Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 79 (2017) 850–866

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Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/rser

Challenges and opportunities for the application of biofuel MARK

a,b,⁎ b b,c b
Girdhar Joshi , Jitendra K. Pandey , Sravendra Rana , Devendra S. Rawat
a
Department of Chemistry, Government (PG) College Gopeshwar, Chamoli 246401 India
b
Department of Research & Development, University of Petroleum & Energy Studies, Bidholi, Dehradun 248007 India
c
Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Halle (Saale), Germany

A R T I C L E I N F O A BS T RAC T

Keywords: Global social and economic developments are mainly driven by energy. Growing energy demand and
Bio-fuels environmental consequences have led towards alternative renewable and sustainable energy technologies
Challenges world-wide. Being the 4th largest primary energy consumer globally, India's energy demand and challenges are
Bio-fuel policy multipronged. Considering this, India has initiated one of the world's largest alternative energy programs
Bio-ethanol
including solar energy, wind energy, hydro energy, biomass energy etc. Among those, the biomass based energy
Biodiesel
has been considered as the most promising source of petroleum fuel alternative. In India the biomass derived
Sustainability
liquid biofuel have emerged as primary alternative energy source to meet its petroleum fuel demand. This article
is mainly focused on to review the feasibility and challenges of liquid biofuel production technologies, associated
challenges and constraints in their effective commercialization to meet the energy demand of India. The current
biofuel scenario of India and its future perspectives are also elaborated in the present study.

1. Introduction and economically viable [4,81]. Among many alternative energy

sources, biofuel have gained greater attention across the globe because
The remarkable progress of industrialization, modernization in life the biofuel are considered the most sustainable and environment-
style and vehicular population of the world has led to significant friendly energy source. Generally biomass derived liquid, solid and gas
increase in petroleum based fuel demand [1,92]. Presently, more than fuel are broadly known as biofuel (e.g. methanol, ethanol, bio-diesel,
80% of primary energy demand of entire world is met by the petroleum bio-oil, FT (Fisher Tropsch)) diesel, hydrogen and methane [12,31].
based fuel, out of which ~60% of share is consumed by transportation The purpose of this manuscript is to review the status of India's liquid
sector. Escobar, Lora [37]. Continuous over exploitation of petroleum biofuel production (biodiesel and bio-ethanol), associated challenges
fuel reserves to fulfill current energy demand have led to the rapid and constraints for their effective commercialization to meet the
depletion of these energy sources. Continuous growth and fluctuation country's energy demand.
in crude oil prices along with major contribution in greenhouse gases
(GHGs) emissions by their consumption [126,24,26,33], causing 1.1. Biofuel
several negative impacts on human health along with earth's ecology.
Therefore, it is essential to find out new alternative energy sources According to International Energy Report 2014, global energy
those must be renewable, sustainable, environmental friendly, efficient demand is expected to grow by 37% by 2040. Owing to limited and

Abbreviation: AD, Anaerobic digestion; ASTM, American Society for Testing and Materials; B10, Biodiesel-diesel blend (10:90); B20, Biodiesel-diesel blend (20:80); B5, Biodiesel-
diesel blend (5:95); BIS, Bureau of Indian Standards; BTL, Biomass to Liquid; CAGR, Compound annual growth rate; CCR, Conradson Carbon Residue; CDM, Clean Development
Mission; CFPP, Cold filter plugging point; CH4, Methane gas; CO, Carbon mono-oxide; CO2, Carbon dioxide; CSIR, Council of Scientific & Industrial Research; CSMCRI, Central Salt &
Marine Chemicals Research Institute; DIN, Deutsches Institut für Normung; DME, Dimethyl ether; DST, Department of Science & Technology; DBT, Department of Bio Technology;
E20, Ethanol-diesel blend (20:80); EBPP, Ethanol blended Petrol Program; EIA, Energy Information Administration; EJ, Exa Joules; EN, European; FAAE, Fatty acid alkyl ester; FAME,
Fatty acid methyl ester; FT, Fisher Tropsch; GHGs, Greenhouse gasses; GOI, Government of India; H2, Hydrogen gas; H2S, Hydrogen sulphide gas; H-Bio, Biohydrogen; HCs,
Hydrocarbons; HSD, High speed diesel; HT oil, Heat transfer oil; IEA, International Energy Agency; IOC, Indian Oil Corporation; IRENA, International Renewable Energy Agency; K,
Kelvin; koge, kilogram oil equivalent; KWh, kilowatt hour; LC ethanol, Ligno-cellulosic ethanol; LFG, Landfill Gas; lge, liters of gasoline equivalent; LPG, Liquid petroleum gas; Mag,
Ministry of Agriculture; MNRE, Ministry of New & Renewable Energy; MPNG, Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas; MST, Ministry of Science & Technology; N2, Nitrogen gas; NBM,
National Biofuel Mission; NBDB, National Biofuel Development Board; NOx, mono-nitrogen oxides NO and NO2; O2, Oxygen; OECD, Organization for Economic Co-operation and
Development; s, seconds; SNG, Substitute natural gas; SYN gas, Synthesis Gas; WEO, World economic outlook
⁎
Corresponding author at: Department of Chemistry, Government (PG) College Gopeshwar, Chamoli 246401 India.
E-mail addresses: drgirdharjoshi@yahoo.in (G. Joshi), jkpandey@ddn.upes.ac.in (J.K. Pandey), sravendra.rana@chemie.uni-halle.de (S. Rana),
devendra@ddn.upes.ac.in (D.S. Rawat).

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2017.05.185
Received 9 May 2016; Received in revised form 18 March 2017; Accepted 21 May 2017
1364-0321/ © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
G. Joshi et al. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 79 (2017) 850–866

depleting resources of traditional petroleum fuels researchers are v. Syngas: Indirectly, syngas can be produced through bio-fuel after
making their best attempts to meet the energy demand and finding converting it into carbon mono-oxide followed by pyrolysis. Xie,
out alternatives from renewable raw materials. The renewable energy Kong [134]
technologies may not only fulfill the world's energy demand, but are
also important parameters to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases Ethanol and biodiesel are commonly used biofuels in engines and
[113]. Although, there are several ways to produce fuel from renewable the following section will emphasize on the technological development
resources; however, their commercial productions still an unfinished particularly in these areas of research.
task [129]. Sources of non-edible raw materials are of great potential to
produce biofuel, mainly because of the limitation of direct food and 1.1.2. Second generation bio-fuel
parallel race associated with biofuel [10,129,59,60]. As per the IEA (International Energy Agency) Bioenergy Task 39,
Selected social, economical, environmental and technical issues for 2009, Biofuel derived from cellulosic biomass (cellulose, hemicellulose
biofuel generation have been discussed in the form of several articles and lignin) with more sustainable fashion are known as second
and scientific journals [100,2,49,75,88,96]. The main parameters generation biofuel. The second generation biofuel are generally called
regarding biofuel production are carbon emission levels and nitric the carbon neutral or carbon negative in terms of their impact on
oxide (NO2) emissions including energy consumption and environ- carbon dioxide concentration [91]. Comparatively easier abundance of
mental issues [10]. Developed countries are having their research non-fodder feedstocks from plants makes it more economical in
targets to develop biofuel industry, in particular for transport sector. comparison to first generation biofuel [137,44,91]. The second gen-
Growing concerns in many developing countries to upgrading of eration biofuel, like bioethanol, biodiesel, Dimethyl-ether, bio-SNG FT
biomass for acceptable climate and employment creation has been diesel etc., can be produced through hydrolysis, fermentation (i.e.
focused, as this is a labor intensive area. Besides, the restoration of bioethanol) esterification and/or gasification [117,91]. Bioethanol has
degraded land through biomass-energy production is also of interest in been considered as a substitute of gasoline; whereas, FT-diesel or BTL
some areas. (biomass to liquid) is used as a substitute for conventional diesel [88].
The common process of development of biofuel may as shown in However, SYN gas can be converted in to liquid hydrocarbons mainly
Fig. 1. In general, bio-fuel can be classified as follows: diesel, kerosene, methane and DME [134]. The conventional petroleum
based fuels when blended with 2nd-generation biofuel may be used
1.1.1. First generation biofuel is derived from starch, sugars, fats either as an alternative for existing internal combustion engines or get
and vegetable oil that can be categorized as follows distribute through existing infrastructure or dedicated as fuel for
slightly adapted vehicles with internal combustion engines (e.g.
i. Biodiesel: European countries are using such type of bio-fuels vehicles for DME)” [114]. These second generation biofuel can be
mainly produced by transesterification process, similar to the supplied or distributed through existing infrastructure without any
mineral diesel and applicable with various engines with some significant modifications. Table 1 presents the generation of this class
additives [73,88]. of bio-fuel by various processes.
ii. Vegetable oil: Cooking purpose oil may also be converted to
biofuel; however, this is not considered as a feasible method as it is 1.1.3. Third Generation bio-fuel
directly affecting the food security issues. The concept of third generation biofuel is mainly refers to algae
iii. Biogas: Anaerobic digestion of the organic materials generates the based biofuel, because of much higher quality yield of biofuel (Holds up
biogas by the process called biodegradation, where chain scission is to 9000 l of biofuel per hectare, which is to produce 10 times more than
mediated by microbes. After the conversion of bio-gas some non- the best traditional feedstock) in comparison of other fuel generation
harmful residue are also helpful for generating bio fertilizers [98]. feedstock along with a wider variety of fuels/other valuable chemical
Methane rich biogas is recovered using a sequential treatment. Bio- such as bio-methane, biodiesel, bio-ethanol, bio-butanol, vegetable oils
gas can also be generated from landfills; however, chamber gasoline, and jet fuel [18,91]. In addition, the main advantage of algae
controlling is very essential as methane can release to the atmo- biomass is that, they can grow over a variety of carbon sources, i.e. they
sphere. grow directly on the carbon emission sources (power plants, industry,
iv. Alcohols: Fermentation of long chain bio-polymers such as starch etc.) to convert the emissions directly into usable fuel [77], with zero
and cellulose may generate the different types of alcohols mainly emission of carbon dioxide. The prime challenges associated with 3rd
ethanol with some butanol and propanol. Recently it has been generation biofuel are the cultivation of microalgae at very large scale
experimentally shown that butanol can be use directly instead of in order to meet the demand of industry, as they require plenty of
gasoline [123,40,99]. water, nitrogen and phosphorus [121]. Thus, the production of
fertilizers, require for the growth of algae, required much more energy
and generate greenhouse gases than the product can contribute in
green climate [121,77].
According to the joint nature conservation committee (Gov of UK)
report on biodiesel and bioethanol in 2009; the global market for
biofuel is expected to grow by 247 million USD by ~ 2020. There is a

