section_path: Mainstream technologies/Bioenergy/Biofuel
section_name: Biofuel
paragraph_text: Biofuel
  
  Biofuels are primarily used in transportation, providing 3.5% of the world's transport energy demand in 2022, up from 2.7% in 2010. Biojet is expected to be important for short-term reduction of carbon dioxide emissions from long-haul flights.
  
  Aside from wood, the major sources of bioenergy are bioethanol and biodiesel. Bioethanol is usually produced by fermenting the sugar components of crops like sugarcane and maize, while biodiesel is mostly made from oils extracted from plants, such as soybean oil and corn oil. Most of the crops used to produce bioethanol and biodiesel are grown specifically for this purpose, although used cooking oil accounted for 14% of the oil used to produce biodiesel as of 2015. The biomass used to produce biofuels varies by region. Maize is the major feedstock in the United States, while sugarcane dominates in Brazil. In the European Union, where biodiesel is more common than bioethanol, rapeseed oil and palm oil are the main feedstocks. China, although it produces comparatively much less biofuel, uses mostly corn and wheat. In many countries, biofuels are either subsidized or mandated to be included in fuel mixtures.
  
  There are many other sources of bioenergy that are more niche, or not yet viable at large scales. For instance, bioethanol could be produced from the cellulosic parts of crops, rather than only the seed as is common today. Sweet sorghum may be a promising alternative source of bioethanol, due to its tolerance of a wide range of climates. Cow dung can be converted into methane. There is also a great deal of research involving algal fuel, which is attractive because algae is a non-food resource, grows around 20 times faster than most food crops, and can be grown almost anywhere.