TSPSC Group – I Mains,2024 Material useful for Paper - I : General Essay on BIOFUELS CULTIVATION AND EXTRACTION and for Paper V : Science and Technology STUDY MATERIAL ON BIOFUELS CULTIVATION AND EXTRACTION
TSPSC Group – I
Mains,2024
Material useful for
Paper - I : General Essay
&
Paper V : Science and
Technology
STUDY MATERIAL ON
BIOFUELS CULTIVATION
AND EXTRACTION
For Examination guidance purpose only
For any clarification
please refer to the prescribed text books
Time
: 3 Hours
Marks : 150
Note : Answer all
questions. Answer ONE question from each section.
Answer to each
question should be limited to around 1000 words. All questions carry equal
marks .
For GENERAL ESSAY PAPER :
Syllabus
:
Section-I
1. Contemporary Social Issues and Social Problems. 2. Issues of Economic Growth
and Justice.
Section-II
1. Dynamics of Indian Politics. 2. Historical and Cultural Heritage of India.
Section-III
1. Developments in Science
and Technology. 2. Education and Human Resource Development
========================================================
Paper V : Science and Technology :
Syllabus:
5. Energy Resources: Energy demands, Indian energy
scenario- hydel, thermal and nuclear. Importance of renewable resources -
Solar, Wind, small/Mini/Micro hydel, Biomass, waste based, geothermal, tidal
& fuel cells.
Energy
security - Role of Science & Technology, Bio-fuel cultivation and
extraction.
=========================================================
GENERAL ESSAY
BIO-FUELS
CULTIVATION AND EXTRACTION :
The
energy strategy of our country aims to chart a pathway to meet the Government’s
ambitious announcements, such as 175 gigawatts (GW) of renewable energy
capacity by 2022, reduction in energy emissions intensity by 33%-35% by 2030
and raising the share of non-fossil fuel-based power in the electricity mix to
40% by 2030 (Niti Aayog). The Paris Agreement is a landmark environmental
accord adopted by all in 2015 to address climate change and its impacts (UNFCCC
2015). The deal aims at reducing global greenhouse gas emissions to limit the
global temperature rise to 2 degrees Celsius above the pre-industrial levels by
the end of this century.
The
Indian approach to biofuels is based solely on non-food feedstocks raised on
degraded or wastelands that are not suited to farming, thus avoiding a possible
conflict of fuel vs food security. An estimated 55.3 million hectares of land
is considered wasteland, which can be used to cultivate biofuel crops
In
2014, the Government of India developed a comprehensive roadmap for biofuel
production and its use to facilitate optimal development and utilisation of
indigenous biomass feedstocks to produce biofuels to satisfy the growing energy
demand in an environmentally benign and cost effective manner. Subsequently, it
brought out a National Policy on Biofuels-2018 that broadens the scope for raw
material procurement for ethanol production and supports sustainable fuel
ethanol production measures to achieve the target of 10 % blending during
2021-22 and 20 % by 2025. The main highlights of the policy are:
Funding: It provides funding
support of Rs. 50000 million to second-generation (2G) ethanol bio-refineries
over six years, in addition to tax incentives and higher purchase price
compared to first-generation (1G) fuels.
Forex
savings:
It was estimated that 10 million litres of E10 will save Rs. 280 million worth
of forex. Accordingly, the supply of about 1500 million litres of ethanol in
2017-18 saved Rs. 42000 million in forex.
Oil
Marketing Companies (OMC) Capex: 100 Kilo litre per day (KLPD) bio-refinery
requires an investment of Rs. 8000 million. Currently, OMCs are setting up
twelve 2G bio-refineries with a total investment of Rs. 10,0000 million. This
should lead to an additional capacity of about 1200 KLPD annually
National
Biofuel Coordination Committee: Under the new biofuel policy, a National
Biofuel Coordination Committee was set up in 2018. It envisages resolving the
lack of raw material availability by expanding the base materials to include
B-Heavy molasses, sugarcane juice and damaged grains unfit for human
consumption. The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MoP&NG) is
presently undertaking the EBP programme to achieve 10% ethanol blending in
petrol by 2021–22.
Incentivise
ethanol production: An interest subvention scheme has been introduced to
incentivise ethanol production by augmenting and enhancing its production
capacity. The scheme is monitored jointly by MoP&NG and the Department of
Food and Public Distribution (DFPD) of the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food
& Public Distribution, Government of India. So far, the DFPD has approved
(in-principle) 114 proposals for a maximum loan amount of Rs. 61,390 million.
These proposals are estimated to add another 2000 million litres to ethanol
production capacity
Straighten
inter-and intra-state movement: The amendment of the Industries Development
and Regulation Act (IDRA) aims at the smoothening inter-and intra-state
movement of ethanol by giving the central government exclusive control over it.
