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Eco-Scope Bihar – Algae – The Future Biofuel
Eco-Scope Bihar
by Prof. Ashok Kumar Ghosh
Biofuels are produced from living organisms as metabolic by-products, and have been around as long as cars have. At the start of the 20th century, Henry Ford planned to fuel his Model Ts with ethanol, and early diesel engines were shown to run on peanut oil. But discoveries of huge petroleum deposits kept gasoline and diesel cheap for decades, and biofuels were largely forgotten. However, with the recent rise in oil prices, along with growing concern about climate change and global warming caused by carbon dioxide emissions, biofuels have been regaining popularity.
The need of energy is increasing continuously, because of increase in industrialization as well as human population. The basic sources of this energy are petroleum, natural gas, coal, hydro and nuclear. The major disadvantage of using petroleum based fuel is atmospheric pollution. Petroleum diesel combustion is a major source of greenhouse gases (GHG). Apart from these emissions, petroleum diesel combustion is also major source of other air contaminants including NOx, SOx, CO, particulate matter and volatile organic compounds, which are adversely affecting the environment and causing air pollution. These environmental problems can be eliminated by replacing the petroleum diesel fuel with an efficient renewable and sustainable biofuel.
On the face of it, biofuels look like a great solution. Cars are a major source of atmospheric carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas
