Economic, social, and environmental aspects of using biofuels

One of the most important issues that all the countries of the world are dealing with today is the issue of energy supply. Energy supply is one of the most basic prerequisites for social development and economic growth of many societies, especially developing countries, and access to economically sustainable and environmentally friendly energy sources seems necessary in today''''s conditions. The decrease in fossil resource reserves and the increase in the price of oil and its products, as well as the need to pay attention to the reduction of environmental pollution caused by fossil fuels, have encouraged the countries of the world to use renewable and clean energies. Biofuels are one of the renewable resources that have attracted the attention of many European and American countries. Substitution of fossil fuels with biofuels has the potential to reduce some of the adverse environmental impacts of fossil fuel production and use, including emissions of conventional pollutants and greenhouse gases, depletion of finite resources, and dependence on unstable external suppliers. In addition to environmental benefits, the use of suitable biofuels can bring economic benefits such as reducing agricultural surplus reserves, reducing unemployment and dependence on imported oil, rural development, sustainable agriculture, etc. In the current study, after introducing and expressing the characteristics of two common biofuels, biodiesel and bioethanol, the general advantages and disadvantages of using biofuels, the economic, social and environmental considerations of using biofuels have been discussed.