Types of Biofuel

Solid biofuel: A number of solid biofuel such as wood, grass and other kinds of biomass, can be used directly as a raw material that is burned to produce heat. The heat, in turn, can be used to run generators in a power plant to produce electricity.

Liquid biofuel: The liquid biofuel in greatest production is ethanol (ethyl alcohol), which is made by fermenting starch or sugar. Liquid biofuels are of particular interest because of the vast infrastructure already in place to use them, especially for transportation.The second most common liquid biofuel is biodiesel, which is made primarily from oily plants (such as the soybean or oil palm) and to a lesser extent from other oily sources (such as waste cooking fat from restaurant deep-frying),is used in diesel engines and usually blended with petroleum diesel fuel in various percentages.

Other biofuels: including methane gas and biogas—which can be derived from the decomposition of biomass in the absence of oxygen—and methanol, butanol, and dimethyl ether—which are in development.