SUBMITTED TO MISS.

RAJINDER KAUR

By B110030095 B110030103 B110030085 B110030112 B110030077

INTRODUCTION
Biofuel

is a type of fuel whose energy is derived from biological carbon fixation. Biofuels include fuels derived from biomass conversion, as well as solid biomass, liquid fuels and various biogases.

Biofuels

are gaining increased public and scientific attention,driven by factors such as oil price spikes, the need for increased energy security, concern over greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuels, and government

DEFINITION
Biofuels

are liquid or gaseous fuels primarily produced from biomass, and can be used to replace some fossil fuels. Crops used to make biofuels are generally either high in sugar (such as sugarcane, sugarbeet, and sweet sorghum), starch (such as corn and cassava) or oils (such as soybeans, rapeseed, coconut, sunflowers, and palms). Ethanol is produced from sugar and starch crops that are processed by yeast or bacteria-mediated fermentation, or from cellulose.

Learning from Current Biofuels:

Ethanol from Corn and Biodiesel from Soybeans

HISTORY OF BIOFUELS
One of the first inventors to convince the people of the use of ethanol was a German named Nikolaus August Otto. Rudolf Diesel is the German inventor of the diesel engine. He designed his diesel engine to run in peanut oil and later Henry Ford designed the Model T car which was produced from 1903 to

In

the period of World War II, the high demand of biofuels was due to the increased use as an alternative for imported fuel. In this period, Germany was one of the countries that underwent a serious shortage of fuel. It was during this period that various other inventions took place like the use of gasoline along with alcohol that was derived from potatoes.

CLASSIFICATION OF BIOFUELS

Biofuels are sometimes referred to as first, second, or third-generation biofuels.

FIRST GENERATION BIOFUELS

These are made from sugar, starch, vegetable oil, or animal fats using conventional technology. These are generally produced from grains high in sugar or starch fermented into bioethanol; or seeds that which are pressed into vegetable oil used in biodiesel. Common first-generation biofuels include vegetable oils, biodiesel, bioalcohols, biogas, solid biofuels.

SECOND GENERATION BIOFUELS

These are produced from non-food crops, such as cellulosic biofuels and waste biomass (stalks of wheat and corn, and wood). Research continues on second-generation biofuels including biohydrogen, biomethanol, DMF, Bio-DME, FischerTropsch diesel, biohydrogen diesel, mixed alcohols and wood diesel.

Second Generation Biofuels: Cellulosic Feedstock

Switchgrass

Wheat Straw

Hybrid Poplar

Corn Stalks

THIRD GENERATION BIOFUELS

These are produced from extracting oil of algae sometimes referred to as oilgae. Its production is supposed to be low cost and high-yielding giving up to nearly 30 times the energy per unit area as can be realized from current, conventional first-generation biofuel feedstocks.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Biofuels

No fuel source is completely positive or completely negative. Consumers need to weigh the advantages and disadvantages of biofuels to determine whether they feel comfortable with this emerging resource as an alternative to traditional fuels.

ADVANTAGES OF BIOFUELS
COST: Once the technology is widely available, biofuels can be significantly less expensive than gasoline and other fossil fuels, particularly as worldwide demand for oil increases, therefore increasing oil and gasoline prices to unheard of levels. 2. SOURCE MATERIAL: Whereas oil is a limited resource that comes from specific materials, biofuels can be manufactured from a wide range of materials including crop waste, manure, and other byproducts, making it a efficient step in recycling.
1.

3. RENEWABILITY: It takes thousands of years for fossil fuels to be produced, but biofuels are much more easily renewable as new crops are grown and waste material is collected. 4. SECURITY: By reducing dependence on foreign fuel sources, countries can protect the integrity of their energy resources and make them safe from outside influences.

5. ECONOMIC STIMULATION: Because biofuels are produced locally, biofuel manufacturing plants can employ hundreds or thousands of workers, creating new jobs in rural areas. Biofuel production will also increase the demand for suitable biofuel crops, providing economic stimulation to the agriculture industry. 6. BIODEGRADABILITY: Biofuels are easily biodegradable and far safer to handle than traditional fuels, making spills less hazardous and much easier and less expensive to clean up.

7. LOWER CARBON EMISSIONS: When biofuels are burned, they produce significantly less carbon output and fewer toxins, making them a safer alternative to preserve atmospheric quality and lower air pollution.