Table 1
Processes of production of second generation bio-fuel [3].

Process Bio-fuel

Fermentation / enzymatic Ethanol from cellulose

hydrolysis
Gasification Fischer-Tropsch biodiesel, Butanol,
Dimethyl ether
Methane Natural gas from synthesis
Hydrogen Gasification, product of biological
processes
Fig. 1. Process of using various feedstocks to extract the different biofuel.

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G. Joshi et al. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 79 (2017) 850–866

clear demand for new technologies and value chains for the commercial CH2OCOR1 CH2OH 3R1COOR'
Catalyst
use of second and third generation biofuel. These advanced biofuel CHOCOR2 + R'OH CHOH + 3R2COOR'
have more advantages compared to first-generation biofuel (e.g. corn- CH2OCOR3 CH2OH 3R3COOR'
based bioethanol, oil seed residue based biodiesel) and found to have Triglyceride
from Vegetable Oil Alcohol Glycerol Biodiesel
better sustainability criteria [37]. Second generation biofuel can be
generated from non-food crops and third generation biofuel do not Scheme 1. Transesterification of vegetable oils.
require even land for their production [10,91].
Worldwide status of biofuel technologies development
(2012 data from www.europabio.org fact sheet for advance biofuel).
Countries like US, Brazil etc. where 1st and 2nd generation biofuel
are being used as vehicle engine fuel and these trends may continue for
coming years mainly because of sufficient availability of edible oils
(soya oil, sunflower oil, rapeseed oil, starch and maize). However, in
developing countries, like India and China, where the above mentioned
biofuel technologies are yet to commercialize. As these kinds of
resources in India are scarce as the demand and supply ratio is poorly
matching and production of edible oil is much lower than the actual
requirement. Therefore, from Indian perspectives using non-edible oil
resources like Jatropha, Pongamia, Mahua, algae and Sal etc. for the
production of bio-fuel seems the comparatively better available options
[10,106,60]. Therefore, the use of agriculture crop waste or waste
biomass material (like agro waste, forestry waste, Pulp/Paper, Wood,
etc.) is advisable for 1st generation biofuel (Fig. 2). Although contin-
uous efforts on biofuel technology development have started in India, Fig. 3. Sources of biomass feedstocks for biofuel production [91].

still some gap areas are there which includes development of indust-
rially viable technologies along with expertise. The global biofuel used for transesterification of triglycerides to produce biodiesel.
technology status is presented in Fig. 2. Heterogeneous catalysts provide easier separation, catalyst free pro-
duct formation and no requirement of product neutralization and
purification steps. Moreover, less consumption, and reusability of
2. Biofuel conversion technologies
heterogeneous catalysts makes the biodiesel production much econom-
ical in comparison to homogeneous catalyzed processes [138].
2.1. Conversion technologies for first generation biofuel
Theoretically, both solid acid and solid base can be used for transes-
terification processes to produce the biodiesel; however, the solid acid
2.1.1. Biodiesel production by transesterification processes
catalysts are found practically more suitable for transesterification of
The vegetable oil derived fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) generally
concentrated fatty acid content vegetable oils in comparison to solid
known as Biodiesel, has been considered a potential substitute of
base catalysts [138,17], which might be due to saponification process
conventional diesel, obtained from renewable biological resources such
lead by solid base catalysts while used with high free fatty acid
as edible and non-edible oils, animal fats via acid or base catalyzed
containing oils (Fig. 3).
chemical reactions of these oils with alcohols (methanol/ethanol)
Acid catalysts, solid in nature, are able to produce the biodiesel by
[60,61,71,76,83]. The resultant product of such reaction is a combina-
transesterification of triglyceride. This can also be additionally pro-
tion of fatty acid alkyl ester (FAAE), and high value co-product glycerol.
duced by esterification reaction of free fatty acid present in parent oil.
The catalysts used for biodiesel production are either may be acidic or
However, in case of solid base catalyzed processes the degumming of
basic, homogenous or heterogeneous. Homogeneous transesterification
parent oil to reduce the free fatty acid content is recommended, which
is a reversible chemical process in which reactants (vegetable oil +
is additional to transesterification and also enhance the overall cost of
alcohol) are being mixed together with the catalyst which is also a
production.
liquid acid or liquid base (Scheme 1).
Due to corrosive nature of liquid acids, liquid bases are generally
2.1.2. Ethanol conversion processes
preferred for homogenous transesterification of vegetable oils [60].
Globally the carbohydrate containing feed stocks (crops with sugar
Although, homogeneous catalysis provides high reaction rate under
content: sugarcane, fruits, beetroot, wheat etc.; crops containing
mild reaction conditions, yet these catalysts have several drawbacks
starch: all kind of carbohydrates rich grains etc.; cellulosic biomass:
such as corrosive nature, non-recyclable, non-eco-friendly and forma-
wood, wood waste, agricultural residue, non-fodder biomass etc.) have
tion of sodium or potassium ion contaminated biodiesel and glycerol
been extensively used for the production of ethanol via fermentation or
[138]. Homogeneous catalysts also produce large amount of waste
biochemical processes [21]. Food crops based ethanol generally called
water that reduces their attractiveness. Heterogeneous transesterifica-
grain-ethanol; whereas, biomass based ethanol (bioethanol) is pro-
tion is a process where solid acid or solid base catalysts are used to
duced from lingo-cellulosic biomass like agro waste. Carbohydrates are
convert the vegetable oils to corresponding alkyl esters (Biodiesel), and
long chain polymers of glucose etc. therefore, the process of conven-
provides better yield in comparison of homogeneous catalysts, specially
tional fermentation and biochemical methods cannot convert these
Technologies Laboratory Pilot plant Demonstration Plant Market macromolecules to ethanol directly. These polymeric structures first
Sugar/Starch ethanol broke down to smaller units of glucose, and the glucose finally
Lignocellulosic ethanol
converted to ethanol and other valuable chemicals [39].
Bio-butanol
Jatropha biodiesel 2.1.3. Biogas production processes
BTL Biogas is a composition of different gasses (CH4, CO, CO2, H2S and
Algal Biodiesel H2O) and consist methane (CH4) as the major constituent. It is
produced from the biodegradation of organic materials in absence of
Fig. 2. World biofuel technology status. oxygen. The process for biogas production is known as Anaerobic

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G. Joshi et al. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 79 (2017) 850–866

