Page 316 - Refining Biomass Residues for Sustainable Energy and Bioproducts

Potentials of postharvest rice crop residues as a source of biofuel 285

Table 13.6 Global production statistics of bioethanol and biodiesel for the year 2014.
Leading % Share of Leading biodiesel % Share of
bioethanol production in 2014 producers production in 2014
producers
United States 57 Europe 29
Brazil 25 United States 16
Europe 6 Brazil 11
China 2 Argentina 10
Canada 2 Indonesia 10
Argentina 1 China 4
Thailand 1 Thailand 4
India 1 Others 16
Others 5

Union (Huenteler and Lee, 2015) and the Asian countries (Arau ´jo, 2017) have their
own respective choices of sources (Fig. 13.6) as far as the production of biodiesel is
concerned.

13.6.2 The Indian biofuel potential

There has been a steady growth (approximately 7%) in Indian economy since 2000
(EIA, 2013). This high economic growth is marked with a similar growth in energy
demand. According to the report of International Energy Agency (IEA) (2014), the
country’s major energy demand will double up by 2030. Oil is the second largest
energy source after coal for India accounting for approximately 30.5% of the pri-
mary energy demand (BP, 2013). India accounts for 1% of global crude oil produc-
tion and consumes approximately 3% of the world consumption (Energy Statistics
Report (ESR), 2003). Being the fourth largest consumer and importer of crude oil
and petroleum products, India’s petroleum demand went up to 3.7 million barrels
per day in comparison to petroleum production of 1 million barrels per day (EIA,
2014). This is the reason behind India’s dependency on fuel imports and thus the
rising fuel prices in the country. Therefore the need arises to generate alternative
fuels such as the biofuels derived from renewable energy feedstock to make the
country energy self-sufficient at time of situations such as energy crisis.
India being an agriculture-based country, majority of the people are dependent
on agricultural related activities, leading to huge amount of residues being pro-
duced, that can be used as a potential source for the production of biofuel. From
328 million hectare of land in India, about 43% are planted with crops. The net
crop area has remained stable at 140 million hectare since 1970, but there has been
a considerable increase in the gross crop area (which measures multiple crops
grown per year). The crops are grown in two main seasons, namely, kharif and rabi.
Rice and wheat dominate majority of the cropped area followed by others
(Fig. 13.7)(MoA, 2012).