5OH – is an organic chemical compound and is also known as ethyl alcohol. Ethanol is also a liquid biofuel, primarily used as a blend, mixed with gasoline to power vehicle engines. Nowadays, Ethanol is the most produced liquid biofuel., manufactured via a fermentation process of starch or sugar. Therefore, the sources of ethanol are natural products rich in starch such as corn or sugarcane. Ethanol produced from such biomass is called bioethanol.
Manufacturing process of biodiesel
Similarly, have you ever considered the manufacturing process involved in producing biodiesel?
Transesterification is the process of making biodiesel, which involves the reaction between the oil, animal fat, alcohol, and catalyst.
This process yields ester as the biodiesel and another by-product called glycerol.
The process looks seamless and easy but requires adequate knowledge about chemical reactions and reaction conditions. This is where an education program comes in handy as it is not just about mixing chemicals.
Production data of biofuel in the US and Canada
According to recent data about biofuel (biodiesel and ethanol) in Canada, biofuel production has increased in the last few years. In 2018, the national annual ethanol consumption was 3.03 billion liters, while biodiesel consumption was 711 million liters. Both these consumptions led to 5.6 metric tons of fewer greenhouse gas emissions in 2018.
Annual biodiesel production in the United States, as per recent (January 2020) data (https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy), was 2.5 billion gallons. Similar data also shows that bioethanol production was 17.3 billion gallons.
Why should you learn about biofuels?
The world has chosen the “green path” for a sustainable environment. This simply means that, in terms of energy sources, people are choosing renewable energy in place of fossil fuels. Inevitably, careers and jobs are tilting towards this new direction too.
Biofuel is a new type of transportation fuel for now and for the future. Its use reduces the demand for gasoline and diesel today, and biofuel will eventually reign when the world will consume most of its fossil fuels in the foreseeable future.
As a high school or college student, you should educate yourselves on these new types of transportation fuel or biofuel.
Acquiring technology-related STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) education in the areas of biofuel presents an excellent opportunity for you to become a responsible citizen of the world. This learning and training expand your career path (by going to college and university) or helps to tap into the vast job market of the renewable energy sector, which should further prosper in the next few years. Regardless of what career path you are treading, the biofuel industry is one worth venturing into a new job-seeking adventure.
As the demands for more biofuels increase, the industry will need more trained people including technicians, engineers, production engineers, storage technicians, and truckers. When you learn biofuel, you will learn about its production, storage, and delivery to biofuel pumps for its uses.
We may say that STEM education is essential for students like you. As you amass knowledge about biofuels, you can start a career, get a job, or become an entrepreneur.
Types of jobs in the biofuels industry
The relevance of biofuel as an energy source – or particularly, as a transportation fuel – has made it a vital topic of discussion. This is not only because of (partially) replacing fossil fuels but the growth of biofuels promises a new direction for job or employment opportunities, especially for young citizens.
The biofuel industry is currently a robust one with many job opportunities for a broad range of workers. Many occupations are benefiting from the growth potential of the biofuel industry. Therefore you, as a student, should be aware of learning and training for a better future tomorrow.
The biofuel industry engages scientists and engineers to carry out research and development.
Also, the industry employs construction workers to build plants and help in updating infrastructures. Agricultural workers are also not left out as they are employed to cultivate and harvest feedstock.
The industry also employs plant workers to process the feedstocks into fuel.
Marketing and Sales professionals work on the promotion and communication/outreach of biofuels as a new transportation fuel along with sales.
E-learning biofuels – how does it help you?
An e-learning biofuels program can lead you to explore this important area from the comfort of your home. If you are currently a high school student, you can learn online about biofuels from a high-quality website such as www.renewableenergyonline.org/ and explore this area for your career path. You may decide right now whether going to a college or university and spending thousands and spending two to four years in school will be what you plan to do after your high-school graduation. With a high-quality e-learning program, you can also explore different kinds of jobs that are currently available and will be available in the future in the areas of biofuels.
Similarly, if you are a college student, you may be trying to choose an elective course that determines your career prospects after the completion of your college diploma. Choosing the best skill-development elective course may be quite challenging. You are, however, aware that STEM-based courses are in high demand these days because of job opportunities. Such courses involve renewable energy courses (such as www.renewableenergyonline.org/) that include biofuel as a next-generation transportation fuel. Due to the innovative trends of energy production and application, renewable energy technologies are gaining more ground. This is one reason why students should show interest in taking up and learning courses in this area. As a college student, you can benefit significantly from taking up e-learning biofuels courses available on renewableenergyonline.org.
Even if you are already doing a job, e-learning is an ideal option as time and distance will not deter you from taking this learning path.
Conclusion
We are all working together to make the world environment-friendly and energy-secure (when fossil fuels exhaust). So, the biofuel industry is growing; and this industry will need trained people in the coming years. When you learn biofuel, you explore a new career path or explore future job opportunities. An e-learning program on biofuels can lead you to explore this important area from the comfort of your home.