ABSTRACT
The depletion of fossil fuel leads to several global challenges, most significantly energy security, economic development, and mitigation of climate change. This situation must be addressed via renewable green energy technologies such as wind, thermal, solar, and biological. Among these, biological technologies are being extensively researched and should provide more fruitful sustainable technologies for the future. Biofuels can be obtained through bioprocessing biological matter. They can be derived from biological matters such as plants and domestic and/or industrial residues. A fuel can be called biofuel when it contains more than 80% renewable materials. Currently, the United States is the top producer and consumer of biofuels, producing approximately 30,056 thousand metric tons of oil equivalent and consuming more than 65 million metric tons of oil equivalent. India, one of the top consumers of biofuels, consumes approximately 12.9 million metric tons of oil equivalent per year. Due to the inevitable processing issues related to lignocellulosic biomass, the commercial production of bioethanol is more difficult in India. According to a proposed policy on biofuels report from the Indian government’s Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), the main goal was blending 20% bioethanol (5.6 billion L) for both petrol and diesel by the year 2017. By 2020, it is projected that India’s dependency on energy will increase 20% from the current level. All products have positives and negatives, just as biofuels do. The few negatives of biofuels include lower energy output in terms of mass and economic balance, the possibility of food shortages that could affect people’s livelihoods, and the use of massive quantity of water during bioprocessing. Biofuels are not the only solution to the huge problem of energy demand. They are one of the bricks, just like other green technologies that can be pursued to their fullest. As the world’s focus is now turning more toward the research and development of biofuel, by developing innovative sustainable technologies, production shortcomings can be overcome, and more commercial plants can be added in line with the United States, Brazil, and Italy.
