• The Prime Minister of India announced the launch of the Global Biofuels Alliance on the side-lines of the G20 Summit in New Delhi.

GLOBAL BIOFUELS ALLIANCE

• Global Biofuels Alliance is an India-led Initiative to develop an alliance of Governments, International organisations and Industry to facilitate the adoption of biofuels.
• A total of 19 countries and 12 international organisations have so far agreed to join the alliance, including both G20 members and non-member countries.
• Members: Argentina, Brazil, Canada, India, Italy, South Africa, USA, Bangladesh, Singapore, Mauritius, UAE, Iceland, Kenya, Guyana, Paraguay, Seychelles, Sri Lanka, Uganda and Finland.
• India, Brazil and the US are the founding members of the alliance.
• This Alliance will be aimed at facilitating cooperation and intensifying the use of sustainable biofuels, including in the transportation sector.
• India, the US and Brazil account for a total of 85 percent of the global ethanol production with the US holding 55 per cent share followed by Brazil 27 per cent and India 3 per cent.

WHAT IS BIOFUEL?

• Biofuels are renewable energy sources derived from biomass, such as crop stubble, plant waste, and municipal solid waste.
• Biofuels may be solid, liquid or gaseous in nature.
• Solid: Wood, dried plant material, and manure
• Liquid: Bioethanol and Biodiesel
• Gaseous: Biogas

WHAT ARE DIFFERENT GENERATIONS OF BIOFUEL?

• First generation: It is produced from consumable food items containing starch (rice and wheat), sugar (beets and sugarcane) for bio alcohols, or vegetable oils for biodiesel.
• Second generation: It is mainly obtained from non-food feedstocks such as forest/industry/agricultural wastes and waste or used vegetable oils.
• Third generation: It is known as ‘algae fuel’ and is derived from algae in the form of both biodiesel and bioalcohols.
• Fourth generation: Like the third generation, 4G biofuels are made using non-arable land. However, unlike the third, they do not need the destruction of biomass.