World Biofuel Day: The Importance of Biofuels in the Future

World Biofuel Day is observed on August 10 every year to create awareness about the non-conventional sources of energy that could be used as an alternative to fossil fuels. World Biofuel Day also commemorates the research experiments done by Sir Rudolf Diesel who ran an engine with peanut oil in the year 1893, thereby giving the world hope that biofuels can replace traditional fossil fuels in the future.

Conventional sources of energy that include fossil fuels are limited in quantity and take thousands of years to form. Additionally, their use has left to several environmental degradations over the years. Hence developing alternate energy sources is the need of the hour and biofuels could be a good option to explore. Here’s why biofuels are important:

1. Lesser EmissionResearch undertaken by the National Library of Medicine shows that biofuel’s particulate matter is smaller in size, and lesser in quantity. This results in cleaner emissions and reduced air pollution caused by their use.
2. Readily AvailableCompared to other alternative fuel options, biofuels are easily available and have fewer limitations of geography. Biofuel can be stored, burned and pumped the same way as petroleum diesel fuel. They can be used in pure forms or blended easily.
3. RenewableUnlike conventional fossil fuels that may take up to thousands of years to form, biofuels can be made as per the need.
4. Better Energy BalanceThe cost involved in biofuels is lesser when compared to other sources like petrol and diesel. Biofuels also have a better energy balance, a ratio of how much energy is required to produce, manufacture, and distribute compared to the amount of energy that is released when fuel is burned.

India in the past few years has launched several initiatives to promote biofuel consumption. The country’s National Policy on Biofuels, 2018, talks of an indicative target of 20% ethanol blending with petrol and 5% blending of biodiesel in diesel by 2030.

The amendment to the policy, made in 2022, allows more feedstocks to produce biofuels and adds new members to the NBCC (National Biofuel Coordination Committee).

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