BHARATI VIDYAPEETH’S COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING

(Approved by AICTE, New Delhi & Affiliated to Guru Gobind Singh

Indraprastha University, Delhi)
(An ISO 9001:2008 Certified Institution)
A-4, PaschimVihar, Main Rohtak Road, New Delhi – 110 063
Department of Applied Sciences
Academic Year 2019-20
Semester- 1
CASE STUDY
on
Biofuels as a sustainable alternative to fossil
fuels

Submitted By: Submitted to: Dr. Ritika Chauhan

Introduction
The world is fast becoming a global village due to the
increasing daily requirement of energy by all
population across the world while the earth in its
form cannot change. The need for energy and its
related services to satisfy human social and economic
development, welfare and health is increasing. All
societies call for the services of energy to meet basic
human needs such as: health, lighting, cooking, space
comfort, mobility and communication and serve as
generative processes. It is overwhelming to know in
today's world that 1.4 billion people lack access to
electricity, while 85% of them live in rural areas. As
a result of this, the number of rural communities
relying on the traditional use of biomass is projected
to rise from 2.7 billion today to 2.8 billion in 2030.
A significant climate change has become one of the
greatest challenges of the twenty-first century. Its grave impacts may still be avoided if efforts are
made to transform current energy systems. Renewable energy sources hold the key potential to
displace greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuel-based power generating and thereby mitigating
climate change. Sustainable development has become the centre of recent national policies,
strategies and development plans of many countries. The United Nations General Assembly
proposed a set of global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) which included 17 goals and 169
targets at the UN in New York by the Open Working Group. In addition, a preliminary set of 330
indicators was introduced in March 2015. The SDGs place greater value and demands on the
scientific community than did the Millennium Development Goals. In addressing climate change,
renewable energy, food, health and water provision requires a coordinated global monitoring and
modelling of many factors which are socially, economically and environmentally oriented.
Research into alternate sources of energy dated back in the late 90s when the world started
receiving shock from oil produces in terms of price hiking. It is evidential in literature that
replacing fossil fuel-based energy sources with renewable energy sources, which includes:
bioenergy, direct solar energy, geothermal energy, hydropower, wind and ocean energy (tide and
wave), would gradually help the world achieve the idea of sustainability. Governments,
intergovernmental agencies, interested parties and individuals in the world today look forward to
achieving a sustainable future due to the opportunities created in recent decades to replace
petroleum-derived materials from fossil fuel-based energy sources with alternatives in renewable
energy sources. The recent launch of a set of global SDGs is helping to make sure that climate
change for twenty-first century and its impacts are combated, and a sustainable future is ensured
and made as a bequest for future generations.
Against this backdrop, this case study seeks to examine the potentials and trends of sustainable
development with renewable energy sources and climate change mitigation, the extent to which it
can help and the potential challenges it poses and how a shift from fossil to renewable energy
sources is a sure way of mitigating climate change. To achieve this objective, concepts, techniques
and journals were analysed and reviewed before the compilation of this case study.
Advantages of Biofuels
Biofuel advocates frequently point out the advantages of these plant- and animal-based fuels, such
as:
 Cost: Biofuels prices have been falling and have the
potential to be significantly less expensive than gasoline
and other fossil fuels. In fact, ethanol is already cheaper
than diesel and gasoline. This is particularly true as
worldwide demand for oil increases, oil supplies dwindle,
and more sources of biofuels become apparent.

 Source material: Whereas oil is a limited resource that

comes from specific materials, biofuels can be
manufactured from a wide range of materials including
crop waste, manure, and other byproducts. This makes it
an efficient step in recycling.

 Renewability: It takes a very long time for fossil fuels to be produced, but biofuels are much
more easily renewable as new crops are grown and waste material is collected.

 Security: Biofuels can be produced locally, which decreases the nation's dependence upon
foreign energy. By reducing dependence on foreign fuel sources, countries can protect the
integrity of their energy resources and make them safe from outside influences.
 Economic stimulation: Because biofuels are produced locally, biofuel manufacturing plants
can employ hundreds or thousands of workers, creating new jobs in rural areas. Biofuel
production will also increase the demand for suitable biofuel crops, providing economic
stimulation to the agriculture industry.

