The document discusses biofuels as an alternative to fossil fuels. It outlines two main types of biofuels - bioethanol and biodiesel. Bioethanol is produced from plant materials like sugarcane, corn, and grains through fermentation. Biodiesel is produced from oilseeds like Jatropha seeds which contain 27-40% oil. The document also discusses various countries' approaches to biofuel production, including Brazil which produces bioethanol from sugarcane, and India which blends ethanol produced from sugarcane byproducts into gasoline. While biofuels provide benefits, their large-scale production could increase competition for land and water resources.

1. BIOFUELS AND THEIR IMPLICATIONS
Divyang Agarwal1
, Apoorv Srivastava 2
Pursuning B.Tech,(Electronics and Communication),IMS Engineering college, Ghaziabad1
Pursuning B.Tech,(Electrical & Electronics),IMS Engineering college, Ghaziabad2
divyangagarwal1994@rediffmail.com
Abstract- Rising energy prices, geopolitics and concerns
over the impact of greenhouse gas emissions on climate
change are increasing the demand for Non-renewable and
green sources of energy. The major dependence of energy
nowadays is on oil and coal but these are non-renewable
sources of energy as they cannot be naturally replenished
in human timescale. This dependency leads to “energy
dependence”. A strong but clumsy monopoly can be felt of
the Middle Eastern exporters operating as OPEC after
1970 because of this energy dependence. Hence, in order
to achieve energy independence most of the developed and
developing countries are moving towards renewable and
green energy resources.
“The Stone Age didn’t end for lack of stone, and the oil
age will end long before the world runs out of oil”.
Green energy can be defined as the energy that is collected
from clean and renewable sources. The resources that can
be naturally replenished in a human life time-scale like
geothermal, wind, solar etc. are called renewable
resources. In contrast with the fact that nonrenewable
energy resources are concentrated in limited number of
countries, the renewable energy resources are widely
available.
Renewable energy is mostly used in energy generation, air
and water heating, transportation and off grid energy
services. Countries like China and U.S are heavily
investing in wind, solar, hydro and bio-fuels. India also
started strong by its JNN Solar Mission in solar power and
its installation in the country. According to International
Energy Agencies by 2050 renewable energy resources
could meet half of global energy demand by 2050 and
under this scenario world greenhouse gas (GHG) emission
will be reduced to halved.
The major evaluation criteria of any energy to be
considered as an alternative source are cost, local demand,
safety, energy supply, utility, and performance with
distribution infrastructure.
Biofuels are heating fuels derived from biological sources
such as grains, sugar crops, oil crops, starch, cellulosic
materials (grasses and trees) and organic waste. There are
two main types of bio-fuel: Bio-ethanol and Biodiesel.
Keywords- OPEC, JNN, GHG, BIO-FUEL, JATROPHA
CURCUS
Introduction: Bio-fuel are heating fuels derived from
biological sources such as grains, sugar crops, oil crops,
starch, cellulosic materials (grasses and trees) and organic
waste. There are two main types of bio-fuel: bio-ethanol
and biodiesel.
Bio-diesel fuel is processed from seeds of Jatropha curcas
the seeds contain 27-40% oil (average: 34.4%) and this
processed high quality bio-diesel can be used in diesel
engines. Jatropha curcas is a species of flowering plant in
the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae. Jatropha curcas is a
poisonous, semi-evergreen shrub or small tree, reaching a
height of 6 m (20 ft) that is native to the American tropics,
most likely Mexico and Central America. It is also
cultivated in tropical and subtropical regions around the
world, becoming naturalized in some areas. It is resistant
to a high degree of aridity, allowing it to be grown in
deserts.
Bio ethanol or methylated spirit is processed by
fermenting the sugar and starch component of plant by-
products- mainly sugarcane and crops like grains, using
yeasts. It is also made from corn, potatoes and recently
grapes and dates. Bio-ethanol production also depends on
the countries agricultural strength. Presently, bio-ethanol
has various uses it is blended with petrol to make a truly
sustainable transport fuel.
Bio-fuel production and usage: A change in the present
global energy system is needed to:
 Eradicate energy poverty in the developing
countries.
 Solve the geopolitical conflicts over energy
resources.

