18.4.4 Biofuel Challenges and Opportunities

Planning for the future needs of India’s large and growing population has driven much discussion regarding the importance of agriculture. Agriculture occupies center stage for India’s social security and overall economic welfare, as 70% of the population depends on it as a means of livelihood. Since Independence, India has experienced significant production increases in food grains (green revolution), oilseeds (yellow revolution), milk (white revolution), fish (blue revolution), and fruits/vegetables (golden revolution). All of these revolutions became possible by applying cutting-edge science, coupled with positive policy support and the hard work of Indian farmers. The post-independence period marks a turning point in the history of Indian agriculture, as the rate of growth grew from less than 0.5% annually between 1904 and 1945 to 2.7% between 1950 and 1984 [14].

This growth has been achieved as a result of the high priority accorded to agriculture. Policy makers adopted a twofold strategy for regenerating agriculture immediately after independence. The first element was to implement land reforms to remove institutional bottlenecks and the second was to undertake massive investment in irrigation and other infrastructure in order to update existing agricultural technology [14]. According to World Bank data, the agricultural sector value added (% GDP) in India during 2008-2012 was about 18% [15].

India’s continued growth depends on energy availability, and the country is struggling to meet its growing energy demands. With 0.5% of the world’s oil and gas resources but 16% of the world’s population, the country is heavily dependent on expensive oil imports [16]. Energy self-sufficiency has outpaced food self-sufficiency as a national priority and India is aggressively pursuing alternative energy resources. India is also the world’s third largest producer of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions [17], adding to its motivation to develop more green energy resources.

Biofuel production is considered one of the most promising options to promote energy security and reduce emissions in India and, in 2009, the Government of India approved the National Policy on Biofuels and launched the National Biodiesel Mission. Presently, biofuel production in India is limited for a number of reasons [18]. For example, India is the world’s second largest producer of sugarcane (after Brazil), but its sugar supplies are matched by an equally large demand, and therefore the country cannot afford to divert any sugarcane for other purposes. This means that India’s ethanol production comes only from molasses, a by-product of sugar [19]. Secondly, India is a net importer of edible oils; therefore, to avoid any biofuel policies that could aggravate the country’s already dire situation of food insecurity for more than 220 million Indians [20], the country cannot afford to divert any of its edible oil supplies into biodiesel manufacturing. Finally, the arable land availability for growing biomass feedstock for biofuels applications is a significant constraint. Given these conditions, India’s bioenergy program has focused primarily on sugar by-products (sugarcane molasses) and on cultivating non-food crops on what the government perceives as “marginal lands” — that is, lands with suboptimal soil and water conditions, which are not already being used by intensive agriculture [21].

Agricultural residues seemed to be the most promising near-term feedstock for cellulosic biofuel production. A nationwide assessment of available agricultural residues estimated that there were 134.4 million metric tonnes (MMT) of rice residues, 109.9 MMT of wheat straw, and 199.1 MMT of sugarcane residues (Table 19.3) [22]. These estimates account for almost 80% of the residue generated by the crops that were studied. However, a significant portion of the residues generated is already consumed for fodder and other uses, thus limiting their availability for biofuel production (Table 19.3) [22]. Other plant residues that could be used for bioenergy production include 18.9 MMT from cotton cultivation, processing wastes from forest products such as bamboo and reed, or even pine needles, which have an estimated annual availability of 1.6 MMT. However, many of these resources present problems with respect to collection and logistics [22]. Physical properties as well as the cellulose and fermentable pentosans content in each of these materials are different and, therefore, processing technologies will likely differ if they are to be used as raw material for ethanol production [22].