DISADVANTAGES
Despite the many positive characteristics of biofuels, there are also many disadvantages to these energy sources: 1.ENERGY OUTPUT: Biofuels have a lower energy output than traditional fuels and therefore require greater quantities to be consumed in order to produce the same energy level. 2. PRODUCTION CARBON EMISSIONS: Several studies have been conducted to analyze the carbon footprint of biofuels, and while they may be cleaner to burn, there are strong indications that the process to produce the fuel - including the machinery necessary to cultivate the crops and the plants to produce the fuel - has hefty carbon emissions.

3. HIGH COST: To refine biofuels to more efficient energy outputs and to build the necessary manufacturing plants to increase biofuel quantities will require a high initial investment. 4. FOOD PRICES: As demand for food crops such as corn grows for biofuel production, it could also raise prices for necessary staple food crops. 5. WATER USE: Massive quantities of water are required for proper irrigation of biofuel crops as well as to manufacture the fuel, which could strain local and regional water resources.

6. AVAILABILITY: Biofuels are not widely available for consumer purchase and most vehicles are not equipped to run on biofuel products. Limited availability reduces the desirability of biofuels as alternative energy sources. 7. SMELL: Biofuel production produces heavy smells depending on the type of materials used, and those smells are generally undesirable near large communities. While manufacturing plants can be isolated, this will add to the carbon emissions necessary to bring fuel to population centers.

COUNTRIES USING BIOFUELS

Globally, countries currently focus on different biofuel crops and conversion methods. Among the major biofuel producers, corn is converted into ethanol in the US, sugar cane into ethanol in Brazil, canola into bio-diesel in Europe, palm oil into biodiesel in Indonesia and sweet potatoes and cassava into ethanol in China.

Brazil and the US produce the most ethanol in the world more than four billion gallons per year each. According to the IEA 2006 World Energy Outlook, biofuels are able to meet

up to 4% of the worlds transportation fuel demand by 2030,

under the reference case, up from a level of 1% in 2004.

All gasoline must contain at least 20% ethanol, biodiesels are being developed, and flexible-fuel vehicles (FFV) have entered the car market in Brazil. More than 80% of new cars sold in Brazil were FFVs during the first half of 2006. Europe produced almost one billion gallons of biodiesel, increasing from

China produced approximately 340 million gallons of ethanol in 2004, primarily from corn. Chinas government is supporting ethanol and cellulosic ethanol production. The US government recently committed to increase bio-energy by three times within 10 years.

The Indian government has identified almost 100 million acres of land that potentially could grow jatropha[24]. The Australian government has a policy target of producing almost 100 million gallons of biofuel production by 2010.

Can we actually use biofuels in cars and machinery?

Using biofuels requires fewer changes to transportation technology compared to other alternative energy sources that are in different physical states. Biofuels can be in the same liquid state of the majority of widely used, conventional transportation fuels.

 In

spark-ignition engines, gasoline can be substituted by ethanol or methanol. In compression-ignition engines, biodiesel performs well as a diesel oil substitute according to performance tests. Using a mixture of gasoline and biofuel (i.e. 85% to 15% ratio) requires relatively little change to car engines, but still requires fossil fuels. However, existing engines need significant alterations in order to function using only ethanol or methanol fuel.

BILL AND MELINDA GATES FOUNDATION

The

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundations Agricultural Development Program has awarded Stanford Universitys Program on Food Security and the Environment (FSE) and a team of collaborators $3.8 million over three years to conduct a quantitative assessment of the effect of biofuels expansion on food security in the developing world.

 This

work will determine how different scenarios of expanded biofuels production in rich and poor countries will affect global and regional food prices, farmer incomes and food consumption of the poor. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation aims to assess how biofuels may affect smallholder farmers in the developing world. This includes assessing both the risks, such as increasing food prices, and the potential opportunities for smallholder farmers to leverage biofuels to boost their productivity, increase their incomes, and build better lives for themselves and their families.

CONCLUSION

In light of the fact that commercial biofuel production and use is a relatively new concept, all stakeholders including the Indian government, small farmers, investors, researchers have an array of possible actions and stances regarding biofuels. There are numerous different opinions about what the logical next steps are.

 There

are improvements the government could start making in order to give the biofuel industry a solid support system from which it can grow. Advances in agriculture through water saving methods, intercropping, seasonal planting, and crop rotation could create more efficiency in the agricultural sector and therefore increase yields. These improvements could create a variety of positive effects downstream in the biofuel industry and the rest of Indian society.

 Investing

time and money studying and domesticating jatropha also has potential benefits. The Indian government has indicated through its policies and public statements that it hopes to make jatropha a central part of the biofuel industry. Unfortunately, however, there still is not enough information about jatropha to ensure that the Indian government would get a substantial return on its investment.