Let's 'clear the air' around bioethanol
There is great confusion surrounding bioethanol, which inevitably leads to uncertainty about whether it is a good substitute for traditional fuels and for domestic use. At Biofires, we believe that the idea of producing renewable biofuels from food waste is absolutely brilliant and valuable, as it contributes to a more sustainable future for all of humanity and the planet itself. We are strongly convinced of the positive and responsible inspiration that is driving human evolution forward on this path, and we will always support it.
That said, it appears that no one can be 100% sure that bioethanol is a safe alternative. How is that? While we don’t have all the answers, this article aims to demonstrate that bioethanol for domestic use should be classified differently than typical biofuels. We believe that governments should put more effort into developing suitable regulations to make bioethanol production for domestic use more accessible to small producers and individual consumers. We will analyse some facts and literature surrounding this complex topic to provide you with hints and tools to help you form your own ideas and make an informed decision regarding bioethanol.
Many of our customers come to us with legitimate questions about the safety and effectiveness of bioethanol as a renewable source of energy. We understand your concerns. That’s why we’ve conducted serious research and studies for you (and will continue to do so, as it is in our own interest), in hopes of clarifying the situation.
To start, we would like to provide some context for bioethanol. Official literature about its use for domestic purposes is quite limited, as it represents just a small part of the much broader area of study concerning alternatives to replace fossil fuels.
Actually, if you investigate research, studies, and norms surrounding bioethanol, you’ll discover a lot about the so-called biofuels, which are the subject of a never-ending debate among scientists, political and economic institutions, environmental organizations, and energy providers. This discourse is constantly influenced by economic, financial, and trade considerations. Unfortunately, it has also led to many unfortunate events and ambiguous situations along the way, such as indirect land use change – degenerated in deforestation - or slavery, to name the worst cases.
Bioethanol is just one of many products classified as biofuels. In fact, the alcohol that we typically use in fireplaces may be referred to as ‘bioliquid’ according to the latest consolidated version of the European directive. This is an even smaller portion of what we used to simply call bioethanol in the past and is certainly not the primary concern of our legislators.
In this same document, we find two distinct definitions:
As mentioned above, most research, studies, testing, production, regulations, and the general debate surrounding biofuels are focused on those intended for larger consumption applications, such as the transportation and automotive sectors.
So that’s the main point to start with: bioethanol or ‘bioliquid’ des tined for domestic use in fireplaces has very little to do with other biofuels aimed at the wider market.
Let’s look into the matter a little more in depth to understand what is going on.
In general, there are two different ways to categorize biofuels. The first divides them according to their states of matter: liquid, solid, and gaseous biofuels. The second, and probably the most popular, separates them into first, second, and third-generation biofuels. These categories are based on the manufacturing process and feedstocks.
To give you a rough idea of what they are: "first generation" refers to ethanol made from readily available food crops like corn and sugarcane; "second generation" uses non-food cellulosic biomass like wood chips or grass; "third generation" is primarily produced from algae; and more recently, a "fourth generation" has emerged, which involves advanced and genetically engineered microorganisms to enhance biofuel production.
Regarding their application in the wider transportation market, first-generation biofuels—although they represent most of the fuel produced in Europe and worldwide—are not widely seen as a viable alternative to conventional fuels. This is because they are primarily produced from edible crops such as corn (in the USA) or sugarcane (in Brazil), which raises concerns about competing with the food industry, high water usage, and potential negative impacts on land use. As a result, they are not significantly more sustainable than fossil fuels. This has prompted research to develop second-generation biofuels from non-food sources like exhausted oils, algae, or wood waste.
Now, when you try to understand whether a bioethanol fireplace is a valid alternative to a traditional fireplace, the unfortunate connection to biofuels is inevitable, and it is also the first reason to doubt. However, it's important to keep in mind that these concerns primarily relate to the broader production of biofuels intended for the transportation market, while bioethanol for domestic use presents no significant issues due to its relatively small market size. In fact, while research and production techniques have advanced for the wider biofuel market, bioethanol is still produced everywhere from edible crops through fermentation and distillation, just as we’ve always produced traditional alcohol. Essentially, the bioethanol that we use in our fireplaces is pure alcohol that has been denatured to make it undrinkable and distinguishable from other alcoholic beverages.
The second point worth discussing is that bioethanol intended for fireplaces does not cause ‘indirect land use change,’ despite being a first-generation fuel produced from food crops. Again, the reason is always the same: this market is small.
Moreover, even within the wider market, different crops can be cultivated specifically for bioethanol (or biofuels) while avoiding land use changes through tailor-made regulatory frameworks. Various crops naturally thrive in different regions of the world, which vary widely in climate conditions, history, culture, and legislation (cit. Bibliografy Art.No.5 ).