Digestion (AD). It is a natural process in which microorganisms monoxide (CO), carbon dioxide (CO2) and nitrogen (N2). Mixture of
decomposes biomass or organic matter (also known as feedstock) in these gasses is either known as producer gas or synthesis gas. A range
airtight digester tanks to produce biogas as well as digestate. The of fuels and chemical intermediates are produced using Syngas whereas
biogas conversion through anaerobic digestion of biodegradable or- the producer gas is mainly useful for the stationary power generation
ganic materials consists of four different stages such as hydrolysis, [27,8,9].
acidogenesis, acetogenesis and methanogenesis which leads with the The thermal degradation of biomass in the absence of oxygen in
formation of methane and carbon dioxide are the primary gaseous end order to produce bio-oil, gaseous mixture of fuel and solid charcoal is
products [104,69]. The usual mixture of gas mixture is methane (60– known as pyrolysis, where conventional pyrolysis, fast pyrolysis, and
70%) and carbon di-oxide (30–40%) [104]. The production of fuels and flash pyrolysis are the three different categories of pyrolysis based on
bio fertilizers via the process of AD of biomass is an environment the various operating conditions [19]. Conventional pyrolysis is a slow
friendly and attractive process at present in an era of increasing energy pyrolysis process, it occurs with slow heating rate and high residence
demand and increasing per capita cost of energy. AD in landfills for time. During the first stage of conventional pyrolysis, biomass decom-
solid waste management is one of the potential sources of bio-methane position takes place at a temperature between 550 and 950 K, called
productions. This process produces the landfill gas (LFG), also known pre-pyrolysis. During pre-pyrolysis some initial molecular changes
as low quality natural gas is a mixture of methane, oxygen, nitrogen, occur such as elimination of water, bond cleavage, free radical
carbon dioxide and traces of organic compounds. The removal of generations etc. During the second stage of conventional pyrolysis,
carbon dioxide and organic contaminants which are volatile in nature solid decomposition of biomass takes place which results the formation
are necessary in order to improve the commercial value of LFG of pyrolysis products. However, in the third stage of pyrolysis carbon
[120,131]. rich solid formation occurs from the slow decomposition of char
Conventionally, the LFG is used to generate energy via the power [20,56].
generation in internal combustion engine, direct use in boilers, Fast pyrolysis generally takes place at high temperature (850–
turbines, micro turbines, green house and co-generation [45,72]. Due 1250 K) with short residence time and high heating rate with fine
to higher cost associated with the current technologies for the produc- particle of biomass as feed [70], and used mostly to produce liquid
tion, purification, separation and collection of methane, more emphasis and/or gaseous products, where the decomposition of biomass gen-
is being laid on the conversion of LFG into liquid fuel instead of erates vapours, aerosol and char. The product of fast pyrolysis generally
gaseous fuel from anaerobic digestion. Methane can be converted to contains 60–75% of bio-oil including condensable gasses/vapours, 10–
methanol via various catalytic routes. Liquid fuel and bio-fertilizers for 20% of non-condensed gases and 15–25% of char [70].
agro production can be generated using the waste lignocellulosic Flash pyrolysis occurs at very high temperature (more than fast
biomass obtained after anaerobic digestion. pyrolysis) 1100–1400 K, at an extremely quick heating speed ( >
1000 K/s), with very short residence time (0.5 s) and very fine particles
2.2. Conversion processes for second generation biofuel of biomass ( < 0.2 mm). Due to typical operating conditions this
process is not used very often [89].
Currently, biochemical and thermochemical conversion processes Catalytic hydro-treatment of vegetable oils helps to obtain green
for the production of second generation biofuel are being used diesel, another form of diesel fuel [122]. The vegetable oils are
extensively [43,91,92]. Gasification, direct combustion, liquefaction renewable feedstocks and being used for the production of biofuel.
and pyrolysis fall under the category of thermochemical conversion The existing technology for the production of diesel like fuels from
process. Syn gas is produced when biomass is heated under limited biomass is dependent on the transesterification process of edible and
supply of oxygen, which primarily consists of hydrogen and carbon non-edible oils and termed biodiesel. Since biodiesel have some
mono oxide. Syn gas can be burnt directly or reformed in to other technical issues related to its physico-chemical properties [105], hence
gaseous and liquid fuels. Combustion of biomass for energy harvesting the future widespread utilization of biofuel depends on the develop-
is the most conventional route, where the biomass is burnt directly in ment of newer and advanced technologies to produce high quality
presence of oxygen or air. transportation fuel from biological sources [66].
However, liquefaction of biomass can be achieved either directly or Conversion of vegetable oils into a high quality diesel fuel or diesel
in the presence solution of alkalis, glycerine and alcohols like propanol blend including compatibility with petroleum derived diesel fuel is
and butanol [91]. This process mainly produces the highly viscous highly desirable. Using the process of hydrodeoxygenation, catalytic
water insoluble oils and requires specific reducing gases (e.g. CO or saturation, hydro-isomerization and decarboxylation the renewable
H2), solvents and/or some catalysts as well. Also, in presence of solid feedstock containing triglycerides and fatty acids can be helpful in
catalysts and SYN gas the lignocellulosic biomass can be converted the production of isoparaffin-rich diesel known as ‘green diesel’, which
effectively in to liquid fuel similar to the heavy oils [91]. The highly is an aromatic and sulphur free diesel fuel having a very high cetane
viscous heavy oil sometimes very difficult to handle and hence needs blending value [55,7]. In contrast to fatty acid methyl esters, the
some organic solvents to reduce their viscosity. Hydrolysis (alkaline) of properties of green diesel do not depend on feedstock, its origin and the
lignocellulosic biomass leads to the degradation of cellulose and process adapted for the conversion [55,7]. The fully deoxygenated fuel
hemicellulose in to smaller fractions which are being used as precursor product of this process is readily blended with petroleum derived diesel
of various value-added products including gasoline and other fuel fuel. Chemical conversion of lignocellulosic biomass is a process of
additives [139,79]. conversion of biomass to bioethanol along with other value added
Bio-oil is another class of product obtained from liquefaction of air chemicals and fuel additives by chemical route. It can be done by
dried biomass at very high pressure or by fast pyrolysis path [87]. It is a chemical hydrolysis, solvent extraction and super critical water con-
multifarious combination of volatile organic acids, hydroxy aldehydes version of biomass. The cellulosic biomass first reduced to its lower
and hydroxy ketones, ethers, alcohols, esters, sugars and phenolics members (starch, sugars etc.) and then chemically converted to other
[19,70]. Organic distillate products which are rich in hydrocarbons and value added products like alcohols, other solvents of interest to fuel and
useful chemicals can be produced if the bio-oil is upgraded catalyti- chemicals [132]. Fig. 4 shows the pathway for second generation
cally. biofuel.
Gasification is a well-known process of converting the biomass to Ethanol production from corn, sugarcane by biochemical route has
viable fuels, and has been investigated for past forty years. This process already been commercialized. The production of ethanol from bio
generally involves the reaction of biomass with air, oxygen or steam to origin requires the understanding of various operational techniques
produce the mixture of Hydrogen (H2), Methane (CH4), carbon like pre-treatment, hydrolysis, fermentation, enzyme production and

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G. Joshi et al. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 79 (2017) 850–866

Fig. 4. Second generation biofuel conversion Process [91].

Fig. 5. Lignocellulosic biofuel conversion process [91].

product recovery (Fig. 5). tion of organic molecules present in biomass to give fuel or fuel
Presently, the ethanol production technologies are not much precursor is known as Thermochemical conversion. It includes the
economical; more research emphases is on reduce the overall produc- various co-processes like gasification, thermochemical liquefaction,
tion cost which requires improved and much advance technique for direct combustion and pyrolysis. The technical discussion for these
conversion of cellulosic and hemi-cellulosic biomass to sugars, low pre- processes has already been done in Section 1.2.2.
treatment energy consumption, more efficient separation technologies Energy harvesting from biomass using biological routes is known as
and finally the value-addition of lignin [64]. Besides the above biochemical conversion process. Most commonly utilized biochemical
mentioned biomass sources, agro waste residues, forestry waste and techniques include anaerobic digestion, fermentation and photo-cata-
post-harvest processing of industrial crops produces enormous amount lytic production of hydrogen [112,13,6,82,92].
of lignocellulosic waste biomass. These lignocellulosic wastes can be In anaerobic digestion process of algae mainly the bio-organic
the promising sources of bioethanol production along with other value wastes is converted into biogas, consists of methane (CH4), carbon-
added chemicals and fuel additives. The biomass derived oxygenated dioxide (CO2) along with the traces of hydrogen sulphide (H2S). The
fuels and fuel additives can be easily blended with gasoline to produce a anaerobic digestion process is suitable for the conversion of high
fuel with less GHG emissions. Ethanol is being blended with gasoline moisture content ( > 75%) bio-organic wastes [136]. The anaerobic
from 5% to 25% without any modification in engine system or setting digestion has generally three sequential stages: a) hydrolysis; b)
[5,80]. fermentation; and c) methanogenesis [51]. The complex organic
compounds present in waste are broken down in to soluble sugars
2.3. Conversion processes for third generation biofuel during hydrolysis process, and these simpler organic molecules further
get converted in to corresponding alcohols, acetic acid, volatile fatty
Generally algal based biofuel are considered as third generation acids and mixture of H2 and CO2 during fermentation process. Further
biofuel. The selection of conversion technology for the production of the metabolites obtained from fermentative step then get converted in
third generation biofuel are particularly depend on the type and to CH4 (~70%) and CO2 (~30%) via methanogenesis [51]. Also, the
quantity of feedstock, desired product, production cost and type of nutrient rich waste produced during anaerobic digestion process can be
energy requirement, economic considerations and the desired form of recycled for new algal growth medium [47].
energy [116,77]. Like second generation biofuel, the conversion In fermentation process, ethanol is produced via degradation of
technologies for third generation biofuel production can also be cellulosic biomass in to lower sugars and subsequent conversion of
categorized as Thermochemical and Biochemical conversion processes those sugars into ethanol. The biomass is crushed and then hydrolyzed
along with the biodiesel production [43,91,92]. Thermal decomposi- to starch molecules then converted into respective sugars; finally these

