Bangalore, July 27, 2010: Currently, global biofuel usage is around 1.5 percent of the total petroleum production. It is expected that it will increase multi-fold in the next decade. In the first generation technologies, sugar and grain crops are used as feedstocks to make bioethanol, while seed oils, fats and greases are used to make biodiesel. Whereas,  the second generation technology attempts to bring in different alternate processes from wider range of feedstocks.

Biotechnology will play a crucial role in developing second generation technology. It would be complemented by conventional chemical processes in making a better biofuel. Developing renewable biomaterials like Jatropha brings wide range of benefits in social context: improve land use pattern, reduce green house gas emissions and more importantly upliftment of the marginal farmers with better livelihood.

Commenting on the global biofuel scenario, Mr Shashank Inamdar, CEO and MD of Pune, India-based Praj Industries says, “Transport biofuels, largely classified as bioethanol and biodiesel, have been extensively blended in petrol or diesel respectively for over three decades. What started as a hedge against high oil prices (in Brazil), soon became an environment friendly way to mitigate green house gas emissions from vehicles. Today, the use of biofuels has grown 150 percent over the past five years.”

“Going forward, biofuels will continue to be blended with petro-fuels. The US alone has mandated the use of 36 billion gallons of biofuels as a transport fuel by 2022 as compared to the current usage of 10 billion gallons. Many countries have now joined the US and Brazil in the effort to mandate biofuels as a renewable alternative. These include EU, Thailand, the Philippines, Colombia, Peru, and 30 other countries including India,” he adds.

Mr GS Krishnan, Regional President of Novozymes South Asia located in Bangalore, India, opined that biofuels has the ability to help countries meet their growing energy needs while providing reduced greenhouse gas emissions and the opportunity for economic growth and employment opportunities through the domestic production of biofuels.”

Indian scenario
Unfortunately, India does not have a major standing as a user of biofuels as the blending is very intermittent and very small in quantity when compared to the US, Brazil and even EU. India is largely present as a technology, equipment and engineering supplier.

“At five percent of ethanol blending in petrol, India needs 600 million liters of ethanol. For five percent biodiesel blending with petro-diesel, the country needs 2.75 billion liters of biodiesel. The prospects are huge – the need of the hour is to implement and enforce the biofuel policy using first generation technology while deploying second generation technology to supplement the huge need. Globally, biofuels are likely to double in consumption, over the next five years,” shares Mr Inamdar.

“In 2008, the global biofuel usage was about 1.66 percent of the total global fuel used. Currently, bioethanol is the predominant contributor to biofuels market with over 85 percent market share. The Indian biofuels market is in a nascent stage. About 150 to 200 tonnes of ethanol is used annually for fuel blending in India,” says KV Subramaniam, President and CEO, Reliance Life Sciences.

While commenting on the current state of biofuel sector in India, Mr Satish Lele, member of the Core Group on Biofuels, Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industries (FICCI); author of the ebook, “Biodiesel and Jatropha Plantations” and the promoter of jatropha cultivation, says, “Current biofuel policy is for the purchase of biodiesel and ethanol. Oil companies are only authorized to buy biodiesel at some of its depots at Rs 26.50 per liter that amounts to half of the raw material price. Most of the jatropha oil currently produced in India is thus used as biokerosene (substitute for kerosene for use in lamps and stoves and for adulteration of diesel) and for the manufacture of soap. Not much oil is available for the manufacture of biodiesel or for exports.”

“Two major ethanol markets – US and Brazil – alone produced 17 billion gallons of ethanol in 2009.  In India, currently very small quantity of biofuels are used as a liquid transport fuel. The Indian biofuels market is just developing and, just as in the US and Brazil, it needs  more support from the government in order to fully develop and reach its full potential,” opines Mr Krishnan.

Also read:

Second generation biofuels

India's approach to biofuels

Major challenges ahead in the biofuel industry