The possibility of higher blending in ethanol-surplus states of Uttar Pradesh
(UP) and Maharashtra is being explored to avoid the movement of ethanol across
the country. For this, the Bureau of Indian Standards has already notified E-20
Standards.
Minimum
purchase price (MPP): MPP of bioethanol will be announced with periodic
revisions. Major thrust will be given to research, development and
demonstration focusing on plantations, processing and production, including
second-generation biofuels. Financial incentives including subsidies and
grants, will be provided for 2G biofuels (National Policy on Biofuels-2018).
Almost
any plant-based material can be used as an ethanol feedstock. All plants
contain sugars in stalks/grain that can be fermented to make ethanol through
biochemical conversion. Plant material can also be converted into ethanol
through thermochemical conversion. Selecting a feedstock depends on many
factors, including ease of cultivation of a specific crop, geographic
advantage, and other uses (e.g., food and feed)
Sugarcane :
Sugarcane
is the best feedstock for bioethanol production, followed by sugar beet. In
India, sugarcane is widely cultivated (except in hills), hence it provides a
good alternative as a feedstock for ethanol production. Other crops can also be
used for ethanol production, depending on their level of production and availability.
The broken grains of cereals can also be a potential source of feedstock for
bioethanol production. More than 90 % of
ethanol production is derived from maize and sugarcane.
Sweet
Sorghum:-
The
National Policy on Biofuels-2018 has identified sweet sorghum as one of the
candidate crops for augmenting biofuel production. Sugar industries are
exploring possibilities of complementing their existing molasses-based ethanol
production with alternative raw material to fill in the lean period of
sugarcane crushing for year-round operations. Sweet sorghum is a new generation
bioenergy crop that yields grain on par with grain sorghum within a short
growing period of four months. Further, it has a low water requirement. It
produces high biomass (50-80 t/ha) and alcohol (1500-2000 l/ha), besides
broader adaptation and tolerance to various abiotic stresses like drought and
salinity. In all the big mill tests, it has been proven that sweet sorghum
could be crushed with the available sugarcane crushing machinery. In addition,
sweet sorghum is an ideal feedstock for second-generation bioethanol
production. The major impediment of converting biomass to biofuels is high
pre-treatment costs for lignin removal and the high price of enzymes used for
saccharification. An advantageous feature of sorghum is the presence of brown
midrib mutations that can reduce lignin content and increase forage
digestibility in animals. Lowered lignin also has been shown to increase the
conversion efficiency of biomass into ethanol. Given the current remunerative
price for ethanol, sweet sorghum as a biofuel feedstock in existing sugar mills
will be a win-win situation for industry and resource-poor dryland farmers. As
a promising alternative feedstock for sustainable ethanol production, sweet
sorghum can also provide a wide range of environmental, economic, and
employment benefits under rainfed conditions
Cellulose
feedstocks:-
Cellulosic
feedstocks are non-food based and include crop residues, wood residues,
dedicated energy crops and industrial and other wastes. For example, rice and
wheat straw and cornhusks are the potential second-generation feedstocks. These
feedstocks are composed of cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin. Lignin is usually
separated and converted to heat and electricity in the distillery processes. It
is more challenging to release sugars from these lingo-cellulosic feedstocks to
convert into ethanol. However, there are inherent advantages to using the
inevitable by-products of the agricultural industry for biofuel production
without additional fertiliser, water, or land to grow these feedstocks. The
industry uses some of these non-edible by-products to produce animal feed;
however, a considerable quantity could be used for biofuel production.
Biomass:-
Biomass
is an abundant source of carbon that can be used to produce biofuels. This
carbon is a fundamental element of different plant components, including the
cell walls, mainly composed of the structural polysaccharide cellulose,
hemicellulose polysaccharides and the aromatic polymer lignin. The conversion
of biomass into biofuel depends on the enzymatic saccharification of structural
polysaccharides into their monosaccharide building blocks that can be
subsequently fermented into bioethanol. Lignin is one of the critical
components limiting the conversion of biomass into biofuel. It crosslinks to
hemicellulosic polysaccharides to form a highly impermeable matrix that imparts
strength to the plant cell wall and shields cellulose . Cellulose is the
primary source of fermentable sugars from chemical and enzymatic hydrolysis. In
addition, it impedes the efficiency of enzymatic saccharification by
irreversibly adsorbing hydrolytic enzymes, which renders them ineffective. Simultaneous
saccharification and fermentation (SSF) is one process option for ethanol
production from lignocellulose. The main benefits of performing the enzymatic
hydrolysis and the fermentation, instead of in a separate step after the
hydrolysis, are the reduced endproduct inhibition of the enzymatic hydrolysis
and the reduced investment costs. In this regard, an expensive hydrolysing
process to convert feedstock for fermentation and massive industrial waste
discharge are to be addressed. The costly processes detail scopes of biofuel
production from second-generation feedstocks. Regardless, second-generation
biofuel research and policy has the potential to develop this biofuel pathway
into an abundant source of biofuel.