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G. Joshi et al. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 79 (2017) 850–866

sugars are fermented using yeast which breaks down these sugars into 535.88 million tons during 2011-12). Because of the dependency on
ethanol. Selection of algae for ethanol production depends on the foreign crude oil (India's 70% of total crude oil demand met through
available starch content in algae. Higher the starch content higher will imports) the estimated consumption of crude oil has shown a steady
be the ethanol yield. Because of this, Chlorella Vulgaris (starch content increase with a CAGR of 5.99% (18.38 million ton during 1970-71 to
ca. 37% dry wt.) is considered as an excellent algal feedstock for 211.42 million tons during 2011-12). Among all types of petroleum
ethanol production [130,16]. products, the consumption of high speed diesel oil is estimated for
Since, hydrogen is considered an ultraclean and efficient energy 39.62% in 2011-12; however, a 28% of total consumption of petroleum
carrier and is naturally occurring molecule. Algae possess the required products is equally shared by other sectors like refinery, LPG and
genetic metabolites and enzymatic characteristics to photo produced gasoline in 2011-12. Within the transportation sector only, the con-
H2 gas under anaerobic conditions either via electron donor path sumption of HSD increased by 4.1% from 36.55 million tons in 2001-
during CO2 fixation or involve in both light and dark [108,133,41]. 02 to 51.67 million tons in 2008-09, and that of gasoline by 6.64% from
Microalgae during photosynthesis process converts H2O in to H+ ions 7.0 million tons to 11.26 million tons. This growth rate will become
and oxygen, these H+ ions then get converted in to H2 by hydrogenase more prominent in coming years because, it is estimated that India's
enzyme under anaerobic conditions [133]. Since, this process is vehicular population is expected to increase by 10–12% per annum.
reversible, hence during simple conversion of proton to hydrogen the Although the per-capita energy consumption in India is one of the
H2 is either produces or consumed. Mainly two approaches are being lowest in global prospects (Fig. 8), i.e. India's per person energy
used for H2 production from H2O via photosynthetic route [28,34]. consumption is 439 kg oil equivalent (kgoe) in comparison to
1090 kgoe energy consumption per person in China and 7835 kgoe of
a) A two stage H2 production along with O2, but the production of energy consumption per person in USA; however, India's per person
both (H2 and O2) takes place separately. energy consumption is expected to reach up to 1250 kgoe by 2032. Per-
b) Photosynthetic production of both H2 and O2 occurs simulta- capita energy consumption (ratio of the total estimated energy
neously. consumption during the year to the estimated midyear population of
the year) has increased by a CAGR of 4% (from 1204 KWh in 1970-71
Out of these two processes the second process is preferred to 6420 KWh in 2011-12). Hence, long term energy security and
theoretically however; first process has an advantage of being green sustainable energy resource development is very critical to ensuring
and environmental friendly. Hence, the first process for hydrogen the India's future energy requirement. Therefore, exploration and
production is generally preferred by the researchers across the globe exploitation of new energy resources, their capacity addition, clean
[84]. The overall biofuel production pathway from 3rd generation and renewable energy development, energy conservation and more
biofuel feedstock is shown in Fig. 6. likely the energy sector reforms will be critical for India's energy
security. However, energy conservation and it's efficient utilization
3. Energy demand of India and challenges could be a key factor in tightening the gap between demand and supply
of India's energy sector. Currently, India is putting more emphasis on
The energy demand of India is mainly met through the conven- development of Indigenous alternate energy resources from biofuel to
tional and non-renewable energy sources like coal, crude oil and meet the transportation sector demand. In this regard, Government of
natural gas. India, being a largely populated and rapid growing India approved mandatory blending requirement of gasoline and diesel
economy, is currently facing a considerable challenge to meet its with biofuel to promote biofuel as an alternate energy source. As per
energy demand in a sustainable and responsible manner (Fig. 7). As GOI biofuel policy mandate 2009; blending of 20% bio ethanol in
per IEA 2007b, and IEA 2012 reports, India needs to generate petrol blending of biofuel (both biodiesel and bioethanol) with diesel
approximately three-fold more energy than its present energy produc- and petrol by 2017 has been set as an indicative target.
tion, to meet the current energy demand and to sustain with its 8%
average annual growth to support its growing population. Industrial 4. Technical, environmental and economic challenges and
and transportation sector are the two major areas having highest constraints for biofuel production
energy demand among all other sectors in India.
This indicates that India will have a need of 1516 million tons of oil 4.1. Feedstock availability, food security, land use changes and water
equivalent by 2030. As per GOI Energy Statistics 2013 (Ministry of source:
Statistics and Program Implementation, GOI) there is a tremendous
increase in consumption of major energy resources (like coal, crude oil Biofuel technologies would only be successful and useful for society
and other petroleum products) in last decades. The estimated con- if there is sufficient availability of biomass feedstock for those
sumption of raw coal by industry has increased by a compound annual technologies in a sustainable way by keeping in mind the environ-
growth rate (CAGR) of 4.86% (72.95 million tons during 1970-71 to mental impacts and “food vs fuel” issues [25,73,75,96]. In one of the

Fig. 6. Algal biofuel conversion process [91].

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G. Joshi et al. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 79 (2017) 850–866

Fig. 7. Global and India's primary energy consumption.

Source: BP statistical review 2011

density and high cost of collection and transportation of biomass.

Furthermore, growing more biofuel based crops to boost the biofuel
production without considering the quality and availability of water by
region could put a significant strain on water resources, especially in
developing countries. Such agricultural shifts to growing biofuel crops
could change the availability of clean and potable water and signifi-
cantly increase pressure on water local resources [73,75]. Also, the
intensive input requirement (land, water, crops, energy etc.) for the
production of biofuel is mainly responsible for the poor economics
associated with these biomass derived fuels, and hence, is observed as
one of the major constraints in their sustainable development
[31,37,75].
Fig. 8. Global industrial energy consumption (region wise). Note: This includes coke The major barriers for sustainable development of biofuel may be
ovens, blast furnaces and petrochemical feedstock. summarized as follows:
Sources: IEA, 2009b; IEA, 2009c.

1. Expansion of biofuel production may require the extra land to

review by [50], a sustainable and environmental friendly route for maintain the sustainability as production of biomass is always
cultivation of oil crops has suggested. The authors have also recom- depend on several factors.
mended the promotion of carbon neutral, more sustainable and almost 2. Added pressure on water resources for growing biofuel feedstocks.
non-fodder feedstocks without affecting the biodiversity and mainte- 3. Preserving the biomass has been a big challenge and addition of
nance of essential and native food crops. In another reports storage cost decrease the cost competitiveness.
[29,30,38],, the challenges of sustainable availability of feedstocks for 4. Advancement in the equipments for cleaner, continuous and
biofuel production were also addressed; where authors have particu- smoother production.
larly focused on the food vs fuel debate. The demand for food and water 5. Application of by-products should be clearly classified
will continuously keep on growing with the world's growing population. 6. Most of the processes may involve the application of organic
It is one of the consequences that food prices have been increased chemical, harmful for the environment and thus green process of
dramatically across the globe. Previously, there was no significant development with high yield has become a serious challenge.
correlation between biofuel and food prices; however, as the food crops 7. Currently used engines are not fully compatible for bio-fuel and have
(sugarcane, maze, soybean and rapeseed etc.) based biofuel production shown the adverse effects on stability and durability of existing
increases, this correlation has strengthened. Continuously increasing engines.
demand and production of biofuel and competitiveness of the biofuel
sector also causes the increase in the costs of source materials. These As per the International Energy Agency Report, Feb 2010; “In
emerging trends suggest that food and biofuel markets are likely to be comparison to 2007, the residual biomass production may increase
more strongly linked in future, which would certainly affect the food approximately ~28% from agricultural sector and ~50% from forestry
prices. Therefore, trend of the biofuel research is shifting towards the sector by the year 2030" According to this report:
development of biofuel production from non fodder feedstock (like
Jatropha, Karanja, Polanga oils etc. for biodiesel production and agro
and forestry waste cellulosic biomass for bio-ethanol production). This
• 10% of global residues could then produce around 155 billion LGE
(billion liters of gasoline equivalent) (5.2 EJ) BTL - diesel or
is one of the reasons that, much of the literature on biofuel production lignocellulosic ethanol or approximately 4.1% of the projected
focuses on the potential impacts on food security as well as land use transport fuel demand in 2030. The yield of conversion to organic
changes and water source [73,75,96]. Farmers, particularly in devel- - SNG could even produce 222 billion LGE (7.4 EJ), or approxi-
oping country like India, started shifting their farming trends from mately 5.8% of total transport fuel. This means that second-
producing food crops to producing biofuel crops in the agriculture land generation biofuel using 10% of global residues would be sufficient
to boost their incomes and employment in agriculture sector, even if in meeting 45–63% of the total projected demand for biofuel (349
the new crops are not edible. As a result the food availability and food bnlge) in WEO 2009 450 scenario.
security will go down and price of the food will rise [73,75]. Besides,
there are certain other barriers to sustainable development of existing
• 25% of global residues can be converted either LC -ethanol, BTL -
Diesel or Bio - SNG which could contribute 385–554 billion LGE
biofuel technologies. The biomass derived fuels have low energy 13.0–23.3 EJ) globally (Fig. 2). These quantities of second genera-

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G. Joshi et al. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 79 (2017) 850–866

tion biofuel are equal to a share of 10.3–14.8% of the total projected Table 2
transport fuel demand by 2030 and could be able to fully meet the Production cost of Biofuel (as reported in literature).
entire demand for biofuel as predicted in the WEO 2009 450
Biofuel production cost
Scenario. Considering that, about two-thirds of the potential of such
alternatives is located in developing countries in Asia, Latin America Biodiesel Bio-ethanol
and Africa. Hence including these countries in the development of
new technologies will be particularly important. S. no Raw Production cost Raw Production cost
material (Rs.) material (Rs.)

