What Fuel Is Made From Plants?

Biofuel—especially ethanol and biodiesel—is fuel made from plants; other plant-derived options include renewable diesel, sustainable aviation fuel, and biomethane. These fuels are produced from crops, plant oils, and agricultural residues, and they can power cars, trucks, planes, and even inject into gas grids, offering potential climate and energy-security benefits when produced sustainably.

What Counts as a Plant-Based Fuel?

Plant-based fuels, collectively called biofuels, are derived from biomass such as corn, sugarcane, soy, canola/rapeseed, used cooking oil, and crop residues like corn stover or wheat straw. Unlike fossil fuels, which come from ancient organic matter, biofuels are made from recently grown biomass, allowing carbon absorbed during plant growth to partially offset emissions when the fuel is burned. The climate advantage depends on how the feedstock is grown, processed, and transported.

Main Types of Plant-Derived Fuels

The following list outlines the major categories of fuels that can be produced from plants, along with where you’re likely to encounter them and how they are used.

• Ethanol (bioethanol): An alcohol fuel made by fermenting sugars or starches from crops such as corn and sugarcane, and increasingly from cellulosic residues (e.g., corn stover). Common blends are E10 (10% ethanol), E15, and E85 for flex-fuel vehicles.
• Biodiesel (FAME): A diesel substitute produced by transesterifying vegetable oils (soy, canola/rapeseed) or waste oils/animal fats. Used in blends like B5, B20, or as B100 in suitable engines and climates.
• Renewable diesel (HVO/HDRD): A “drop-in” diesel made by hydrotreating plant oils or waste fats. Chemically similar to petroleum diesel, it can be used at 100% (often labeled RD100) without blending limits.
• Sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) from bio-based feedstocks: Produced via pathways such as HEFA (hydroprocessed esters and fatty acids), Alcohol-to-Jet (from ethanol), or Fischer–Tropsch using biomass-derived syngas; typically blended with conventional jet fuel under ASTM specifications.
• Biogas/biomethane (renewable natural gas): Generated by digesting organic matter (including plant wastes and energy crops). When purified to pipeline quality, it becomes biomethane for gas grids or CNG/LNG vehicles.
• Cellulosic ethanol (advanced biofuel): Ethanol made from non-food plant material such as agricultural residues, woody biomass, or dedicated energy crops (e.g., switchgrass and miscanthus), aiming for deeper emissions cuts.

Together, these fuels cover a broad range of transport needs—from passenger cars and heavy-duty trucks to aircraft—while differing in feedstocks, production methods, blending limits, and emissions profiles.

How Plant Fuels Are Produced

Production processes vary by fuel type, but most follow a few established industrial routes that convert plant matter into energy-dense liquids or gases.

1. Fermentation (to ethanol): Enzymes break down starches or cellulose into sugars; yeast ferments sugars to ethanol; distillation and dehydration yield fuel-grade ethanol.
2. Transesterification (to biodiesel/FAME): Plant oils react with an alcohol (usually methanol) and a catalyst to form fatty acid methyl esters (biodiesel) and glycerin co-product.
3. Hydrotreating and isomerization (to renewable diesel/SAF via HEFA/HVO): Hydrogen removes oxygen from oils/fats, producing hydrocarbons similar to diesel or jet fuel, then tailored through isomerization/cracking.
4. Gasification and synthesis (to FT fuels or Alcohol-to-Jet): Biomass is turned into syngas (CO + H₂) and catalytically converted to synthetic hydrocarbons, or ethanol is upgraded to jet-range molecules.
5. Anaerobic digestion and upgrading (to biogas/biomethane): Microbes produce methane-rich biogas from organic matter; CO₂ and impurities are removed to make pipeline-quality biomethane.

These routes determine the final fuel’s properties, cost, and carbon intensity, with advanced options aiming to use waste feedstocks and deliver lower lifecycle emissions.

Where You’ll Encounter Plant-Based Fuels

Availability depends on national policies, infrastructure, and local feedstocks. Here are common use cases and regions where plant-derived fuels are part of everyday energy mixes.

• Road gasoline: E10 is widespread in many countries. The United States commonly uses E10 with growing availability of E15; Brazil blends around E27–E30 and sells E100 for flex-fuel cars; the European Union widely offers E10.
• Road diesel: Biodiesel blends like B5–B20 are common in North America and Europe. Renewable diesel is expanding rapidly in California and several European markets due to low-carbon fuel standards.
• Aviation: Airlines increasingly blend SAF at select airports through offtake agreements; mandates and incentives in the EU and several countries are designed to scale supply.
• Gas networks and fleets: Biomethane is injected into gas grids in parts of Europe and used as CNG/LNG for buses and trucks, often supported by guarantees of origin.

As policy frameworks mature and production scales, consumers can expect greater access to blends at the pump and expanded use in hard-to-electrify sectors like aviation and heavy freight.

Benefits and Trade-Offs

Potential Benefits

When produced responsibly, plant-based fuels can contribute to climate goals, diversify energy supplies, and utilize waste streams. The points below summarize commonly cited advantages.

