World Biofuel Day

In News 

World Biofuel Day is observed every year on 10th August.

About 

• The day was first observed in 2015 by the Ministry of Petroleum and Gas.
•  Its aim is to create awareness about the importance of non-fossil fuels as an alternative to conventional fossil fuels and to highlight the various efforts made by the Government in the Biofuel sector.
• This day also honours the research experiments by Sir Rudolf Diesel who ran an engine with peanut oil in the year 1893.

What are Biofuels?

• Any hydrocarbon fuel that is derived and produced from an organic matter, is called a biofuel and it can be solid, liquid or gaseous.
• It can be used to replace or can be used in addition to diesel, petrol or other fossil fuels for transport, stationary, portable and other applications. 
• Sources: Crops used to make biofuels are generally either high in sugar (such as sugarcane, sugarbeet, and sweet sorghum), starch (such as maize and tapioca) or oils (such as soybean, rapeseed, coconut, sunflower).

Types 

• Broadly Biofuels are of two types 
  • Primary Biofuels: The organic materials which are used in an unprocessed form such as fuelwood, wood chips and pellets, primarily for heating, cooking, electricity production.
  • Secondary Biofuels: The materials which result from the processing of biomass such as liquid fuels such as ethanol and biodiesel. 

Classification based on raw materials

Advantages 

• Environment-friendly:  Biofuels are environment-friendly fuels and their utilization would address global concerns about the containment of carbon emissions. 
• Promote sustainable development: Biofuels are derived from renewable biomass resources and, therefore, provide a strategic advantage to promote sustainable development.
  • It supplements conventional energy sources in meeting the rapidly increasing requirements for transportation fuels associated with high economic growth, as well as in meeting the energy needs of India’s vast rural population.
•  Reducing import dependency: It reduces import dependency on crude oil, cleaner environment, additional income to farmers and employment generation in rural areas.  
  • Biofuel can be preserved, burned and pumped in a way similar to petroleum diesel fuel. It can be safely used in blended or pure forms. 

• Safer to handle:  It is safer to handle compared to petroleum due to its low volatility. Recycled oils can make them more cost-effective and increase their value. This creates multiple advantages to a thriving market. 
• Energy security: Biofuel can improve energy security through domestic energy crops. The plants used to produce biofuel do not involve the use of imported crude oil.

Disadvantages

• High Cost of Production: They are quite expensive to produce in the current market.
• Harmful effects on the surrounding environment: Biofuels are produced from crops, and these crops need fertilizers to grow better.
  •  The downside of using fertilizers is that they can have harmful effects on the surrounding environment and may cause water pollution. Fertilizers contain nitrogen and phosphorus. They can be washed away from soil to nearby lakes, rivers or ponds

• Food Scarcity: Biofuels are extracted from plants and crops that have high levels of sugar in them. 
  • However, most of these crops are also used as food crops. It will take up agricultural space from other crops, which can create a number of problems. 

• More Water Usage: Large quantities of water are required to irrigate the biofuel crops, and it may impose strain on local and regional water resources, if not managed wisely.

Initiatives by the Government of India to promote Biofuel:

National Biofuel Policy 2018:

• It provides an indicative target of 20% ethanol blending under the Ethanol Blended Petrol (EBP) Programme by 2030.
•  It expands the scope of raw material for ethanol production by allowing the use of sugarcane juice, sugar-containing materials like sugar beet, sweet sorghum, starch containing materials like corn, cassava, damaged food grains like wheat, broken rice, rotten potatoes, unfit for human consumption for ethanol production.

Ethanol Blended Petrol (EBP) programme:

• It aims at blending ethanol with petrol, thereby bringing it under the category of biofuels and saving millions of dollars by cutting fuel imports. 
• Under this program, the availability of ethanol will increase due to the higher price for C heavy molasses-based ethanol and enabling procurement of ethanol from B heavy molasses and sugarcane juice for the first time. 

Pradhan Mantri JI-VAN Yojana, 2019: 

• It aims to provide financial support to Integrated Bioethanol Projects using lignocellulosic biomass and other renewable feedstock.
• Under this Yojana, 12 Commercial Scale and 10 demonstration-scale Second Generation (2G) ethanol Projects will be provided with a Viability Gap Funding (VGF) support in two phases:
  • Phase-I  (2018-19  to  2022-23):  wherein six commercial projects and five demonstration projects will be supported.
  • Phase-II (2020-21 to 2023-24): wherein remaining six commercial projects and five demonstration projects will be supported.

Repurpose Used Cooking Oil (RUCO):

• It was launched by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) aims for an ecosystem that will enable the collection and conversion of used cooking oil to biodiesel

GOBAR (Galvanizing Organic Bio-Agro Resources) DHAN scheme, 2018:

•  It was launched under Swachh Bharat Mission (Gramin).
• The scheme aims to positively impact village cleanliness and generate wealth and energy from cattle and organic waste. The scheme also aims at creating new rural livelihood opportunities and enhancing income for farmers and other rural people.

 Source: News 18