However, since the agricultural sector differs markedly from that in 1 Jatropha 22.4 Sugarcane 15.36
many developing countries in the OECD, a better understanding of the molasses
material flows is an important aspect to ensure the sustainability of 2 Karanja 23.52 Sugarcane 14.89
juice
biofuel production. More detailed country and residue- specific studies 3 Soybean ~28 Corn 16.36
are still required to evaluate the economic feasibility of the acquisition 4 Rapeseed 55.44 Damaged food 6.27
and pre-processing agricultural and forestry residues. grain
5 Sunflower 34.72 Agro residue 23.64
6 Palm Oil 38.08 Corn Stover 31.03
4.2. Environmental constraints (viz. Deforestation, Pollution etc.)
7 Castor Oil 53.2 Sweet Sorgam 23.54
8 Algae ~146 Cassava 22.78
Although the biofuel are considered environmentally benign; how-
ever, the extensive production of biofuel has also highlighted a number
of environmental concerns associated with its use. Being a bio-derived tion of bioethanol which includes the initial pretreatment cost, high
product, biofuel have the potential to be “carbon–neutral” over their charge enzymes to get better yield makes the produced bioethanol
life cycles. Since, after their combustion the CO2 returns to the much costlier than the conventional gasoline [1,64,88].
atmosphere is utilized by the feedstock crops for photosynthesis Besides, biodiesel has also gained much interest as an alternative of
process and hence contribute to mitigate the GHG emission. Based conventional diesel; though due of its good compatibility with conven-
on the fact that the biofuel are “carbon-neutral” source that deliver tional diesel, biodiesel is being used directly or as diesel blend in
greenhouse gas savings compared with petroleum fuels is a key internal combustion engine, still its complete commercialization has
component of many countries efforts to set standards worldwide for yet to be attain. Presently, the vegetable oil is a prime source of
lowering emissions in the future. India has also set their GHG emission biodiesel production globally, about > 90% of biodiesel is produced
reduction target and development program of substitute energy in the from vegetable oils world-wide. According to the literature the world-
future. This initiative has provided biofuel industry many opportunities wide biodiesel production is expected to reach 150 million tons by 2020
of development. Apart from the various advantages of biofuel over [93]. However, the economics of biofuel production is highly affected
petroleum fuel, the extensive development of biofuel industry may by the limitations of feedstock availability and good production
directly or indirectly cause other negative effects on environment. To technology. Based on the literature reports the biofuel production cost
meet the demand of biofuel and in order to grow the required oil crops from different feedstock is summarized in Table 2 [127,46].
to produce biofuel, additional land is needed. This has led to extensive
deforestation to complete the additional requirement of land. Large 4.4. Limitations of bio-fuel e.g. biodiesel
scale deforestation has many adverse effects such as soil erosion, loss of
ecological system loss of biodiversity etc. Lin, Cunshan [73,75]. Although the direct practical application of biofuel is still under trial
Moreover, the ethanol blended fuel has some serious emission related and requires a significant amount of research for either engine
issues. Due to highly oxidizing in nature alcohols may produce various modification or fuel modification. Bioethanol and biodiesel are the
toxic aldehydes (e.g. formaldehyde, acetaldehyde etc.) Biodiesel on only primary bio-fuel at present that can be applied for engines. In
burning also emits some aldehydes and other potentially hazardous ethanol is being partly used as a blending component for gasoline
aromatic compounds which are not regulated in emissions laws [33]. driven engine; however, biodiesel is been tested and recommended as
fuel for heavy duty engine as an alternative of conventional diesel. The
4.3. Cost competitiveness of existing biofuel production technologies fuel properties of biodiesel depend on the fatty acid composition of
respective feedstock. The fuel characteristics of biodiesel must be
Although the biomass derived fuels are advantageous over conven- comparable to diesel fuel in order to run the engine efficiently. The
tional fuels, particularly environment related advantages like emissions most important fuel properties includes flash point, viscosity, density,
of GHG's etc; but, there are many other challenges to be resolved before calorific value, moisture content, oxidation stability, acid value, cetane
they can be considered as environmental and economically viable value and cold flow properties [115,135,58]. Depending on the diverse
alternate to the conventional fuels being currently used. Currently, global geographical conditions, different agencies have formulized the
intensive efforts and research are being focused towards improving the specifications for diesel and bio-diesel (Table 3), which has to be met by
economics for sustainable development of biofuel. Since the conven- diesel and biodiesel fuels prior to use in engines.
tional fuels driven transportation sector has already been considered Sustaining the above standard parameters is one of the important
the most polluting sector responsible for GHG emissions which have factors for bio-diesel application. It is believed that most diesel engines
major impact on environment by causing global warming. Because of may adopt the bio-diesel for limited hours under mild weather
the geographical, societal, environmental and technical constraints, the conditions. The restrictions on the use of biodiesel fuels are typically
high production cost of biofuel does not favor them to be used as imposed through the variability of a non-standard fuel without a widely
alternative of conventional fuel in present. Many countries in the world acceptable and enforced quality specification. Neat biodiesel was
are using the ethanol/bioethanol as an alternative fuel in transporta- available at the pump in Germany; however, fuel compatibility issues
tion sector due to excellent compatibility with the existing gasoline, have forced to cut down the percentage of blending at very low level
high octane value, and also provide vehicle power and performance. and adoption of the ASTM D-7467 standards has opened the new
Though the ethanol-gasoline blends results less GHG emissions, but possibilities of higher blending fuel. Since biodiesel is a mixture of
because of the less energy value of ethanol in comparison to gasoline saturated and unsaturated fatty acid esters, due to which biodiesel is
makes it an alternate fuel with low fuel economy [80,88]. Moreover, highly susceptible for auto-oxidation [115,135]. The auto-oxidation of
fermentation route is still being used most frequently for the produc- biodiesel results its degradation and formation of undesired by-

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Table 3
Specifications of fuel properties for biodiesel and diesel.

Applies to el Standards BIODIESEL PETROLEUM DIESEL

EUROPE GERMANY USA INDIA

Specification Units EN 14214:2003 DIN V 51606 ASTM D 6751-07b BIS (P) EN 590:1999

3
Density 15 °C g/cm 0.86–0.90 0.875–0.90 0.85–0.90 0.87–0.90 0.82–0.845
Viscosity 40 °C mm2/s 3.5–5.0 3.5–5.0 1.9–6.0 3.5–5.0 2.0–4.5
Distillation % @ °C 90%,360 °C < 360 85%,350 °C–95%,360 °C
Flashpoint °C 120 min 110 min 93 min > 100 55 min
CFPP °C * country specific summer 0 spr/aut −10 winter −20 – * country specific
Cloud point °C * report
Sulphur mg/kg 10 max 10 max 15 max 0.035 350 max
CCR 100% %mass 0.05 max 0.05 max 0.05 max
Carbon residue (10%dist.residue) %mass 0.3 max 0.3 max 0.3 max
Sulphated ash %mass 0.02 max 0.03 max 0.02 max 0.02 max.
Oxid ash %mass – 0.1 max
Water mg/kg 500 max 300 max 500 max 500 max 200 max
Total contamination mg/kg 24 max 20 max 20 24 max
Cu corrosion max 3 h/50 °C 1 1 3 1 1
Oxidation stability hrs;110 °C 6 h min 3 h min N/A (25 g/m3)
Cetane number 51 min 49 min 47 min > 51 51 min
Acid value mgKOH /g 0.5 max 0.5 max 0.5 max < 0.8 N/A
Methanol %mass 0.20 max 0.3 max 0.2 max or Fp < 130 °C < 0.02 N/A
Ester content %mass 96.5 min > 96.5 N/A
Monoglyceride %mass 0.8 max 0.8 max < 0.8 N/A
Diglyceride %mass 0.2 max 0.4 max < 0.2 N/A
Triglyceride %mass 0.2 max 0.4 max < 0.2 N/A
Free glycerol %mass 0.02 max 0.02 max 0.02 max < 0.02 N/A
Total glycerol %mass 0.25 max 0.25 max 0.24 max < 0.25 N/A
Iodine value 120 max 115 max < 115 N/A
Linolenic acid ME %mass 12 max N/A
C(x:4) & greater unsaturated esters %mass 1 max N/A
Phosphorus mg/kg 10 max 10 max 10 max < 10 N/A
Alkalinity mg/kg 5 max N/A
Gp I metals (Na,K) mg/kg 5 max 5 max < 10 N/A
GpII metals (Ca,Mg) mg/kg 5 max 5 max N/A
PAHs %mass 11 max
Lubricity / wear µm at 60 °C 460 max

Table 4
Important fuel properties of biodiesel as per ASTM specifications [10,106,59].

