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Biofuel

Biofuel is any fuel derived from an organic material that is not fossilized like coal or petroleum. Common sources of biofuel grown for the U.S and European markets are corn, soybeans, flaxseed and rapeseed. Biofuel can appear in solid, liquid, or gas form. It is used to produce heat or electricity, or to power machinery using burners, broilers, generators, internal combustion engines, turbines or fuel cells. Biofuel is a renewable energy, but there is some controversy that it is not sustainable due to the harvesting of biomass and the byproducts produced during the burning of biofuels.

The major sources of biofuel in India include Algae, Jatropha oil and vegetable oils. Cellulosic materials, corn and sugarcane etc. have been under surveillance since late 1990s. 

Globally, biofuels accounted for 0.2 percent of total primary energy consumption and 0.7 percent of transportation energy consumption in 2019. In India the share of biofuel consumption in total primary energy consumption was roughly the same at 0.2 percent and its share in transportation was 0.7 percent.

The Government of India had announced a new policy on Biofuels in June 2018 and an indicative target of 20 percent blending of ethanol in petrol and 5 percent blending of biodiesel in diesel is proposed by 2030. Significant efforts are being taken in this direction in India with major focus on second generation biofuels.

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