 Lower carbon emissions: When biofuels are burned, they produce significantly less carbon
output and fewer toxins (as they release as much carbon as they absorbed during growth,
although some carbon dioxide will be released during production - by the tractor etc.),
making them a safer alternative to preserve atmospheric quality and lower air pollution.

 Spills and Surface contamination: Biofuels are not 100% safe but they are much safer than
fossil fuels. If you were to spill a large quantity of biofuel into a concentrated area, it would
likely kill living organisms and contaminates surround soil or water. However, the scale of
the impact would be orders of magnitude smaller than with fossil fuels.

 Biodegradability: Since biofuels are biological molecules, this means they are
biodegradable. Bacteria and other organisms that live naturally in the soil and water are
able to use biofuel molecules as energy sources and break them down into harmless
byproducts. This means that even though concentrated biofuel spills can kill things like
plants and smaller animals, they will not persist in the environment and cause damage or
make an area uninhabitable for long periods of time.
Disadvantages of Biofuels
Despite the many positive characteristics of biofuels, there are also many disadvantages to these
energy sources:
 Energy output: Biofuels have a lower energy output than traditional fuels and therefore
require greater quantities to be consumed in order to produce the same energy level. This
has led some noted energy analysts to believe that biofuels are not worth the work to
convert them to ethanol rather than electricity.

 Production carbon emissions: Several studies have been conducted to analyze the carbon
footprint of biofuels, and while they be cleaner to burn there are strong indications that the
process to produce the fuel - including the machinery necessary to cultivate the crops and
the plants to produce the fuel - has hefty carbon emissions. In addition, cutting forests to
grow crops for biofuels adds to carbon emissions.

 High initial investment: To refine biofuels to more efficient energy outputs, and to build
the necessary manufacturing plants to increase biofuel quantities, and other infrastructure
development needed like filling stations and transportation facilities, a high initial
investment is often required, making its production currently more expensive than other
ways to fuel cars, even though this could change in the future. Also, Bioethanol cannot be
used in cars without modifying the engine.

 Food prices: As demand for food crops such as corn grows for biofuel production, it raises
prices for necessary staple food crops. . It will take up agricultural space from other crops,
which can create a number of problems. Even if it does not cause an acute shortage of food,
it will definitely put pressure on the current growth of crops.

 Food shortages: There is concern that using valuable cropland to grow fuel crops could have
an impact on the cost of food and could possibly lead to food shortages.

 Water use: Massive quantities of water are required for proper irrigation of biofuel crops as
well as to manufacture the fuel, which could strain local and regional water resources.

 Monoculture: Monoculture refers to practice of producing same crops year after year, rather
than producing various crops through a farmer’s fields over time. While, this might be
economically attractive for farmers but growing same crop every year may deprive the soil
of nutrients that are put back into the soil through crop rotation.
 Use of Fertilizers: Biofuels are produced from crops and these crops need fertilizers to grow
better. The downside of using fertilizers is that they can have harmful effects on
surrounding environment and may cause water pollution. Fertilizers contain nitrogen and
phosphorus. They can be washed away from soil to nearby lake, river or pond.

 More research and infrastructure requirement: The technology required to produce

biofuels that have efficient energy outputs in large quantities is still being polished. There
also aren’t that many filling stations and the few that exist are not accessible to the
majority. This means that not everyone can get their hands on this fuel alternative and
prices for this commodity can be pretty high.

 Deforestation: As crops require land to cultivate, deforestation for growing crops that can
be used to produce biofuel is another problem that needs to be dealt with.

