Biofuel

The biofuel markets are getting bigger and better in the European Union, USA, Brazil, India, China and Argentina and contributing to their bio-economies, respectively. In the US, biodiesel production exceeded 1 billion gallons in 2012 and reports claim that the global biofuels market will touch the figure of $185 billion in 2021. The total estimated generation of biomass in the world is 150 billion tons annually. Increase in the production of biofuels in the recent years and the usage of edible commodities like maize, sugarcane and vegetable oil has led to the worldwide apprehension towards the future of biofuels and to the food vs fuel debate. The second generation biofuels, however, are produced from renewable, cheap and sustainable feed-stocks for example citrus peel, corn stover, sawdust, bagasse, straw, rice peel and are attracting ever-increasing attention. A great deal of research, by the scientific community, is carried out in various parts of the world in order to improve the yield of second generation biofuels to meet the future demands but hasn’t achieved any remarkable success. Sustainable, economic production of second generation biofuels is of global importance. However, major technological hurdles remain before widespread conversion of non-food biomass into biofuel. Various multi-disciplinary teams of scientists, technologists and engineers work together collaboratively in integrated teams to carry out research that underpins the generation and implementation of sustainable second generation biofuels from algal biomass using biological processes. The advantages of algal biomass from both micro and macroalgae as a raw material for producing biofuels have been well recognized for decades. Billions of tonnes of algal biomass are enzymatically converted into food energy by marine and freshwater animals and microbes every day, in a sustainable manner.

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Last date updated on September, 2024