The
development of low-cost enzyme cocktails is one of the main challenges in
producing 2G ethanol. Researchers at the Brazilian Center for Research in
Energy and Materials (CNPEM) have genetically engineered a fungus to create a
cocktail of enzymes that break down the carbohydrates in biomass, such as
sugarcane trash (tops and leaves) and bagasse, into fermentable sugar for
industrially efficient conversion into biofuel.
Algae
can be used as a 2G biofuel producer. It has been shown that algae are the
highest producer of biofuels . Soybean can produce between 378 and 473 litres
of biofuel per ha, rapeseed between 1,065 and 1,088 litres per ha, mustard
1,325 litres per ha, palm oil 6,150 litres per ha and algae 94,625 litres per
ha.
However,
the barriers must be overcome before one begins to roll down the highways based
on sustainable, carbon-neutral gasoline, starting with finding ways to break
lignocelluloses biomass down into fermentable sugars. It appears that the 2G
biofuel at the research level and commercial production may not be possible in
the near future. Therefore, at present, the bioethanol program will continue to
depend entirely on first-generation fuels.
====================================================
What
are biofuels ?
Ans:
The
“biofuels” are referred to the energy
enriched chemicals generated through the biological processes or derived from
the biomass of living organisms, such as microalgae, plants and bacteria.
The
use of photosynthetic organisms as a source of biofuel is cheap and feasible,
i.e. atmospheric CO2 serves as source of carbon and sunlight serves as an
energy source
Sugar
is the basic molecular substrate for the production of bioethanol and
biomethanol.
There are two
kinds of biofuel ethanol, processed from sugarcane or corn, and biodiesel, made
from biomass.
Climate-savvy
Europe gave the first push to biofuel, mandating that it should contribute 6
per cent of fuels used in vehicles by 2010 and 10 per cent by 2020.
Farmers were given subsidies to grow crops for
fuel. The bulk of European biodiesel comes from domestically grown rapeseed.
But to meet its growing needs, Europe is looking to import soyabean-based fuel
from Brazil and Argentina and palm oil from Indonesia and Malaysia
Biofuels
may be classified into two categories: primary and secondary biofuels. The
primary biofuels are the natural biofuels directly produced from firewood,
plants, forest, animal waste, and crop residue. The secondary biofuels are
directly generated from plants and microorganisms and may be further divided
into three generations:-
1)The
first generation of biofuels is the production of ethanol from starch
rich food crops like wheat, barley, corn, potato, sugarcane, or biodiesel from
soybean, sunflower and animal fat.
[Bioethanol
or butanol by fermentation of starch (from wheat, barley, corn, potato) or
sugars (from sugarance and sugar beet.) Biodiesel by transesterification of oil
crops (rapeseed, soybeans, sunflower, palm, coconut, used cooking oil, and
animal fats.)]
2)The
second generation of biofuels is the production of bioethanol and
biodiesel from several species of plants such as jatropha, cassava, miscanthus,
straw, grass and wood
[Bioethanol
and biodiesel produced from Conventional technologies but based on novel
starch, oil and sugar crops such as Jatropha, cassava or Miscanthus;
Bioethanol, biobutanol, syndiesel produced from lignocellulosic materials (e.g.
straw, wood and grass)]
3)The
third generation of biofuels is the production of biodiesel from microalgae
and microbes
The
third generation of biofuels is microalgae, which is overcoming disadvantages
of the first and the second generations of biofuel [Biodiesel from microalgae
Bioethanol from microalgae and seaweeds Hydrogen from green microalgae and microbes]
Micro
algae use light energy to convert carbon dioxide into organic compounds more
efficiently than higher plants, suggesting they are a superior source for
production of biofuels. Microalgae, such as
C.protothecoides, may contain 55% of lipid when grown heterotrophically
under nitrogen limitation.
Microalgae
can be divided into five main groups : blue-green algae (Cyanobacteria), green
algae, Diatoms, Red algae, and Brown algae.
Among
them, cyanobacteria are likely the most dominant for biofuels production. Many
species of microalgae can convert lipid to biodiesel by transesterification.