Poland provides a pertinent example of how bioethanol for domestic use does not harm the environment. Since Poland only joined the European Union in 2004, records from official European institutional websites only began from that year. However, these records pertain to the broader market. Nonetheless, there are other studies from the academic community available online that provide relevant insights. According to these studies, although Poland has increased its bioethanol production over time, land use has remained stable, and even with the development of second-generation biofuels, forests have been preserved.
This success can be to Poland's effective application of European directives while respecting and continuing a long-standing national activity such as the production of ethanol from food crops.
All of the above said, the official regulations on bioethanol for domestic use are a work in progress, and they are likely to remain so for the foreseeable future.
Regulations
The production of biofuels pertains to all countries and continents worldwide, whether they are producers or importers. There are thousands of studies focusing on specific geographic areas, but here we will take a closer look primarily at Europe and the UK for obvious reasons.
Overall, the current situation regarding the larger biofuels market in Europe varies depending on each country's internal regulations and how they respond to European instructions. The European Commission has set up different guidelines through several directives, which have been amended over time. The main directives currently in force revolve around Renewable Energy and Sustainable Economy, particularly EU 2018/2001 (see also consolidated versions for 2023 and 2024) and EU 2023/2413 (RED III). Each European country has then implemented them according to its own capabilities and interests. Today, the European Commission is seeking to phase out feedstocks associated with high land use change impacts while also setting new targets for the use of renewable energy (42.5%) and the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions (55%) by 2030.
Now, let’s return to fireplaces and bioethanol for domestic use, which, unfortunately, is not directly related to the above regulations.
The type of bioethanol used in fireplaces is theoretically classified as a first-generation biofuel, as it is ethyl alcohol produced from food crops through fermentation and distillation. This corresponds to the type of ethanol required for domestic use (cit. EN 16647:2015 – Terms and Definitions - Fuel - alcohol derivative with at least 95% ethanol C2H5OH). However, it is not clear if this classification holds true for the European Commission. More than a biofuel, it could perhaps be considered a bioliquid, but this is ambiguous since the standards currently regulating bioethanol fireplaces are not even listed among the related documents under biofuels standards.
One possible explanation for this situation is that the ethyl alcohol we burn is more refined than biofuels or bioliquids and it’s also denatured to avoid being taxed as an alcoholic product. Therefore, it ends up being regulated as a different type of chemicals.
In the UK denatured alcohol is regulated by the UK Denatured Alcohol Regulations 2005 and by UK REACH which is based on the European EC 1907/2006 (REACH) framework. These regulations primarily address excise duties and chemical health and safety measures during the production process. Unfortunately, there is limited literature available on bioethanol for domestic use, as this niche market does not attract significant interest from institutions and public research. For more information about bioethanol used in fireplaces, please, check also our FAQs page.
As mentioned above, the official European standard for bioethanol fireplaces is EN 16647:2015, published in September 2015 and still in force, at least until two other standards currently under approval (FprEN 16647-1 for manually operated models and FprEN 16647-2 for automatically operated models) are published. The current standard applies to "decorative fireplaces/appliances for domestic use, producing a flame using alcohol, hereafter referred to as fuel, in liquid or gelatinous form for decoration." It regulates their construction, production, testing processes, safety markings and instructions, operating modes, installation, and consumption. Then, Each EU country has developed its own internal regulation based on EN 16647:2015. For example, France has NF D35-386, Germany follows DIN EN 16647, Italy has UNI EN 16647:2016, Poland uses PN-EN 16647:2015-11, Spain adheres to the Spanish Technical Building Code (CTE) and Royal Decree 919/2006 which integrate the European directive, Denmark follows DS/EN 16647:2015, Portugal uses SIST EN 16647:2015, and the UK follows BS-EN-16647-201.
Even after Brexit, the UK's general framework on biofuels and bioethanol fireplaces has aligned with the European directives. Thus, like in other European countries, we in the UK are still waiting for the new standards to be published.
Sadly, the EU standards currently in force are quite outdated and desperately need updating, as they still address fuel in the form of gel, which the market has long left behind and can no longer be found. Additionally, they set the maximum output for a bioethanol fireplace at 4.5 kW, which is utterly unrealistic when we consider that there are now bioethanol fireplaces on the market with outputs exceeding 20 kW.
As a matter of fact, even without up-to-date regulations, bioethanol fireplaces are a type of product that works well for many people while respecting the environment. The entire sector has made significant advancements, thanks to the passion and dedication of a few manufacturers, despite its small size.
After all, bioethanol fireplaces have always been faithful to the original positive inspiration of using renewable energy for the benefit of people and the planet. This market has been constantly growing, despite being a niche compared to the broader biofuel market, and it has never received adequate support from institutions, even when the use of renewable energy is promoted and recommended in European directives for the heating and cooling sector.
Finally, we would like to address the primary question posed at the beginning of this article: is bioethanol a good alternative to traditional sources of energy? Our answer is yes; bioethanol fireplaces are a good alternative, and they need your support to attract more attention from both national and international institutions.
Bibliography
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