Properties Non-edible feedstock based biodiesel

Jatropha Pongamia Madhuca Azadirachta indica Moringa Rice Rubber Polanga seed
curcas pinnata Indica (neem) oleifera barn seed

Density @ 15 °C, g.cm3 0.8642 0.8690 0.875 0.8850 0.8591 – – 0.878

Viscosity @ 4.3 4.65 5.10 5.21 5.07 3.5 3.89 5.5
40 °C,mm2/s
Oxidation stability (h, 2.8 2.5 – – – 1.7 – –
at 110 °C)
CFPP (°C) −7 6 11 18 0 0 11
Pour point (°C) 3 −1 4 14.4 21 −10 3.2 12
Cloud point (°C) 3 −6 – 2 19 −11 −2 13
Flash point (°C) 169 180 159 – 176 169 152 163
Calorific values (kJ/kg) 39,698 38,960 36,914 37,810 39,560 38853 39700 39513

products, results a poor fuel quality. Thus the oxidation stability is 4.6. Concentration
considered as one of the most important property of biodiesel
[106,59,68]. Table 4 shows some of the main fuel characteristics of Leaching of biofuel in engine's crankcase where it can dilute the
biodiesel produced from various non-edible feedstocks. lubricating oil with time and effect of oil/fuel mixture on engines can
In general, the following factors related to fuel compatibility should have an impact on engine durability and longevity.
be considered for any IC engine.

4.5. Compatibility
4.7. Equipment
The effect of blended biodiesel on engine's performance is the most
significant in terms of precipitation of fuels in soluble and filter What is the effect on fuel injectors, filters and other fuel system
plugging. Prolonged operation with low biodiesel blends also requires components is not well known and can cause a significant deterioration
careful evaluation. in engine performance.

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 Table 5
Engine performance and emission results of IC engine fueled with biodiesel (non-edible oil source) [10,106,59].

Biodiesel Engine Operating Emissions Engine performance Reference

G. Joshi et al.

conditions

Jatropha curcas Full load, variable speed All other Exhaust emissions get reduced except NOx than B10 was found the best among all and gave lesser fuel consumption and complete Mofijur, Masjuki [85,94]
regular diesel combustion compared to other blends
Pongamia Pinnata Gradually variable load, Reduced unburnt HCs, CO, CO2 with increase in NOx than Up to 5% lower break thermal efficiency that diesel for all blends was found Sureshkumar, Velraj [125,23]
constant speed diesel
Madhuca Indica Gradually variable load, Reduced unburnt HCs, CO, CO2 with increase in NOx than B20 has shown lesser break thermal efficiency than diesel Godiganur, Murthy [109,42]
constant speed diesel
Azadirachta indica Variable load, constant speed Reduced unburnt HCs, CO, CO2 with increase in NOx than Higher break thermal efficiency and break specific fuel consumption was observed Dhar, Kevin [32]
diesel than convention diesel
Moringa oleifera Variable load, constant speed Reduced unburnt HCs, CO, CO2 with increase in NOx than For B10 and B20 blends lesser break power and higher fuel consumption was observed Mofijur, Masjuki [101,86]
diesel compared to diesel
Rice barn Variable load, constant speed Lower smoke and higher NOx were reported For B20 blends slight difference in fuel consumption was observed compared to diesel Saravanan, Nagarajan [110]
Polanga seed Variable load, constant speed CO and smoke were reduced but NOx increases For B10 blend higher thermal efficiency and lower fuel consumption and lesser Ong, Masjuki [95]
exhaust temperature was found in comparison to diesel
Castor oil Variable load, constant speed At low load NOx were same as diesel but at full load slight For lower blends less fuel consumption and higher thermal efficiency was found Panwar, Shrirame [67,97]
increase in NOx was observed
Cotton oil Variable speed, full throttle Lesser smoke was reported for all blends, NOx was also No significant change in engine performance of B5, and B20 blends was observed in Aydin, Bayindir [11]
condition found less for all blends except B5 comparison to diesel

859
targets

[102,65].
4.8. Emission control

and decrease durability of components.

5.1. Global bio-fuel production scenario

biodiesel derived from non-edible feedstock.

Source: US EIA; IES; and Short Term Energy Outlook 2014

Source: US EIA; IES; and Short Term Energy Outlook 2014
Fig. 9. Global biofuel production from 2005 to 2012 (Region wise).

Fig. 10. Global bioethanol production from 2005 to 2012 (Region wise).
5. Biofuel scenario in India: Production, consumption and

2011-12 was about 40.4 million tonnes with a marginal increase of 5%

creased by 47-times in comparison to 2000 (IRENA 2014, IEA 2013b)
performances and its emissions when using biodiesel, however, quan-

As per the IEA report 2014, India's domestic crude oil production in
total world production of ethanol in 2012 (IRENA 2014) [65]. Existing
about 3% of total transportation fuel demand of the world (IRENA
of fuel ethanol and 0.43 million barrels/day of biodiesel, which was
by killing catalysis efficiency and finally increase in engine emissions

are the largest fuel ethanol producing countries produced > 85% of
about 85% share of total liquid biofuel Fig. 10. United States and Brazil
2014; International Energy Statistics –EIA 2012) [102]. Currently,
about 1.9 million barrels/day which includes 1.47 million barrels/day
is listed about engine durability and life time. Table 5 represents the
tification is still lacking from such reports. In most of the reports

engine performance and emission only, whereas very less information

Various reports in literatures are available to evaluate the engine

biofuel; however, global biodiesel production in 2013 (Fig. 11) in-

global biodiesel production still is a smaller proportion of total liquid
ethanol is the primary liquid biofuel produced world-wide, which is
Global production of liquid biofuel in 2012 (Fig. 9) was calculated
summarized data of engine performance and emission tests fueled by
available, more emphasis has been given on the effect of biodiesel on
Biodiesel can negatively affect the emission control system possibly
Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 79 (2017) 850–866
G. Joshi et al. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 79 (2017) 850–866

5.2. National biofuel policy of India

India, being one of the fastest growing economies, happens to be the

world's 4th largest energy consumer after United States, China and Japan
[74]. To sustain the pace of such economic growth, India needs to develop
in-house technologies for alternative energy sources from renewable
feedstock to substitute the petro based energy sources. Among the various
energy alternatives available, biofuel form renewable feedstock has
emerged as the preferred option, particularly for the transportation sector.
A number of initiatives for the renewable energy production, improve-
ment in energy efficiency and conservation are being promoted by
Government of India during the past one decade [36]. In the year 2003,
GOI has launched “National Policy on Biofuel” under the flagship of
Fig. 11. Global biodiesel production from 2005 to 2012 (Region wise). “National Biofuel Mission (NBM)” for accelerating development of the
Source: US EIA; IES; and Short Term Energy Outlook 2014 biofuel sector with a focus on research and development, capacity
building, biofuel marketing and purchasing policy to support and promote
the biofuel technologies in India. The policy consider the utilization of a
in comparison to 2010-11. This is only 1% share of world's total crude wide range of energy crops (such as sugarcane, sweet sorghum, maize,
oil production. cassava and tree born oil) and seeds (like Jatropha, Pongamia etc.) for
However, India being the 4th largest consumer of crude oil with biofuel production (Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, 2009;
total consumption of 162.3 million tonnes of crude oil in 2011-12, National Policy on Biofuel; http://www.mnre.gov.in) [36]. The policy
which is about 4% share of world's total crude oil consumption. also envisioned the setting up of a “National Biofuel Development Board
The domestic crude oil production of India meets only 30% of (NBDB)” to develop a road map for the use of such biofuel in diesel and
actual demand, rest 70% demand is met with the imported crude oil petrol engines in a time bound manner with all other policy measures. The
(Fig. 12), which has a major impact on country's foreign exchange targets of “National Biofuel Policy 2009" have not been met due various
reserves and policies. According to IEA 2009 report, with such huge reasons; therefore on June 2015, the Govt of India has reviewed it and
gap in demand and supply India's crude oil import may rise to 92% by issued the updated biofuel policy. The recommendations are based on the
2030. Therefore, the high dependency on imported crude oil for current status of biofuel research and development, and its future
powering the transportation sector and other energy related demands prospects. The salient features of the “National Policy on Biofuel” are
are the major reasons for the country to look forward for developing listed as: ([15,62]; GAIN: India Biofuel Annual 2016).
the new and renewable biofuel sectors. India, due to tropical climatic
conditions, has vast potential for generation of power from renewable • Proposed target of 20% blending of biofuel (ethanol and biodiesel)
energy sources like hydro, solar, wind and biomass [119]. After wind in respective conventional fuels to be achieved by end of 12th Five-
and solar energy sources, bioenergy has the 3rd largest potential for Year Plan.
power generation in India. As per the projection of Govt. of India 12th • Biodiesel must be produced from the non-edible oil seeds and the
five year plan, by 2016-17 the total domestic energy production will cultivation of such crops would be encouraged on waste, marginal
reached by 669.6 million tonnes of oil equivalent and it is expected to and nonagricultural land. Government will promote the production
achieve the total domestic energy production of 844 million tonnes of of non-edible oilseeds by providing financial incentivization; and by
oil equivalent by 2021–22; which could be able to meet 69% demands fixing minimum support price for the feedstock.
of expected energy consumption [119]. The domestic ethanol produc- • Relaxation in marketing resolution No. 23015/1/20001 dated
tion of India is mainly dependent on the agro based residue like March 8, 2002 and a new clause give marketing rights for B-100
sugarcane molasses, sugarcane bagasse, sugarcane tops, sweet sor- to the private bio-diesel manufacturers and authorized dealers.
ghum, rice husk, wheat straw etc.; whereas the biodiesel is mainly • The price of bio-diesel will be market determined
produced only by using non-edible oils like Jatropha, Pongamia • Ethanol produced from non-food feedstock besides molasses like
Pinnata, Azadirachta indica (Neem), Madhuca Indica (Mahua) etc. cellulosic and ligno cellulosic materials and including petro-chemi-
Jain, Sharma [102,35,36,57]. cal route, may be allowed to be processed subject to meeting the
relevant BIS standard.
• Sugarcane or sugarcane juice may not be used for production of
ethanol and it be only produced only from molasses.
• Oil Marketing Companies propose to purchase bio ethanol at
Minimum Purchase Price (MPP) based on the actual cost of
production and import price of bio-ethanol. In the case of biodiesel,
The MPP should be linked to the prevailing retail diesel price.
• If necessary, GOI proposes to consider creating a National Biofuel
Fund for providing financial incentives, including subsidies and
grants, for new and second generation feed stocks, advanced
technologies and conversion processes, and production units based
on new and second generation feedstock.
• Thrust for innovation, (multi-institutional, indigenous and time
bound) research and development on biofuel feedstock (utilization
of indigenous biomass feedstock included) production including
second generation biofuel.
• Meet the energy needs of India's vast rural population by stimulat-
ing rural development and creating employment opportunities and
Fig. 12. India's crude oil production, consumption and import 2005–2016. addressing global concerns about containment of carbon emissions
Source: US EIA; IES; and Short Term Energy Outlook 2016 through use of environment friendly biofuel.