• Lower lifecycle greenhouse-gas emissions: Compared to fossil fuels, sugarcane ethanol can reduce emissions substantially, corn ethanol often delivers moderate reductions that improve with better farming and renewable power, and fuels from waste oils or residues (biodiesel, renewable diesel, SAF) can achieve deep cuts.
• Energy security and diversification: Domestic feedstocks reduce reliance on imported oil and add resilience to supply chains.
• Waste valorization: Using residues and used cooking oil turns waste into fuel and can avoid methane emissions from decomposition.
• Rural economic development: Biofuel industries create markets for crops and residues, supporting farm incomes and local jobs.

The strongest climate benefits generally come from advanced pathways that prioritize waste and residue feedstocks, efficient conversion, and low-carbon electricity and hydrogen inputs.

Key Challenges

Biofuels’ real-world impacts depend on land, water, and input use. Policymakers and producers are addressing these issues with sustainability criteria and technology improvements, but challenges remain.

• Land-use change and deforestation risk: Expanding oil crops (e.g., palm) or displacing food production can create indirect emissions that erode climate gains.
• Food-versus-fuel concerns: Competition with food crops can affect prices and availability; advanced fuels aim to rely on residues and non-food feedstocks.
• Fertilizer and nitrous oxide emissions: Farming inputs can raise the carbon intensity of some biofuels if not managed carefully.
• Water use and biodiversity: Irrigation demand and monocultures can stress ecosystems without safeguards.
• Blend limits and infrastructure: Ethanol blend walls and fuel-compatibility issues can constrain uptake; drop-in fuels like renewable diesel and some SAF pathways help mitigate this.
• Cost and scale for advanced fuels: SAF and cellulosic fuels remain costlier and supply-constrained, though policy incentives and new facilities are expanding capacity.

Robust sustainability standards, better agronomy, and technology advances are key to delivering genuine emissions reductions while protecting ecosystems and food systems.

The Outlook

Global policies continue to shape the sector. In the United States, the Renewable Fuel Standard and state low-carbon fuel standards drive demand for ethanol, biodiesel, renewable diesel, and biomethane. In the European Union, renewable energy directives set transport decarbonization targets and sustainability criteria, with increasing emphasis on advanced biofuels and SAF. International aviation’s CORSIA framework supports lower-carbon jet fuel deployment. Industry investment is expanding renewable diesel and SAF capacity, especially through HEFA pathways using waste oils and fats, while progress on cellulosic and alcohol-to-jet fuels aims to diversify feedstocks and reduce costs. The role of biofuels complements electrification—particularly in aviation, marine, and heavy-duty transport where batteries are less practical.

Summary

The fuel made from plants is biofuel, most notably ethanol and biodiesel, with additional plant-derived options such as renewable diesel, sustainable aviation fuel, and biomethane. Produced from crops, plant oils, and residues, these fuels can lower lifecycle emissions and bolster energy security when sourced and manufactured sustainably. Their future impact will depend on scaling advanced, waste-based pathways, enforcing strong sustainability standards, and aligning with broader decarbonization strategies across transport sectors.

Can normal cars run on biodiesel?

Biodiesel and conventional diesel vehicles are one and the same. Although light-, medium-, and heavy-duty diesel vehicles are not alternative fuel vehicles, almost all are capable of running on biodiesel blends. The most common biodiesel blend is B20, which ranges from 6% to 20% biodiesel blended with petroleum diesel.

What are the 4 biofuel products from plants?

Four common biofuel products derived from plants include ethanol (made from corn, sugarcane, or wheat), biodiesel (from soybean or other vegetable oils), green diesel (from algae and plant sources), and cellulosic ethanol (from non-food plant materials like crop residues and wood). These fuels can be blended with traditional fuels or used on their own in combustion engines for vehicles or to generate power.
 
Here are the four plant-derived biofuels:

• Ethanol
  • Source: Primarily produced from sugar crops like sugarcane and corn, or starch crops like wheat and potatoes. 
  • Process: Yeast is added to ground corn or other plant matter to ferment, or convert, the sugars into alcohol, which is then blended with gasoline. 
  • Uses: Used as a blend with gasoline in existing car engines. 
• Biodiesel
  • Source: Made from plant oils, such as soybean oil, rapeseed (canola) oil, sunflower oil, and palm oil. 
  • Process: The oils undergo a chemical process to create a fuel similar to traditional diesel but derived from renewable plant sources. 
  • Uses: Can be used alone or blended with conventional diesel fuel. 
• Green Diesel
  • Source: Can be produced from algae and other plant materials. 
  • Process: Undergoes a different conversion process than biodiesel but is derived from plant sources. 
  • Uses: Used as a fuel in combustion engines. 
• Cellulosic Ethanol
  • Source: Produced from non-food plant materials like agricultural residues (corn stover, wheat straw), wood, and grasses. 
  • Process: Involves a more complex process of breaking down cellulose in plant matter to extract sugars for fermentation. 
  • Uses: A second-generation biofuel that can be blended with gasoline. 

What fuel is made by plants?

biofuels
Unlike other renewable energy sources, biomass can be converted directly into liquid fuels, called “biofuels,” to help meet transportation fuel needs. The two most common types of biofuels in use today are ethanol and biodiesel, both of which represent the first generation of biofuel technology.

What is plant-based fuel?

Plant-based fuels (or biofuels) are renewable fuel sources derived from organic matter. This is primarily from a range of crop plants including corn, wheat, sugarcane, and soybeans.