 Variation in quality: Many biofuel crops are used to make biodiesel. But while different
crops can become biodiesel through the same process, the resulting fuel can vary greatly in
its ability to produce power. In other words, not all biofuel crops are created equal.
Literature Survey
Advancements on microalgae as potential biofuel
producers
The recent approaches for microbial biofuel production are well explored and recognized, and a
possibility of microalgal cultivation strategies for direct energy conversion to produce biofuels has
been recommended. For example, biofilm cultivation of microalgae or cyanobacteria could be the
new platform of biomass production pathways that ultimately explored for biofuel processing
pathway. The approach of biofilm cultivation is promising for biofuel production by microalgae or
cyanobacteria[1]. Currently, the increasing evidences showed that algal biomass as a favorable
source for biofuel production[2]. Depending on species and cultivation method microalgae can
produce biohydrogen[3], biomethanol, bioethanol, biodiesel[4], or carbohydrates, proteins or other
compounds that are being used in pharmaceutical companies [5].

Other biofuels production

With the development of purification techniques, the use of ethanol has been largely extended to
other purposes. For example, gasoline can be replaced by bioethanol to reduce carbon dioxide
emission. In case of methanol, it's recycling is easier because it does not form an azeotrope. It is
the reason why biomethanol is preferred for biodiesel, despite its toxicity [6]. Bioethanol has
received more attention than biomethanol due to its corrosive and toxic properties. Thus,
microalgae not only promote the biofuel production, but also bioethanol production, which has a
significantly higher efficiency than ethanol and biodiesel. Although the machinery and technology
to utilize bioethanol is still in its early stages.
Climatic and regional changes caused by biofuels
Recent studies show that biofuels consume a significant amount of energy that is derived from
fossil fuels. Inputs to production include tillage, fertilizers, pesticides, irrigation, operation of
machinery for harvesting and transport, steam and electricity for processing, etc., all of which
embody fossil fuel energy, leading to a significant net carbon addition to the atmosphere by the
time the biofuel is ultimately obtained. Equally important is the fact that production of biofuels
has other nonclimate-related
environmental impacts such as soil
erosion due to tilling, eutrophication due
to fertilizer runoffs, impacts of exposure
to pesticides, habitat, and biodiversity
loss due to land-use change, etc., which
have not received the same attention as
greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Biofuel
produced from feedstock such as palm oil
could therefore cause much higher
carbon dioxide emissions than some types
of fossil fuels[7].
Research has also shown that biofuels do
not produce the same amount of GHG
emissions as was thought previously. A number of factors are required to record these emissions
carefully. If land use change is not considered and assuming today's production methods, biofuels
produce 45%-65% lower GHG emissions than petrodiesel[8].