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• Policy will be made to ensure the uninterrupted supply of these confirm the smooth functioning of the task; besides, research and
biofuel within the country and these biofuel will be put under the development activities were also undertaken simultaneously to evalu-
domain of “declared good”. ate the techno-economic feasibility and identify the engine modifica-
• Biofuel technologies and projects would be allowed 100% foreign tions if required.
equity through automatic approval to attract foreign direct invest- Based on the expert studies the 5% blending of ethanol with petrol
ment (FDI), provided the biofuel is for domestic use only, and not was recommended at supply locations of oil companies and the 5%
for export. Plantations of inedible oil bearing plants would not be blending was initiated in 9 states and 4 union territories (out of 29
open for FDI participation. states and 6 union territories) in 2003. Based on surplus sugarcane
• The objective of biofuel program is to support R & D, Pilot plant/ production in 2005-06 and 2006-07, the Government of India made
Demonstration projects leading to commercial development of 5% ethanol blending mandatory for 20 states and 4 union territories in
second generation biofuel. November 2006, and in October 2007 it was made mandatory across
• Separate committees for a broader policy perspective and policy the country in second phase (except Northeast, Jammu & Kashmir
implementation will be made and named as “National Biofuel and island territories) [48]. Though, because of the shortage in
Coordination Committee” and “Biofuel screening committee”, re- sugarcane supply in 2007-08 the 5% blending target of ethanol in
spectively. petrol was not achieved, still in 2008 the third phase 10% blending of
ethanol was announced by Government of India [48]. In 2007 the
To succeed the “National Biofuel Mission” of India several agencies Government of India has permitted to sugar industries to produce the
are currently involved in the promotion, development, and policy ethanol directly from sugarcane juice instead of the molasses to achieve
making for the biofuel sector such as the Ministry of New and the minimum required supply of ethanol for mandatory blending
Renewable Energy (MNRE, GOI), overall policy maker and R & D targets. However, the fluctuating prices and availability of feedstocks,
promoter, Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MPNG, affecting the production of ethanol, and still remains the major threat
GOI),responsible for marketing of biofuel, and the Ministry of to meet the targeted ethanol blending mandates in India. Thus, this is
Agriculture (MAg, GOI), promotes the research and development for only the reason that the oil companies have been able to achieve only
the production of feedstock crops, as well as the Ministry of Science an average of 1.37% ethanol blending by July 2014 [52]. Therefore,
and Technology (MST, GOI), supports research in biotechnology for alternate technologies are being developed for bioethanol production
biofuel crop production [15]. which uses biomass feedstocks that has nonfood value such as waste
lignocellulosic agro residue biomass which includes rice husk, wheat
straw, sugarcane topes and bagasse [111,90]. To promote and support
5.3. India's biofuel status: biofuel mandates, demand, supply and the production of ethanol from cellulosic biomass, the Government of
current usage India planning commission has also adapted a new policy in 2008
called “Ethanol Blended Petrol Program (EBPP)” and targeted a
5.3.1. Bio-ethanol mandate of E20 by 2017 (i.e. blending of 20% ethanol to gasoline by
Globally, India is one of the largest producers of sugarcane. 2017), and has set a target to produce more than 4 million gallons per
However, because of the cyclical nature of sugarcane and sugar year of ethanol by 2017 to meet this milestone [128,53,78]. Though,
production in India, the fuel ethanol production is highly fluctuating various other alternatives for ethanol production have been developed
[102,103]. Sugarcane molasses is the major source of fuel ethanol and demonstrated, the success of mandatory ethanol blending still
production in India. It is estimated that only 4% molasses can be dependents on the production of sugarcane [111,48,53].
recovered from 1 t of sugar cane; however, as per Indian standards, the
recovery percentage of ethanol is only 25% of total molasses 5.3.2. Biodiesel
[102,103,119]. India's domestic biofuel (bioethanol and biodiesel) Likewise bioethanol, the Planning Commission of India (GOI,
production from 2005 to 2012 is shown in Fig. 13. Currently, the 2003) has also recommended the “National Mission on Biodiesel” for
domestic fuel ethanol production of India is about 1.3 million liters biodiesel production from non-edible oils sources. The biodiesel
against the installed capacity of 3.2 billion liters [53]. As per the production in India is primarily focused on using Jatropha,
planning commission of India (Government of India) report on the Pongamia, Karanja, Polanga, Neem, Mahua and other non-edible oils.
development of biofuel; fuel ethanol has been identified a major fuel Similar to ethanol, the Planning Commission of India in 2006 has also
and fuel blending source to be developed [111,53,90]. The phase wise proposed the phase wise blending of biodiesel in high speed diesel and
bioethanol blending with transportation fuel in India was commenced started with 5% blending of biodiesel with high speed diesel, and set a
in 2001 starting with 5% blending of ethanol in Petrol. In first phase target to achieve the 20% blending of biodiesel by 2011-12. To meet
three pilot projects were started for required ethanol production to with the proposed targets of 20% blending in 2011-12, the Government
of India targeted the plantation of Jatropha over 11.2 million hectare of
land for availability of required feedstock for biodiesel production;
however, plantation of Jatropha was done only over 0.5 million hectare
of land [118]. As a result the lack of assured supplies of crude vegetable
oil is the major concern for the private sector to set up biodiesel plants
in India [63]. That is only the reason why the most of the biodiesel
production units in India are not operating throughout the year.
Presently, the total Jatropha based biodiesel production in India is
estimated varying from 100 to 300 million liters per year [74]. Besides,
Jatropha various other non-edible oil feedstocks are also utilized for
biodiesel production in India like Karanja oil, Mahua oil, Neem oil etc.,
however the timely availability of feedstocks to biodiesel production
unit is still a matter of concern. Thus due to these constraints for
biodiesel production in India the phase 1 of National Biofuel Mission
Fig. 13. India's Biofuel production from 2005 to 2014. More has not given the expected results.
Source: US EIA; IES; and Short Term Energy Outlook 2014, GAIN India Biofuel Annual Recently the research and development on algal based biodiesel
2015. production has been received a great attention in India and has

