Introduction
One of the actual problems of a modern society is the search of alternative energy sources. The energy crisis that the mankind goes through has several roots. The first is the limitation of the existing energy resources and fossil energy carriers. The second is the problems of environmental contamination. This presentation analyzes the usage of bio based materials as the sustainable solution for the existing factors for the present situation in the world.
Bio Based Materials
When addressing the issue of the bio based material, the definition of this term should be explained. The bio based materials are products which main constituent consist of a substance, or substances, originally derived from living organisms. These substances may be natural or synthesized organic compounds that exist in nature. This definition implicates materials such as leather and wood; however, mostly this term refers to modern bio based materials which are made of natural materials with the usage of the biotechnology and they are often degradable. It should be noted that many of the modern innovations use bio-based materials to create products that biodegrade.
The utilization cycle of bio based material could be summarized as follows:
- Production and manufacturing process.
- Service life and Re-usage with sub recycling technologies.
- Recycling the products.
- Disposal of the products.
- Environmental cycle which contain the earth and the bio sphere.
The advantage of the current energy resources which are the petroleum based materials mostly considers their wide expansion in people’s daily life and the adaptation of the most technological projects to their usage. On the other hand, the disadvantages of the petroleum based materials include the large energy consumption in the manufacturing, the difficulty in disposal, and the environmental effect which mostly concerns the large amount of green house gas released in processing (from manufacturing to disposal).
In contrary the bio based materials are degradable, have a lot of raw resources that available to use, user safe and friendly to the environment. From this comparison it is obvious that mostly the main advantage of the petroleum based materials is their wide spread in the most of the engineering projects.
The traditional technology in usage of bio based materials implies the handling of such materials as bamboo, hemp and straw bale. Each of the aforementioned materials has its specific property and feature that is separated between many factors. The social impact of the usage of the bamboo covers such property as the ability to overcome earthquakes which can contribute to the long life terms of the society if used as a building material. The environmental impact covers such properties such as the reliability and its being a renewable energy source. The ecological impact of the bamboo can be explained in its short growth cycle, and its wide distribution, thus it takes less time and energy to harvest.
The usage of hemp can contribute to social impacts being a strategic and military resource and its usage as a chemical ingredient. While the hemp shares the ecological impact with bamboo in its short growth cycle and wide distribution, it is high in cellulose, four times as productive as trees for paper and hydrocarbon fuels and it needs less water and fertilizer to harvest.
The straw bale is distinguished in its social impact as it gives an opportunity to learn and increase communication because it allows owner and builders to invite friends and family in building projects without previous building experience. However, burning of straw contributes to global warming; producing carbon monoxide and nitrous oxides which creates serious health problems thus contributes to the environmental impacts.
The current available bio made products include:
- Bio-based fuel – a fuel that can be made from renewable sources. Its advantages mostly are being environment friendly and socially very acceptable as the demand increase.
- Bio-based composites – products made from renewable resources and not containing any kind of petroleum stock or raw materials of wood. The advantages of the bio-based composites concern their very low density and low weight compare to petroleum composites while being environmental friendly.
Despite the advantages of the usage of the bio based materials it has several disadvantages which mostly contributes to waste of the natural resources that can consequently result in a food crisis. This fact can lead to considering other potential substitutes for the currently used bio based materials. These potential substitutes include Algae and Cellulosic ethanol which is made from wood chips, agriculture waste, and switch grass. Both of the aforementioned are wide spread and do not affect food and do not cause waste.
Conclusion
As a conclusion the goals that must be set for future implementation of the previously mentioned outlines are:
- Reduce.
- Reuse.
- Recycle.
These goals can summarize the efforts that can be made to solve the possible energy solution, therefore this concept f applied the perspectives of their implementation will address the environment issues as well as industry and energy issues.