Costa Rica Sees Future in Bio-fuels
Even though more expensive than oil, bio-fuels -such as bio-diesel or bio-ethanol - are more expensive than the traditional gasoline or diesel, “green” fuels are worthy options, more so as petroleum becomes ever scarcer and more expensive.

University of Costa Rica chemist and expert on alternative fuels Julio Mata explained that Costa Rica already has enough know-how to produce fuels from vegetable matter, and that only the political decision is lacking to launch production.

Bio-fuel is any fuel that is derived from biomass - recently living organisms or their metabolic byproducts, such as manure from cows. It is a renewable energy source, unlike other natural resources such as petroleum, coal, and nuclear fuels.

One definition of bio-fuel is any fuel with an 80% minimum content by volume of materials derived from living organisms harvested within the ten years preceding its manufacture.

Like coal and petroleum, biomass is a form of stored solar energy. The energy of the sun is "captured" through the process of photosynthesis in growing plants. One advantage of bio-fuel in comparison to most other fuel types is it is biodegradable, and thus relatively harmless to the environment if spilled.

Agricultural products specifically grown for use as bio-fuels include corn and soybeans, as well as sugar cane and palm oil which Costa Rica has plenty of.

Biodegradable outputs from industry, agriculture, forestry, and households can also be used to produce bio-energy; examples include straw, timber, manure, rice husks, sewage, biodegradable waste, and food leftovers. These feed stocks are converted into bio-gas through anaerobic digestion. Bio-mass used as fuel often consists of underutilized types, like chaff and animal waste.

Much research is currently in progress into the utilization of microalgae as an energy source, with applications being developed for bio-diesel, ethanol, methanol, methane, and even hydrogen. On the rise is use of hemp, although politics currently restrains this technology.

One widespread use of bio-uels is in home cooking and heating.