The biodiesel derived from microalgae is similar to petroleum diesel on the
basis of viscosity and density
Bio-ethanol
production
:-
There
are several sources for bioethanol production, such as agricultural wastes,
lignocellulosic biomass, rice straw, and sugarcane. Feedstocks, such as sucrose
from sugarcane, sugar, beet, starch from corn, wheat or lignocellulosic
materials from straw, wood and bagasse (dry pulpy residue of sugarcane stems
left after the extraction of juice), are commonly used for bioethanol
production
Sugarcane
produces high amount of bioethanol when the waste product of bagasse is
utilized. This cellulosic material is produced at the level of around several
hundred kilograms per a ton of sugarcane that can be used for ethanol and
electricity generation
In
addition, the crop plants containing in starch, such as corn, are also used as
feedstocks for conversion to sugars through hydrolysis and finally to
bioethanol through fermentation and distillation
Biodiesel
production
:-
Biodiesel
is an alternative to fossil fuels in the past decades and increasingly receives
the attention worldwide. It can be produced from renewable biological materials
and can substitute the petroleum diesel fuels. Biodiesel fuels are produced
through transesterification of various animal fats and vegetable oils usually
with methanol or ethanol
It
can be produced from many seed oils, but the most common ones are rapeseed and
soybean oils. The quality of biodiesel depends on the natural characteristics
of feedstocks used for its production. Biodiesel is important due to several
reasons:-
(a)it
can provide a cheap and local fuel for rural economies; (b) it is sustainable
and renewable; and (c) production has little toxic waste with largely
biodegradable input and outputs
(d)biodiesel
is environmental friendly and can be used to improve the engine performance
Biodiesel
is similar to crude oil-derived diesel in chain length, viscosity, energy
density and can be a “drop in” fuel requiring little modification of existing
internal combustion engines.
======================================================
Global
Biofuels Alliance (GBA):-
GBA is an India-led Initiative to develop an
alliance of Governments, International organizations and Industry to facilitate
adoption of biofuels. Bringing together the biggest consumers and producers of
biofuels to drive biofuels development and deployment, the initiative aims to
position biofuels as a key to energy transition and contribute to jobs and
economic growth.
Creating history in the global energy sector,
Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi announced the launch of Global Biofuels
Alliance (GBA) on the sidelines of the G20 Summit (September,10,2023). 19
countries and 12 international organisations have already agreed to join the
alliance.
The initiative will be beneficial for India at
multiple fronts. GBA as a tangible outcome of the G20 presidency, will help
strengthen India’s position globally. Moreover, the alliance will focus on
collaboration and will provide additional opportunities to Indian industries in
the form of exporting technology and exporting equipment.
It will
help accelerate India’s existing biofuels programs such as PM-JIVANYojna,
SATAT, and GOBARdhan scheme, thereby contributing to increased farmers’ income,
creating jobs and overall development of the Indian ecosystem.
The global ethanol market was valued at USD
99.06 billion in 2022 and is predicted to grow at a CAGR of 5.1% by 2032 and
surpass USD 162.12 billion by 2032. As per International Energy Agency ( IEA) ,
there will be 3.5-5x biofuels growth potential by 2050 due to Net Zero targets,
creating a huge opportunity for India.
The establishment of the Global Biofuels
Alliance (GBA) aims to address major challenges and realising the potential of
biofuels. The Alliance intends to expedite the global uptake of biofuels
through facilitating capacity building exercises, technical support for
national programs and promoting policy lessons-sharing, technology
advancements, intensifying utilization of sustainable biofuels through the
participation of wide spectrum of stakeholders. Further, it intends to
facilitate development, adoption and implementation of internationally
recognized standards, codes, sustainability principles, and regulations to
incentivise biofuels adoption and trade. The Alliance will also work as a
central repository of knowledge and an expert hub. These activities of GBA are
expected to increase global biofuel market in the coming years.
=========================================================
Data on Bio-fuels production :
1)The National Policy on Biofuels-2018, was
amended in 2022, and has identified
various feedstocks for ethanol production, this inter-alia includes C & B –
Heavy Molasses, sugarcane juice, sugar, sugar syrup, biomass in form of
grasses, agriculture residues (rice straw, cotton stalk, corn cobs, saw dust,
bagasse etc.), sugar containing materials like sugar beet, sweet sorghum, etc.
and starch containing materials such as corn cassava, rotten potatoes, agro
food / pulp industry waste, etc., damaged food grains like broken rice, food
grains unfit for human consumption, food grains during surplus phase as
declared by National Biofuel Coordination Committee (NBCC), industrial waste,
industrial waste off-gases, algal and cultivation of sea weeds etc
2)As per National Policy on Biofuels- 2018,
to promote the production of biofuels in India
by units located in Special Economic Zones (SEZ)/ Export Oriented Units
(EoUs), import of feedstock for production of biofuels meant for export by
them, is allowed without any restriction.
