BiofuelFuel derived from biological sourcesA sample of biodieselBiofuel is a fuel that is produced over a short time span from biomass, rather than by the very slow natural processes involved in the formation of fossil fuels such as oil. Biofuel can be produced from plants or from agricultural, domestic or industrial bio waste. Biofuels are mostly used for transportation, but can also be used for heating and electricity.
Human impact on the environmentHuman impact on the environment (or anthropogenic environmental impact) refers to changes to biophysical environments and to ecosystems, biodiversity, and natural resources caused directly or indirectly by humans.
Renewable energyEnergy collected from renewable resourcesExamples of renewable energy: concentrated solar power in Spain; wind energy in South Africa; the Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze River in China; biomass energy plant in Scotland.Renewable energy (also called green energy) is energy made from renewable natural resources that are replenished on a human timescale. The most widely used renewable energy types are solar energy, wind power, bioenergy/biomass, and hydropower.
Normalized difference vegetation indexThe normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) is a widely used metric for quantifying the health and density of vegetation using sensor data. It is calculated from spectrometric data at two specific bands: red and near-infrared. The spectrometric data is usually sourced from remote sensors, such as satellites. The metric is popular in industry because of its accuracy. It has a high correlation with the true state of vegetation on the ground.
RapeseedRapeseed (Brassica napus subsp. napus), also known as rape and oilseed rape and canola, is a yellow-flowered member of the Brassicaceae family. The plant is cultivated primarily for its oil-rich seed, which naturally contains mildly toxic erucic acid. The term canola refers to a group of rapeseed cultivars with very low levels of erucic acid that are prized as food for humans and animals.
SugarcaneSeveral species of grass used for sugar productionSaccharum officinarumSugarcane or sugar cane is a species of tall, perennial grass (in the genus Saccharum, tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugarproduction. The plants are 2–7 m (6–20 ft) tall with stout, jointed, fibrous stalks that are rich in sucrose, which accumulates in the stalk internodes.
Lignocellulosic biomassLignocellulose refers to plant dry matter (biomass), so called lignocellulosic biomass. It is the most abundantly available raw material on the Earth for the production of biofuels. It is composed of two kinds of carbohydrate polymers, cellulose and hemicellulose, and an aromatic-rich polymer called lignin. Any biomass rich in cellulose, hemicelluloses, and lignin is commonly referred to as lignocellulosic biomass. Each component has a distinct chemical behavior.
MaizeMaize (; Zea mays), also known as corn, is a tall stout grass that produces cereal grain. The leafy stalk of the plant gives rise to male inflorescences or tassels which produce pollen, and female inflorescences called ears. The ears yield grain, known as kernels or seeds. In modern commercial varieties, these are usually yellow or white; other varieties can be of many colors.
AnimalBiological kingdomAnimals are multicellular, eukaryoticorganisms belonging to the biologicalkingdomAnimalia (). Animals consume organic material, breathe oxygen, have muscle cells, can reproduce sexually, and grow from a hollow sphere of cells, the blastula, during embryonic development. With few exceptions, animals are able to move. Animals form a clade, meaning that they arose from a single common ancestor.
PlantPlants are the eukaryotic organisms that constitute the kingdom Plantae (/'plænteɪ/). They are predominantly photosynthetic or came from photosynthetic ancestors, meaning that they obtain their energy from sunlight by using the green pigment chlorophyll in their chloroplasts to produce sugars from carbon dioxide and water. Over the course of time, some plants have evolved to be parasitic, meaning they take energy from other organisms.
MicroorganismMicroscopic living organismA cluster of Escherichia coli bacteria magnified 10,000 timesA microorganism, or microbe, is an organism of microscopic size, which may exist in its single-celled form or as a colony of cells. The possible existence of unseen microbial life was suspected from antiquity, with an early attestation in Jain literature authored in 6th-century BC India.
Renewable fuelsRenewable fuels are fuels produced from renewable resources. Examples include: biofuels (e.g. Vegetable oil used as fuel, ethanol, methanol from clean energy and carbon dioxide or biomass, and biodiesel), Hydrogen fuel (when produced with renewable processes), and fully synthetic fuel (also known as electrofuel) produced from ambient carbon dioxide and water.
biomassRelated word or term.*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.