2.  Mitigating climate change and protecting the life
support system.
 Establishing a secure energy supply system.
To underpin the long term contribution of bio-diesel fuel
to a sustainable energy system, various strategic
researches are being undertaken by various research
organizations. The production of bio-fuel starts with the
cultivation of Jatropha curcus. Jatropha curcas seeds
contain 27-40% of oil and it is widely growing hardy plant
that can also be grown in arid, semi-arid and degraded
soils with little or low fertility and moisture. J,Curcus can
be cultivated in regions prone to heavy rain falls and even
on barren lands. Bio-ethanol made from sugarcane, corn,
beets, wheat and sorghum, was estimated at 32 billion
liters in 2006. Brazil which majorly uses sugarcane and
the USA mostly using corn and some soya are the major
producers, accounting for 70% of the total global supply.
Biodiesel production, derived from oil- or tree-seeds such
as Jatropha curcus and others was estimated at 2 billion
liters in 2005. Bio-ethanol and Bio-diesel account for only
mere 2% of the total annual gasoline consumption that is
estimated 1200 billion liters.
Energy content of 1 liter of Bio-fuel depends on its type
but is supposed to be typically 65% of fossil fuels. Bio-
fuels can be a cost efficient alternative to fossil fuels in
many countries.
Fig.1 J.curcus seeds
Fig2 J.Curcus oil
Ethanol as a fuel:
Ethanol is used as an automotive fuel and can be mixed
with gasoline to form gasohol (10% ethanol and 85%
ethanol mixed with gasoline are two of the most common
blends). The ethanol molecule contains oxygen i.e. it
allows the engine to more combust the fuel more
efficiently, resulting in fewer emissions. Since ethanol is a
renewable fuel, it has many advantages as an automotive
fuel.
Approach of India in Bio-fuel production:
India produces bio ethanol majorly from molasses which
is a byproduct of sugarcane when processed for sugar
production. In India ethanol content of petrol was just 2%
in some states and in many it was just zero. Indian ethanol
policy is mainly driven because of non green
considerations which include subsidizing petrol, saving
foreign exchange and reducing the losses of oil companies.
Another reason for Indian ethanol policy is reduction of
sugar mill losses. The new Indian government in 2014 has
to tackle huge sugar industries losses and hence the
government came up with a rescue plan of increasing price
for ethanol for blending to a remunerative of Rs.
48.50/liter that also helped the sugar industry owners to
clear the arrears of the farmers.
Trend analysis of some countries:
 Brazil: Due to the increase of oil prices in
1970’s Brazil decided to boost up its ethanol
production. A program was also introduced by
Brazil that promoted ethanol production and its
use in automobiles in order to reduce oil imports.
The ethanol produced in Brazil is mainly
produced by Sugarcane and its byproduct. 40%
cars in Brazil use 100% ethanol whereas the rest
use a blend of 24% ethanol and 76% of gasoline.
Brazil is also one of the major exporters of
ethanol.
 Canadian provinces: Some Canadian provinces
are promoting the use of ethanol as a fuel by
offering subsidies on the production. According
to statics, in 2014 Canada produced a total of
1,547 megaliters of ethanol but consumes 2,120
megaliters leading to a net import of about 573
megaliters.
 France: In France, production of ethanol is from
grapes that are not fit for wine production. This
also helps in supporting the grape farmers whose
crops are of low quality. In 2014, France
produced a total of 438.8 mln liters.
 United State: The world leading ethanol
producer is United States with approximate
production of about 52.6 billion liters (13.9
billion U.S liquid gallons). With strong
incentives, subsidies and coupling with other
industries U.S was able to give rise to its full
fledging ethanol industry.

3.  India: In the year 2003, India initiated the use of
ethanol as an automotive fuel by blending it with
petrol. Indian Government has been examining
the supply of ethanol doped-petrol with a view to
promote agriculture sector and reduce
environmental pollution by maintaining GHG.
Considering the financial and operational aspects,
blending 5% ethanol with petrol s allowed in the
specifications by Bureau of Indian Standards
(BIS). In April and June 2001, three pilot
projects; two in Maharashtra and one in Uttar
Pradesh were respectively launched by the
government.
DISADVANTAGES WITH RAPID
BIOFUEL GROWTH:
1. Environmental aspects: Bio-Fuels production
requires additional land and water resources.
With growing land need for urbanization and
agriculture land availability will decrease that
may affect the bio-fuel production. The already
stressed water availability may be intensified
with this bio-fuel production.
2. Competition with food crops: There are also
concerns that increase in bio-fuel crops with
limited land and water resources may raise the
prices of agricultural commodity. China lowered
its bio-fuel (ethanol) production target after the
corn prices increased by 7% and other grain
prices also increased because of increase in
demand from bio-fuel plants.
References:
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Extraction for Jatropha Curcas,” Ingenia
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www.statista.com
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Available online at: http://www.svlele.com.
Accessed June 19, 2008.
8. Lele, S. (2008b). “Jatropha Cultivation.” March
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