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G. Joshi et al. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 79 (2017) 850–866

exposed newer sight for biodiesel production that can be a more ethanol production using more sustainable feedstocks like sweet
sustainable feedstock for biodiesel [124,22,54,63]. Algae, an important sorghum, tropical sugar beet and other cellulosic waste biomass with
ecological plant species, is considered food and nutrition source for newer and advance technology, also a diversified biofuel policy
many animals and other members of food chain that can produce [107,14]. Similarly, limited availability of non-edible feeds, due to
oxygen on earth [54]. Besides, Algae have a great biomass potential for poor productivity, improper plantations, less participation of public
biodiesel production and biodiesel can be easily derived from algae in and private sector, ineffective Govt. policies and inefficient market are
comparison to oil derived from vegetable and tree borne oil seeds the major factors for non-sustainable and uneconomical production of
[124,22]. However, the biodiesel development from microalgae in Jatropha biodiesel [118]. Therefore, researchers in India have shown
India is still in demonstration stage. The major constraint in biodiesel more attention to study the feasibility of biodiesel production from
production from microalgae is to find out an algal strain with a alternate resources such as biodiesel production from tree born oil seed
significant lipid content and excellent growth rate. Though, India is like Pongamia, Polanga, Neem, Mahua etc. Lohan, Ram [74]. Besides,
facing a lot of barriers in domestic biodiesel production, still the efforts algae could be one of the most promising and sustainable source for
are being made to maximum utilization of available biodiesel. Indian biodiesel production instead of non-edible oil or tree born oilseed
oil corporation (IOC) Ltd., has taken various initiatives to develop the based feedstock [63,74]. Algae can also provide various other types of
technologies for the production of biodiesel from non-edible feedstock renewable fuels such as methane production via anaerobic digestion;
and their application in transportation sector [74]. A 60 kg/day biohydrogen via photo-biological route etc., also there is no conflict of
biodiesel production plant has been established by IOC at Faridabad food vs fuel. India has a large coastal region which offers it a great
(India), where 10% and 20% biodiesel blending has been used in diesel potential for availability of algal feedstock for biofuel production [63].
vehicles of Haryana state government (India) to study the emissions The only problem associated with algal biodiesel production is the
and engine impacts. In continuation, IOC in association with Indian identification of an algal strain with significant oil content and easy to
Railways also running almost 10 trains across India by using biodiesel harvest with high growth rate [74].
in locomotives with 5% blend of biodiesel [74]. Besides, Karanja oil Researchers have already been developed the customized technol-
based biodiesel pilot plant has been installed by Mahindra & ogies for production of biofuel from non-fodder biomass resources;
Mahindra at Mumbai in association with Tata Motors Ltd., and however, commercialization feasibility and economic viability of these
Lubrizol India Pvt Ltd., to investigate the feasibility and impact of technologies yet to be demonstrated [119]. Though, the expertise and
10% biodiesel blending in diesel engines [74]. Gujarat in association infrastructure facility for most of the biofuel technologies have already
with Central Salt and Marine Chemicals Research Institute-CSIR been developed, the only need is to just provide necessary resources
(CSMCRI-CSIR) has also been started using 5% biodiesel blending in improvement and advancement of these technologies. Govt. of India
commercial buses. CSMCRI-CSIR in association with Daimler Chrysler should promote more research and development in collaboration with
has successfully completed a 5000 km trial run with Mercedes cars R & D laboratories to explore the new and advanced biofuel technolo-
using neat biodiesel as fuel. To enhance the India's biofuel production gies based on bio-based refineries and synthetic biological approaches.
and its commercial utilization, the Govt. of India is financially Further, availability of stable market is the prime factor for sustainable
supporting the advance research and development programs across development of Indian biofuel industry. Likewise, Govt. of India, the
the country. The detail of some ongoing biofuel research projects state government agencies need to take the initiatives for constructing
funded by Govt of India and implemented by various esteemed state level biofuel policies and ensure their implementation on urgent
research institutes/laboratories across the country is summarized basis. These biofuel policies and program needs to spread up to the end
Table 6. user and also the public and private partnerships needs to be
encouraged.
5.4. Future perspectives of biofuel in India
6. Conclusions and recommendations
The recommendations of Kyoto protocol and clean development
mechanism (CDM) for energy security and environmental concerns In conclusion, if Indian economy has to grow with the current pace
have promoted the global biofuel production. However due to various and growth rate, India must reduce significantly the dependency on
factors like different geographical, climatic, social and political con- crude oil import. Since, Indian crude oil production is nearly stagnant,
straints the global biofuel production is not very consistent. India being therefore to overcome the country's fuel demand, sustainable develop-
a tropical climatic region has significant potential for biofuel produc- ment of alternate fuel from renewable biomass resources is a prime
tion and its application in various sectors. Government of India has need of Indian fuel industry. Although, various indigenous technologies
also taken various initiatives (e.g. Ethanol Blending Policy 2003, for bioethanol and biodiesel production from various bio-based feed-
National Policy on Biofuel 2009 and National Biofuel Mission 2012- stocks has been developed, but due to unavailability of sufficient
17) for the promotion of biofuel production and its utilization. feedstocks the industrial production of these biofuel is in infant stage.
Currently biofuel are being used as a complement and blending Govt. of India along with state governments needs to take the more and
component for the petroleum based fuels (diesel and gasoline). effective initiatives to ensure the sufficient amount of feedstock
Various blending mandate have been made by the Govt. of India for availability to biofuel industry. Also, research and development in
the blending of ethanol and biodiesel with gasoline and diesel India need to focus on new generation biofuel beyond bioethanol and
respectively. vegetable oil based biodiesel. Efforts are still to be needed with
Indian biofuel industry is mainly dependent on sugarcane based synthetic and advanced biological approaches for sustainable develop-
ethanol and Jatropha based biodiesel. The ethanol production is ment of bio-based refinery and biofuel production. More research
mainly sugarcane-centric has been received a major competition should be promoted by the Government agencies for the development
among the liquor, chemical/medicinal and the biofuel industry. of advance biofuel technologies (i.e. Third generation algal based
However, in India achieving the 20% blending target of ethanol in biofuel and fourth generation biofuel via captured carbon technolo-
gasoline by 2020 appears insignificant with current trends of produc- gies), which not only conquer with the feedstock availability issues but
tion and availability of ethanol as blending stock. Direct conversion of also generate fuel with carbon negative value.
sugarcane juice to ethanol with improved efficiency could be an Based on the above discussion, recommendations can be made for
alternative route; however, it can cause some adverse effect on sugar the sustainability of Indian biofuel sector. Besides, promoting advance
production hence does not seems feasible [107,14]. Thus there is an research on biofuel sustainability Govt. of India should also focused on
urgent need to focus on other alternative and economical routes for other related areas. Since the sufficient and timely availability of biofuel

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Table 6
Biofuel projects running currently in India.

S. no. Project name Executing institution Objective Funding

Agency

1 Enhanced butanol production from lignocellulosic biomass using improved pre- National Environmental Engineering Development of improved process for Bio-butanol production from MNRE
treatment and integrated saccharification, fermentation and separation in a Research Institute (NEERI), Nagpur lignocellulosic biomass
membrane bioreactor
2 Biodesel fuel production from microalgae Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University Identification of suitable strains of algae that can perform uniformly during all DST
Anantapuram (AP) seasons
3 Studies of chemo-enzymatic treatment of black liquor for recovery of reducing Forest Research Institute, Dehradun To establish more economical process of bio-ethanol production DBT
sugars for bio-ethanol production
4 Stabilization and up gradation of biomass derived bio-oils over tailored The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), To establish technical feasibility of stabilizing bio oil to increase the storability MNRE
multifunctional catalysts in a dual stage catalytic process to produce liquid New Delhi and enhance the properties to be blended with petro fuel and upgrading bio
hydrocarbon fuels and its application studies oils to transport fuels

863
5 Sorghum Stover based Biorefinery for Fuels and Chemicals NIIST- Trivandrum, MNNIT-Allahabad, To scale-up integrated technology for converting Sorghum Stover to Biofuels MNRE
TERI-New Delhi, IICT-Hyderabad and value added chemicals
6 Cost effective mass production of robust thermo tolerant, halophilic microalgae Vinayak Ganesh Vaze College, Mumbai Cost effective biofuel production DBT
strains and utilization of biomass for biofuel production
7 Hydropyrolysis of lignocellulosic biomass to value added hydrocarbons Indian Institute of Petroleum, Dehradun To convert lignocellulosic biomass into value added hydrocarbons/fuels that MNRE
can be used in the transportation sector and chemicals
8 Biocrude Production: Hydro-cracking of non-edible vegetable oil SardarSwaran Singh National Institute of Development of Process for the production of bio-crude by hydrocracking of MNRE
Renewable Energy, Kapurthala, Punjab the vegetable oils
9 Process development for bioethanol production from agricultural residues SardarSwaran Singh National Institute of Development of Process for co-fermentation of hexose and pentose sugars of MNRE
Phase-I: Development of process for co-fermentation of hexose and pentose Renewable Energy, Kapurthala-144 601 agricultural residues by selected isolates of co-fermenting mesophilic and
sugars of agricultural residues thermophilic strains for ethanol production
10 Development of pretreatment strategies and bioprocess for improved production Department of Microbiology, University of Development of hyper cellulose producer and a fermentation process for MNRE
of cellulolytic enzymes and ethanol from crop byproduct for demonstration at Delhi South Campus, New Delhi production of bio-alcohol from lignocellulosic biomass
pilot plant
Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 79 (2017) 850–866
G. Joshi et al. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 79 (2017) 850–866

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