Socio-economic impacts of biofuels

Biofuels diverted grain away from food towards fuel (with over a third of US corn used to produce
ethanol and about half of vegetable oils in the EU going towards the production of biodiesel),
thereby reducing the level of grain stocks and increasing fuel costs for biofuel production. The
situation sparked financial speculation in grains, quickly driving prices up. In developing countries
such as China and India, crops like wheat, grain, corn are important food sources for a significant
number of the population. This hike in prices can cause crises and civil unrest simply because of
biofuel production. And the total population of developing nations is only going to grow in the
coming years-not stagnate.
Lifecycle of biofuels
Life cycle analysis (LCA) is a tool used
to account for inputs and outputs to
complex systems. In essence, it is a
budgeting process that accounts for all
inputs (raw materials and energy) and
outputs (products, waste materials, and
environmental impacting components
such as CO2). Some effective models
have been developed for life cycle
analysis, including these for biodiesel.
A typical LCA involves the investigation
of the following:
Feedstock—the plants or waste products
(corn grain, corn stover, switchgrass,
sugar cane, wood chips, etc) used to create biofuels such as ethanol, or other industrial chemicals;
Refining—the process of transforming the plant material into fuel. This may include physical and
chemical changes to the plant material, fermentation and distillation;
Sequester—to remove gases from the atmosphere (in our case carbon dioxide) and transform it via
photosynthesis in the plant into carbohydrates, which can be stored;
Transport—moving raw materials or finished products from point to point.
In order to compare the environmental consequences from using different fuels, scientists conduct
an LCA. In a bioenergy LCA, they look at all of the steps along the way—from planting a crop, to
harvesting, to transporting it, to refining to vehicle use. One measurement in an LCA determines
the amount of energy used or produced at each step. They also calculate greenhouse gas emissions
through the cycle to see, for example, where carbon dioxide is taken in by plants or emitted from
combustion. It takes energy to convert fuels to a usable form. The Life Cycle Assessment gives us
an idea of the full spectrum of energy inputs needed to make biofuel. The same assessments are
done for gasoline and other fuels.
Each step of the biofuel production process requires energy in some form. The energy input for
each step varies with the type of fuel used to provide the energy, terrain/regional aspects of the
area in which LCA was conducted, transportation distances, machinery used in refineries, etc. As
such, it becomes increasingly difficult for an LCA to properly collect the data and draw conclusions
from it. With this in mind, a proper LCA can be conducted if the following changes in lifecycle
process are adopted:
Energy: reduce losses to heat, shorten transportation distances, lower energy needs for conversion
of fuel;
Carbon footprint reduction: increase energy efficiency by use of renewable energy for electricity,
transportation, etc.;
Use perennial crops: harvest only above ground matter to reduce planting costs, and to maintain
carbon in roots. Burn plant material in refining process. Reduce transport distances, use waste
from refining process to feed cows and fertilize soils. These practices also benefit water quality
through reduced erosion and runoff. Land use changes are also important to consider. Cutting down
a forest to grow energy crops, for example, releases more CO 2 that was sequestered over decades
or centuries and is damaging to the atmosphere.
Practically, the service gained from fuel energy is what really matters (e.g. the number of miles
driven per unit of energy), so it might be more appropriate to compare biofuel energy balances
directly to the fossil fuel energy equivalent that can be displaced. Assessment of the sustainability
of biofuels is challenged by the varied perspectives of diverse disciplines that contribute to biofuel
research.
Although LCA is a holistic approach to biofuel energy systems, much of the LCA work published so
far has been isolated from the plant science and ecology communities, whose members study
processes such as the biogeochemical cycles of carbon, nitrogen and water, that underlie the
sustainability of biofuel crops.
Analysis and interpretation
In the previous section we have seen the impacts of biofuel on the environment through LCA and
whether they're a suitable substitute to petrol and diesel. The interest in biofuel as a potential
sustainable and renewable energy source is still high, as is attested by numerous scientific journals
recently created in its name and the number of funded research projects that focus on this topic.
Private investments and public subsidies are still poured into this sector. Since the crisis, however,
the focus shifted from first-generation biofuels (or the use of fuel crops) to second-generation
biofuels, i.e., the use of cellulosic ethanol (crop residues, woody biomass), and then to third-
generation biofuels, i.e., oil from algae. To overcome the conflict over land use (food vs. fuel), it
has been pointed out that using marginal land and non-crop species may be a solution—and non-
crop species can indeed be used important potential non-crop species are being considered, and
the list includes: switchgrass, a perennial warm season grass native to North America, some species
of the genus Miscanthus for their high growth rate and the possibility of growing them in poor soil,
and the Jatropha genus. The debate on the sustainability of biofuels is still open, and many
complex issues are at stake. The aim is to offer a more comprehensive framing of the complexity of
the issue, in the hope that researchers, and policy makers alike, may gain some new insights to
improve their work on the assessment of biofuels. Much research has been carried out concerning
the energy efficiency and GHG emission profile of fuel crops. Findings from different experts,