3)Directorate General of Commercial
Intelligence and Statistics have informed that during Financial Year 2022-23
approx. 3520064 Kg of biodiesel and mixture under Indian Trade Classification -
based on Harmonized System (ITC-HS) codes 38260000 have been exported.
4)Under the interest subvention
scheme of Department of Food and Public Distribution, an amount of Rs. 119.90
crore have been released to 36 projects from the state of Karnataka for an
estimated ethanol capacity creation of about 144 crore litres per annum.
5)The detailed report on the ‘Roadmap for
Ethanol Blending in India 2020-25’provides guidance to achieve the target of
20% ethanol blending in India by 2025-26. The target of 10% ethanol blending
set in the aforesaid roadmap for Ethanol Supply Year 2021-22 has been achieved.
Blending
of Bio-fuels:-
Government of India has achieved the target of 10 per cent
average blending of ethanol in Petrol in the country under Ethanol Blended
Petrol (EBP) Programme in June, 2022 i.e. five months ahead of the target of
November, 2022.
The Government has set target of 20%
blending of ethanol in petrol under EBP programme by Ethanol Supply Year (ESY)
2025-26. As per the “Roadmap for Ethanol Blending in India 2020-25”, the
estimated requirement for 20% ethanol blending in ESY 2025-26 is
approximately 1016 crore litres and this quantity of petrol will be replaced by
ethanol. As per the Roadmap, a successful E20 program can save the country
about 4 billion US Dollar (USD) per annum.
Under Ethanol Blended Petrol (EBP)
Programme, the blending of ethanol with petrol increased from 38 crore litres
in Ethanol Supply Year (ESY) 2013-14 to 302.3 crore litres in ESY 2020-21 with
corresponding increase in blending percentage from 1.53% to 8.17%. During the corresponding
period, the consumption of petrol itself has also increased by approx. 64%. The
production of fuel grade ethanol and its supply to Oil Marketing Companies
(OMCs) has increased by more than 7 times from ESY 2013-14 to ESY 2020-21.
Encouraged by this performance, Government decided to advance the target of 20%
ethanol blending in petrol from 2030 to ESY 2025-26. OMCs achieved the target
of 10% ethanol blending in petrol in June, 2022 i.e. five months ahead of the
target during ESY 2021-22. Blending of ethanol with petrol further increased to
more than 500 crore litres in ESY 2022-23 with corresponding increase in
blending to 12.06%. During the current ESY 2023-24, the blending percentage has
already crossed 13%.
====================================================
Pradhan Mantri JI-VAN Yojana:
“Pradhan Mantri JI-VAN (Jaiv Indhan- Vatavaran
Anukool fasal awashesh Nivaran) Yojana” was notified on 07.03.2019 for
providing financial assistance to 2G Bio-ethanol projects. To meet the ethanol
blending targets, the Government is also focusing on alternate sources like 2nd
Generation (2G) Ethanol (Advanced biofuels). Surplus biomass
/agricultural waste which has cellulosic and lignocellulosic content,
industrial waste etc. can be converted to ethanol using advanced biofuel
technology.
The scheme aims to provide remunerative income
to farmers for their agriculture residue, address environmental pollution,
create local employment opportunities, and contribute to India's energy
security and self-reliance. It also supports the development of advanced
biofuel technologies and promotes the Make in India Mission. It also helps in
achieving India’s ambitious target for net-zero GHG emissions by 2070.
Government has approved Pradhan Mantri JI-VAN Yojana to provide
Viability Gap Funding (VGF) to Second Generation bio-ethanol manufacturing
projects to increase availability of ethanol for EBP programme
Oil CPSEs are setting up 2G ethanol
bio-refineries in the country at Panipat (Haryana), Bathinda (Punjab), Numaligarh
(Assam), Bargarh (Odisha) and one demonstration project at Panipat.
Bio-refinery at Panipat has been dedicated to the nation. Plants at Bathinda,
Bargarh and Numaligarh are in advanced stage of construction.
Pradhan Mantri JI-VAN Yojana is modified on 9.8.2024 to
keep pace with the latest developments in the field of biofuels and to attract
more investment.
The modified scheme extends timeline for implementation of
scheme by Five (5) year i.e. till 2028-29 and includes advanced biofuels
produced from lignocellulosic feedstocks i.e. agricultural and forestry
residues, industrial waste, synthesis (syn) gas, algae etc. in its scope.
“Bolt on” plants & “Brownfield projects” would also now be eligible to
leverage their experience and improve their viability.
To promote multiple technologies and multiple feedstocks,
preference would now be given to project proposals with new technologies and
innovations in the sector.
