The Prospects of Biofuels in Complementing the Nigeria’s Energy Needs

摘要

Global concerns about the depletion of the world's non-renewable energy sources and the associated environmental impact of fossil fuels provided the incentives to seek alternatives to petroleum based fuels. This has led to the emergence of biofuels which are renewable energy produced from organic matter by converting the complex carbohydrates in organic matter into energy. Biofuels are biodegradable and produce less CO_2 and NO_x emissions, thus not contributing to the monster-climate change. Continuous use of petroleum sourced and fossil fuels are widely recognized as unsustainable because of depletion supplies and extinction with time. Energy is a very important ingredient for sustainable development and growth of any economy like Nigeria. Apart from the basic needs of employment, food, health service, education, housing, roads, clean water and sanitation, energy ranks number one in playing an important role in economic sustainability. This paper therefore looks at biofuels production from various sources and its place in complementing Nigeria's energy needs; advantages of biofuels over fossil fuels and the future prospects of biofuels.