however, diverge considerably. Some authors claim that biofuels may represent an efficient
alternative to oil, some of them referring to fuel crops, while others only refer to cellulosic
ethanol. Other authors
claim that biofuels and
biomass in general are
instead an inefficient
alternative to fossil fuels.
So, how is it possible that
highly respected scholars
can reach such opposing
conclusions? Clearly, more
research is required to
understand the underlying
complexities of 3rd gen
biofuels.
Current status of biofuel usage
For biofuels to substitute even a small fraction of the fossil fuels used at present, extensive and
intensive agricultural practice have to be adopted, practices that are known to have a major
impact on soil, water supply and biodiversity. The large use of agrochemicals, in turn, generates
many kinds of pollution. Biofuels may end up exacerbating those problems. It is noteworthy that
the Human Appropriation of Net Primary Productivity (HANPP) has been estimated at about 50%.
Therefore, in order to reduce the impact of agricultural activities on natural resources, reduce
contamination and prevent a major collapse of biodiversity at a global scale, there is a call for
adopting farming practices that are more agroecological, which may preserve biodiversity-related
ecosystem services. The belief that burning biomass is carbon neutral has been questioned. Such an
idea is founded upon the rather simplistic reasoning that CO 2 released in the burning is picked up
again by plants, giving a net release of zero. There are a number of reasons why this is not so.
Displacing tropical ecosystems in favor of plantations causes the loss of aboveground biomass, and
also the release of a huge amount of carbon stored in the soil (about 50% of the total carbon in
tropical forests is stored in the soil). Plantations will never store as much biomass as native
ecosystems, and that leads to net carbon emissions. Converting grasslands into fuel crops will cause
the net emission of the carbon stored in the native ecosystem. Even granting zero net emission to
fuel crops, the stored carbon at time zero will still be lost, and added up to the atmosphere.
Challenges
Use of fossil fuels in transportation and industrial production contributes up to 35% of global
greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Although sustainable biofuels can have an important role to play
in tackling these emissions, many of the most exciting biofuels remain at the pre-commercial stage
of development.
A key challenge for some countries constraining wider adoption of biofuels is the limited
availability of inexpensive biomass, and the high costs of advanced conversion technologies that
are at various stages of development. Research and development aimed at accelerating advanced
biofuels availability must address key challenges ranging from the sustainable generation and
supply of biological feedstocks which takes into account life-cycle impacts and increasing
competition for food, feed and material production, to demonstrating the economic feasibility of
technologies to produce biofuels that meet current fuel specifications and that can be blended
with existing fuels.
We know that biofuels cannot be our energy panacea, nor account for an even minimal share of
energy supply to our society, without causing major social and environmental problems,
undermining food security of billions of people and even resulting in worsening GHG emissions. In
the near future, biomass should provide an ever-increasing amount of food, fiber, energy and
ecosystem services for an increasing population, while at the same time the prediction is that
significant stretches of land will be converted by urbanization, eroded away or lose their fertility,
with their water resources depleted. Moreover, recent works conclude that when the whole
accounting is properly done, results indicate that biofuels may not help reduce GHG emissions.
Conversely, extensive biofuel production may exacerbate GHG emissions and subsequently global
warming, and increase the deforestation of tropical ecosystems. While this may not translate to
biofuels as being worse than fossil fuels, proper care needs to be taken when monitoring the
production process.
Conclusions
With the help of this project we are able to deeply understand Life cycle of biofuel usage,
Advantages and disadvantages of biofuels, currents status of biofuels usage and the coming
challenges.
With the help of this project we conclude that currently, there is no sustainable alternative to
fossil fuels that is affordable, accessible, and manageable on a global scale. A commonly proposed
alternative to fossil fuels is biofuels, but only if we can overcome the challenges/disadvantages.
Investments in new technologies will help to find an alternative that is affordable, accessible, and
manageable.
Apart from being beneficial as a renewable energy source, biofuel also offers different advantages
linked with our environment. Since biofuels are plant-based fuels, they have much little
contribution when it comes to climate change and global warming. However, in the future, when
large scale production of biofuels will take place, it may result in the emission of greenhouse
gases.
The pressing question now is: how can bioenergy and biofuels are adopted in the mainstream? One
rational, systematic approach includes the deployment and expanded use of mature technologies,
the development of new technologies, increasing feedstock supply and availability, and building
investment pipelines including policy implementation and international collaboration.
References
[1] https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0306261909001688
[2] http://refhub.elsevier.com/S0360-3199(16)33413-9/sref4
[3] http://refhub.elsevier.com/S0360-3199(16)33413-9/sref9
[4] http://refhub.elsevier.com/S0360-3199(16)33413-9/sref11
[5] http://refhub.elsevier.com/S0360-3199(16)33413-9/sref81

[6] http://sciencesearch.defra.gov.uk/Document.aspx?Document=NF0422_488_FRP.pdf
[7]http://www.greenpeace.org/raw/content/international/press/reports/cooking-the-climate-
full.pdf
[8] http://www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/fleet/technology/alternativefuels/biodiesel/