===============================================
Though
the use of renewables has scope in various forms and sectors, most often the
energy sector is placed at the center-stage. This is primarily due to the fact
that energy is the main driver in automation, and in any other fields which
demand inputs beyond human efforts. The progress and development targets
achieved by the human civilisation rest upon the wide and extensive use of
energy in different forms. While discussing the sustainable alternatives, it is
largely accepted that choosing an energy strategy inevitably means choosing an
environmental strategy. As on today, India is consuming about 9000 billion
units of energy for various purposes. About 47 per cent of the total energy is
sourced from coal and lignite, 31 per cent from crude oil, about 15 per cent
from electricity (hydro, nuclear and other renewable sources) and 8 per cent
from natural gas. (Energy Statistics, 2022).
The International Centre for Genetic
Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB) celebrated World Biofuel Day with a
special event aimed at showcasing the advancements in biofuels and carbon
capture technologies on 10.8.2024 in New Delhi.
Bio-fuels
are renewable liquid fuels extracted from biological raw material and have
proven to be good substitutes for oil in the energy sector. Bio-fuels such
asbio-diesel and ethanol are gaining worldwide acceptance as a solution for
problems of environmental degradation, energy security, restricting imports,
rural employment and agricultural economy. India due to the growing oil
intensification of its economy, as more than 70% of the oil used in the country
is imported has taken initiatives to search for alternatives to the fossil
fuels. Bio-fuels derived from plant-based resources assume importance in this
context.
A
number of countries in the world took up initiatives for development of
bio-fuels to meet the growing demands for energy. The focus has been on
bio-diesel and bio-ethanol. Among the major countries in the world in
bio-ethanol production, Brazil is a frontrunner. USA uses corn as the main
source of bio-ethanol. Thailand uses sugarcane as well as cassava for ethanol.
Japan, Germany, Canada, Australia, Indonesia, South Africa, Sweden are the
other leading countries using ethanol blends. Bio-diesel is being used in USA,
Austria, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Czech Republic, Ireland, Italy,
Spain and Sweden. The main sources of bio-diesel in these countries are
rapeseed, sunflower, olive oils, which are, however edible oils and are not
appropriate in Indian context, as we are also importing nearly half of our
edible oil requirements.
Use
of ethanol as automotive fuel was first made in Mysore in 1938. Dual fuel
operation in diesel engines was experimented at the Indian Institute of Science
(IISc.), Bangalore, in 1950.
The
major source of bio-diesel in India is non-edible oil seeds and the technology
for its production is indigenously available. Bio-diesel provides
bio-degradability, non-toxicity and is sulphur-free. The oxygen content is
about 10%, which gives better emission characteristics in terms of CO, HC &
PM.
The
union cabinet approved the National Policy on biofuels and its implementation
on 24.12.2009.
Salient
features of the National Policy on Bio-fuel :-
1)
Bio-diesel production will be taken up from non-edible oil seeds in
waste/degraded/ marginal lands.
2)An
indicative target of 20 % blending of biofuels, both for biodiesel and
bio-ethanol by 2017 has been proposed.
3)Minimum
support price (MSP) for non-edible oil seeds would be announced with periodic
revision to provide fair price to the growers. l Minimum Purchase
Price (MPP) for purchase of bio-ethanol and bio-diesel would be announced with
periodic revision.
4)Major
thrust will be given to research, development and demonstration with focus on
plantations, processing and production of biofuels, including second generation
biofuels and financial incentives, including subsidies and grants.
5)If
it becomes necessary, a national Bio-fuel Fund could be considered.
Ethanol
and biodiesel are the two most common types of biofuels in use today. Ethanol
is a renewable fuel that can be made from various plant materials, collectively
known as “biomass.” Government has been implementing Ethanol Blended Petrol
(EBP) Programme wherein the Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) sell petrol blended
with 10 per cent ethanol. Biodiesel is a liquid fuel produced from renewable
sources, such as new and used vegetable oils and animal fats and is a
cleaner-burning replacement for petroleum-based diesel fuel. Presently,
biodiesel is produced from imported palm-stearin oil in the country. However,
we are phasing it out by using used cooking oil as the feedstock. Since the
biomass-based renewable hydrocarbon fuels are nearly identical to the petroleum-based
fuels, the transition becomes easier. The National Policy on Biofuels announced
in 2018 is aimed at accelerated promotion of biofuels with indicative targets
of achieving 20 per cent blending in Petrol and 5 per cent blending in diesel
by 2030
“The biofuel sector has immense potential,
surpassing the agriculture sector in scale, and necessitates extensive research
and development to overcome technical and economic barriers, making it
commercially viable and unlocking its vast opportunities for sustainable energy
production”
The prospect of
biofuels are a transport alternative fuel is promising. The transport sector
occupies one of the largest energy consuming sectors in every country of the
world. A part of this energy demand, if it is supplied by the eco-friendly
biofuels much of the problem(s) of pollution such as acid rain, harmful
tropospheric ozone formation and release of the global-warming gases shall be
reduced.
