We hear a lot about carbon these days: carbon offsets, carbon credits, renewable carbon and whole host of “carbon” prefixed phrases. It’s a growing list. However, carbon comes in many forms. Think of coal, crude oil and diamond. All carbon, all carrying a different value, costs and benefits. For energy purposes, it’s not only the cost of the carbon itself that must be considered, but also the additional costs and benefits that are carried by the use of that carbon.

The renewable fuels industry wants to reduce the use of fossil fuels or fossil “carbon”. We know coal provides a very dense source of fossil carbon, but the “cost” of coal in the generation of energy has been a hotly-contested environmental issue. Similar to coal, carbon found in crude oil carries a cost that many consider to be a challenge to the environment, but its benefits in powering our economy and national interests need to be considered. Specifically, the separation of crude oil into various fuels that contain the particular carbon structures required for gasoline, diesel and jet engines is most cost effective. This ability to efficiently produce these unique carbon structures drives scale and economics. On the energy side, the lowly diamond is worthless, its carbon structure is too stable, too hard to find and too expensive for the energy sector. Everyone says a diamond is forever yet within the fuels business, that is not viewed as an advantage.

The renewable fuels sector faces the same issues on renewable carbon: What form is the carbon source in? How do you access the carbon? How do you convert it into fuels? What’s the cost? For renewable fuel, these questions are being played out now. Although the primary drivers for renewable energy sources are sustainability, energy security and a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, production efficiency and sound economics in terms of accessing and converting that carbon into fuels must also be a prerequisite of any truly viable biofuel solution. As multiple bio-based or renewable sources of fuel become established – and ultimately displace – other non-renewable sources, there will have to be a weighting of their carbon value in the marketplace.

At one end of the spectrum is biomass, widely touted as an inexpensive source of carbon (or “feedstock”) for fuels. However, biomass is just that: a large mass of material that contains carbon. A lot of biomass is simply being burned, displacing fossil carbon such as coal and oil in heating and the “costs” associated with using biomass are still being fully assessed. Biomass contains cellulose, which is a pretty abundant source of carbon, but not very usable as a fuel. Biomass needs to be converted into a more usable fuel, and this conversion into ethanol or other fuels is not very efficient at present and requires significant technology development and cost-refinement to yield a cost-effective biofuel.

Carbon can also be accessed in the form of sugar or starches. The conversion of these feedstocks into ethanol or other fuel-like material is easier than it is with biomass, but not terribly efficient either. Crops such as sugar cane and corn have proven to be a good source of those sugars and starches that form the basis for the production of ethanol, now widely used in gasoline. Sugar cane and corn have the advantages of scale and a production base (i.e., growers or farmers) that can achieve an economic return for their farming efforts. Biomass has yet to find an equation that combines an economic return for farmers, processors and the fuel sector.

On the other end of the spectrum are plant oils, which have carbon chemistry much closer to that seen in fuels and represent the most energy dense form of renewable carbon. As a result, the oil is closer to the end-use fuel so greater efficiencies in manufacturing can be achieved. Additionally, oilseed crops such as Carinata have the advantage of efficient production and the means to achieve scale. Combine these attributes with innovative technology to enhance the yield and carbon chemistry of oilseed crops for biofuel. Applied technology = optimized renewable energy source = better economics. That's what companies such as Agrisoma do: capture carbon, but in an energy dense fashion, using biological systems and technology to create more accessible and more valuable renewable carbon for the biofuels industry. We believe oilseeds are a shining example of biofuel solutions. Maybe not diamond bright, but a real-world solution to renewable carbon that provides a good value to all and carries numerous positive benefits. After all, even in the biological world not all carbon is equal. Some carbon is simply better.

However, we need to circle back to our discussion of carbon equality – if you are looking at carbon as a gift to your significant other, stay away from carbon that’s useful for energy – stick to diamond. While it can’t be used for energy the alternative of trying to explain how biomass, with a little more technology and time will shine very brightly makes for cold evenings.