Fueling the Future: Biofuels an Answer to Energy Transition Question

Biofuels have the potential to revolutionise our energy landscape and paradigm and pave the way for a more environmentally friendly future by successfully addressing waste management issues and offering a renewable energy source with local supply security.

October 17, 2023. By News Bureau

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Samrat Sengupta

Global Biofuels Alliance

The Global Biofuels Alliance was officially announced by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently. So far, both G20 members and non-member nations have consented to join the alliance, making a total of 19 nations and 12 international bodies, a part of this alliance along with the founding members i.e. - the US, Brazil, and India.

Biofuels have the potential to revolutionise our energy landscape and paradigm and pave the way for a more environmentally friendly future by successfully addressing waste management issues and offering a renewable energy source with local supply security. The focus of the renewable energy world has largely been on solar and wind energy. However, this alliance has brought it back to biofuels which have drawn a lot of attention as a potentially fruitful direction in the search for long-term fixes in recent years.

This shift in emphasis is caused by the realisation that biofuels have the ability to industrially address energy supply and security while providing a unique set of developmental co-benefits. Biofuels provide a domestically produced, sustainable solution by utilising a variety of organic materials, such as waste biomass, agricultural wastes, and special energy crops.

Biofuels are also incredibly promising for waste management. Large-scale biofuel production has the ability to efficiently transform different organic wastes, such as food waste and agricultural waste, into useful energy sources. These biofuels can take the place of conventional fossil fuels by using cutting-edge conversion techniques, reducing local and global environmental pollution brought on by waste buildup and providing circularity and sustainable approach to waste management.

Supply Scale and Energy Security
Biofuels offer a promising opportunity for generating renewable energy on an industrial scale while enhancing energy security. They derive from diverse sources, including waste materials, agricultural residues, and dedicated energy crops, providing a sustainable alternative to conventional fossil fuels. Cultivating energy plants in barren lands and converting bio-waste into biofuels can establish a dependable, domestically sourced energy supply.

Biofuels play a particularly crucial role in decarbonizing transportation by offering low-carbon retrofits for present technologies, such as light-duty cars in the short term and heavy-duty trucks, ships, and aircraft with few other options in the long run. The demand for biofuel increased to levels close to 2019 in 2021, hitting 4 EJ (159 200 million litres), after having fallen due to the Covid-19 crisis.

Waste Management and Diversification
By simultaneously tackling waste management challenges and supplying renewable energy, biofuels offer a dual answer. Agricultural waste and other organic waste that would otherwise contribute to environmental pollution, particularly the lethal GHG Methane, can be effectively used in industrial-scale biofuel production. We can lessen the negative effects of these wastes and develop a more sustainable waste management system by turning them into beneficial biofuels.

Currently, so-called conventional feedstocks like corn, soybeans, and sugar cane are used to make the vast majority of biofuels. It is crucial to raise biofuel production to advanced feedstocks in order to assure minimal impact on land use, food and feed costs, and other environmental concerns.

The Net Zero Scenario estimates that, up from a projected 8 percent in 2021, around 50 percent of biofuels consumed in 2030 will come from wastes, residues, and special crops that don't compete with food crops (for example, crops grown on marginal land).

Used cooking oil and animal fat waste make up the majority of the non-food crop feedstocks used to make biofuels today. In order to enhance the production of non-food crop biofuels, new technologies must be commercialised due to the dearth of these feedstocks.

Rural Roost
Initiatives at the community level, in addition to those at the industrial level, are essential for maximising the advantages of biofuels. Small-scale biogas systems offer a workable answer, especially for farmers and marginal farmers. For these communities, the utilisation of gobar gas, produced from animal dung using modular technology, offers a reasonably priced and long-lasting clean GHG neutral energy source. The availability of such technologies at an affordable price is made possible by carbon finance programmes, giving farmers the ability to meet their energy needs and lessen their reliance on fossil fuels.

Cost Effectiveness
Biofuels' high carbon content indicates lower endothermic energy costs, no or little purifying requirements based on consumption, and makes them a feasible technological and commercial choice for many regions of the world.

Countries can decrease their dependency on imported energy sources and lower their need to spend foreign currency by substituting fossil fuels with biofuels.

Biofuels jointly avert 4.4 percent of the world's oil use for road transport on an energy basis. Over 60 percent of the world's demand for biofuels comes from OECD countries, while 40 percent comes from non-OECD countries. The demand for biofuel is anticipated to rise by 5 percent from 2021 levels by the end of 2022 as a result of current and new legislation.

For instance, the US passed the Inflation Reduction Act in August 2022, which provides subsidies for advanced fuels, renewable, sustainable aviation fuel (SAS), and biodiesel as well as support for the infrastructure and production of biofuels.

The government of India has laws that encourage the use of biofuels and assist in developing a market for their production. One such mandate is the blending of ethanol with fossil fuels.

In addition to ensuring energy security, this also lessens reliance on foreign currency and the cost of importing fossil fuels.

Carbon Credits
Biofuels are a great way to reduce and avoid GHG emissions because of their low cost and effective operations. Biofuel producers can be eligible to acquire the corresponding renewable energy or carbon credits. The quantity of credits varies depending on how much GHG emissions their effort avoided or decreased.

For instance, the US Department of Energy gave a biofuel company running an ethanol plant tens of millions of dollars. Using the funding, a facility will be built that can use wood chips to produce more than 1 million gallons of biofuel yearly.

In order to handle the home garbage produced in a scientifically sound manner, Indore Smart City Development Limited conducted Municipal Solid Garbage Treatment projects as part of the measures for the sustainable development of Indore City. The financial gains from carbon credits would stimulate projects in collaboration with EKI that are both commercially and environmentally viable.

Conclusion
Biofuels have rapidly gained prominence as a versatile renewable energy solution, addressing a trifecta of challenges: energy supply, waste management, and financial savings. These remarkable fuels are not confined to industrial-scale production alone but extend to grassroots community-level clean energy access initiatives. Biofuels hold the promise of multifaceted benefits, playing a pivotal role as we endeavour to combat climate change and build sustainable energy systems. In their ascent, biofuels empower us to usher in transformative change, steering us toward a cooler planet and paving the way for a greener, more sustainable future.

- Samrat Sengupta, Vice President - Business Development, EnKing International (EKI Energy Services Ltd.)