Seeds from the
Jatropha curcas plant are used for the production of bio-fuels, a crucial part
of India’s plan to attain energy sustainability. Jatropha has the unique
potential provided proper incentives and directions are formulated and
implemented by the stakeholders including farmers, scientists and policy
makers.
Ethanol can be
blended with or replace gasoline, and made up 59% of transport biofuel
consumption in 2020. Biodiesel can be blended with or replace diesel, and made
up 41% of 2020 transport biofuel consumption.
How Conventional
biofuels are produced ?
Ans :
Conventional
biofuels use food-based crops, compete for land with food, and can have a
variety of lifecycle GHG emissions impact, including slight or negligible
reductions or even substantial increases. Feedstocks for advanced biofuels
include waste streams and residues (from agriculture and industry), woody
residues and short-rotation woody crops, and other feedstocks that do not
compete with food.
Biofuels can also be
produced with carbon capture and storage, which addresses GHG goals but not
necessarily other sustainability goals. Other advanced biofuels use developing
technology such as cellulosic ethanol and biomass-to-liquids.
How Conventioal
Biodiesel is produced ?
Ans:
Biodiesel:
Conventional biodiesel is produced using the fatty acid and methyl esters
(FAME) route (transesterification) from food oil crops, such as rapeseed, palm,
soybean, flax, sunflower, mustard and coconut.
How Advanced
Bio-diesel is produced ?
Ans:
Advanced biodiesel
uses non-food feedstocks such as waste cooking oil, fish oil, algae oil, animal
fats, and potentially cellulosic material as well—which generally requires more
advanced production methods such as Fischer-Tropsch.
Biodiesel can be
blended into diesel and used in diesel vehicles with no engine modification,
though performance can be compromised at higher blends. Common blending rates
are 7% in Europe and 5% in India.
Biodiesel blending
rates in the US include 2%, 5%, and 20% and 100%, though warranties for many
vehicles will not cover blends of 20% or higher. Bio-ethanol: Ethanol is produced
by fermenting biomass.
Conventional Ethanol
is made from which agricultural items?
Ans :
Conventional ethanol is made from food energy
crops such as corn, wheat, sugar beet, sugarcane, barley and rye.
Whether Paddy Straw
and Wheat Straw can be used for production of
Advanced Enthanol ?
Yes.
Advanced ethanol is
produced using wastes and residues and non-food energy crops. Feedstocks
include cellulose and hemicellulose (fibrous material that is abundant in plant
matter), such as wheat straw, woody raw materials and agricultural residues.
Regardless of
feedstock, ethanol can be blended into gasoline and used by conventional
gasoline ICEs with no modification, typically at rates of 5% in Europe and
China, 10% (and now up to 15%) in the US and Canada, and 5-20% in India
=========================================================
The agricultural industry plays a big
role in the biofuels industry, as long as the feedstocks for fermentation and
cleansing of bio-oil, bio-diesel and bio-ethnol.
Biofuels are grouped by categories as
first generation, second generation and third generation , based on the type of
feedstock used to produce them:
1)First
Generation: First Generation Biofuels are produced from food crops. For ethnol,
feedstocks include sugar cane, corn, maize etc. For biodiesel, feedstocks are
naturally occurring vegetable oils such as soybean and canola. First-generation biofuels are biofuels
made from sugar, starch, vegetable oil or animal fats using conventional
technology. The basic feedstock's for the production of first generation
biofuels are often seeds or grains such as sunflower seeds, corn or soybeans
which are pressed to yield vegetable oil that can be used for producing
biodiesel. These feedstock's could instead enter the animal or human food
chain, and as the global population has risen their use in producing biofuels
has been criticised for diverting food away from the human food chain, leading
to food shortages and price rises.
2)Second
Generation : Second Generation Biofuels
are produced from cellulosic material
such as wood, grasses and inedible parts of plants. This material is
more difficult to break down through fermentation and therefore requires
pre-treatment before it can be processed. Second-generation biofuels use non-food crops as the
feedstock, these include waste biomass, the stalks of wheat, corn, wood, and
special-energy-or-biomass crops (e.g. Miscanthus). Second generation (2G)
biofuels use biomass to liquid technology, including cellulosic biofuels. Many
second generation biofuels are under development such as biohydrogen,
biomethanol, DMF, Bio-DME, Fischer-Tropsch diesel, biohydrogen diesel, mixed
alcohols and wood diesel. Cellulosic ethanol production uses non-food crops or
inedible waste products and does not divert food away from the animal or human
food chain. Lignocellulose is the "woody" structural material of
plants. This feedstock is abundant and diverse, and in some cases (like citrus
peels or sawdust) it is in itself a significant disposal problem
3)Third
Generation : Third Generation Biofuels are produced using the lipid production
from algae. Algae are low-input,
high-yield feedstock's to produce biofuels. Based on laboratory experiments, it
is claimed that algae can produce up to 30 times more energy per acre than land
crops such as soybeans, but these yields have yet to be produced commercially.
