ABSTRACT
World energy use has been predicted to increase five-fold by the end of the century (Huesemann, 2006). While today, about 80% of the energy demand is met from fossil fuels, their stocks are rapidly depleting and production costs are rising. Further, the increasing concern over the environmental impact of burning fossil fuels and its link to climate change has necessitated the development and use of alternative energy sources that are sustainable and renewable. Hydro, solar, wind and biomass are being exploited to reduce the use of fossil fuels, though the use of combustible biomass resources, i.e. biofuels, will also play an important role contributing to fossil fuel replacement. The advantage of biofuels is that they enable energy to be chemically stored, and derivatives can be used within existing engines and transportation infrastructure by blending with conventional fuels, e.g. petroleum diesel (Amaro et al., 2011). However, some consider that the light blending at current levels (e.g. E10) is actually a fossil fuel enhancer, and does little to encourage competitive substitution of biofuels for fossil fuels (Batten, 2008).
