Biofuels are a dead end, and only remotely would only make good sense if the world suffered some apocalyptic collapse, in which it was impossible to transport other fuels to the site where the raw materials for biofuels may be much more plentiful.
Whale oil, once widely used for lamps, was a biofuel on which the limitations quickly became apparent, as the whales got hunted very nearly to extinction. Sort of renewable, if the crop were only carefully nurtured.
Biofuels make a serious distortion of any ecosystem, including the cultivation of maize for its potential as a fuel source. And in the end it is pretty much a wash so far as the energy recovered versus the fossil fuel consumed in its production. Ethanol, particularly, only provides a “feel-good” for persons with selective blindness to the effects their pet idea has on the environment as a whole.
Recycling cooking oil as a Diesel fuel substitute makes a LITTLE more sense, in that a product that would have been discarded is put to one last useful purpose, but even that involves somewhat more than just pouring it straight from the collection vats into the fuel tank of a Diesel-powered vehicle. Plant source oils are notorious for forming up into polymers that clog fuel lines and foul injector needles.
>> Biofuels are a dead end
IMHO biofuels are not economically viable right now, but have a place for those who want to be self-sufficient. In the fever swamps of my mind, I can see myself raising some soybeans and some switchgrass and screwing around with biofuels just for fun.
Bottom line, I have no inherent problem with making and using biofuels. I just don’t want the FedGov to force them on us. Let the marketplace decide!