With the higher prices of fossil fuels (petroleum), there is much interest in
algaculture (farming algae). One advantage of many biofuels over most other
fuel types is that they are biodegradable, and so relatively harmless to the
environment if spilled. Algae fuel still has its difficulties though, for
instance to produce algae fuels it must be mixed uniformly, which, if done by
agitation, could affect biomass growth.
In addition, the term ‘Advanced
Biofuels” is used to describe the relatively new technological field of biofuel
production that uses waste such as garbage, animal fats, and spent cooking oil
to produce liquid fuels.
India is one of
the leading producers of biofuels in the world. The Public Sector Oil
Marketing Companies (OMCs) have procured ethanol from domestic producers and
thereafter blended 433.6 crore litres of ethanol in petrol during the Ethanol
Supply Year (ESY) 2021-22 (ESY: 1st December to 30th November)
and procured 5.83 crore litres of bio-diesel till November, 2022 for blending
with diesel during the financial year 2022-23. The Oil and Gas Marketing
Companies (OGMCs) have issued 3694 Letters of Intent (LoIs) to potential
entrepreneurs for procurement of Compressed Bio Gas (CBG) up to 31st October,
2022.
========================================================
Ethanol Blending Programme
(EBP):-
Ethanol
and biodiesel are the two most common types of biofuels in use today.
Ethanol
is a renewable fuel that can be made from various plant materials, collectively
known as “biomass.”
Government
has been implementing Ethanol Blended Petrol (EBP) Programme wherein the Oil
Marketing Companies (OMCs) sell petrol blended with 10 per cent ethanol.
Biodiesel
is a liquid fuel produced from renewable sources, such as new and used
vegetable oils and animal fats and is a cleaner-burning replacement for
petroleum-based diesel fuel. Presently, biodiesel is produced from imported
palm-stearin oil in the country.
However,
we are phasing it out by using used cooking oil as the feedstock. Since the
biomass-based renewable hydrocarbon fuels are nearly identical to the
petroleum-based fuels, the transition becomes easier.
The
National Policy on Biofuels announced in 2018 is aimed at accelerated promotion
of biofuels with indicative targets of achieving 20 per cent blending in Petrol
and 5 per cent blending in diesel by 2030.
The National Policy on Biofuels-2018
notified on 8.6.2018, inter-alia, allows
production of ethanol from damaged food grains like wheat, broken rice etc.
which are unfit for human consumption. The policy also allows conversion of
surplus quantities of food grains to ethanol, based on the approval of National
Biofuel Coordination Committee.
Use of
damaged foodgrains and surplus foodgrains for production of ethanol will
increase its availability for Ethanol Blended Petrol (EBP) Programme.
During the ethanol supply year 2017-18, 150.5 crore litres of ethanol was blended in Petrol which resulted
in foreign exchange impact of about Rs. 5070 crore and carbon emission reduced
to the extent of 29.94 lakh tonnes.
Under EBP programme, ethanol blending in petrol is being
undertaken by the Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) in whole country except island
Union Territory (UT) of Andaman Nicobar and Lakshadweep wherein, OMCs blend up
to 10 % ethanol in petrol under the EBP Programme.
====================================================
Extraction of bio-diesel from
Jatropha andPongamia seeds:
To prepare bio-diesel, the oil is
expelled from the seeds through Processes of solvent extraction, enzymatic
extraction etc. If the seeds are processed at village level in a decentralized
way by oil extraction in small scale units, it will reduce the processing cost
compared to the biodiesel manufactured at a large scale industry.
Processing of Jatopha and
Pongamia seeds for biodiesel application involves two major steps which include
expelling the oil from the seeds and preparing biodiesel through
tansesterfication process.
Jatropha cultivation:
Soil
type: well drained soils
Rainfall
requirement: 500 – 1000 mm
Nitrogen
fixation capability: No
Land use compatibility: Wastelands,
degraded lands, live fence,
Agroforestry, green capping
of bunds, shallow soils
Plant habit : Mostly bush, can be
trained as small tree
Gestation for yield : Short, starts
yielding during 3rd year, attained maturity
at 6th
year
Harvesting method : Fruits to be
plucked
Seed yield/ha : 1 to 3 t/ha (seed)
Oil content : 27 – 38% in seed
Oil cake : As manure ( 4.4% N, 2.09 P, 1.68%K)
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