Biofuel Production from Agricultural Waste: A Global Trend

Conversion of waste into fuel has emerged as an eco-friendly, economical, and sustainable way of handling waste. Agricultural wastes and residues form an important source for the production of fuels. Straw from rice and wheat, husk from rice and wheat, maize cobs, sugarcane bagasse, oil cakes, and banana peel are some of the agro residues used in the generation of fuels. The fuels generated from biological waste include bioethanol, biobutanol, biodiesel, biomethane, and biohydrogen. Biofuels offer a renewable, sustainable clean energy option because of reduced emissions of greenhouse gases and particulates. The dependency on biofuels has increased tremendously during the last decade, with global production reaching approximately 40 million metric tons. The United States, Brazil, Germany, China, Argentina, and France are some of the countries leading in biofuel production. Biofuels offer a good alternative to conventional fuels such as petroleum; therefore, their production needs to be enhanced significantly for a sustainable future.