Biofuel - The Hassle-free energy and its future demands

Biofuel is a cleaner fuel source, produced from the renewable source whose energy is derived from the carbon fixation. Even though, fossil fuels are derived from carbon-cycle it is not said to be a biofuel as it emits carbon-dioxide that affects our environment. Biofuel is the cleanest form of energy in terms of energy security and greenhouse gas emission.

There is an increased attention among political as well as scientific communities for biofuel, thanks to the climate experts who gave the renewable energy upper-hand vis-a-vis conventional energy. Biofuel is the best alternative to traditional fuels like oil and natural gas whose prices are just skyrocketing and also pose a grave menace to our environment. Bioethanol, biobutanol, biodiesel, biogas, and vegetable oils are some of the biofuels used in the market at present.

Emerging trends in Biofuel Market

Biofuel market is at the peak of development due to the growing concerns that includes greenhouse gas emission, global warming and environmental degradation that we have discussed earlier. With these issues getting higher importance in the global arena, Biofuel market definitely demands greater consideration. 

The worldwide production of ethanol and biodiesel is expected to rise at approximately 8% and 11% respectively during 2011-2014. “Global biofuel market will grow twofold over the next decade from $82.7 billion in 2011 to $185.3 billion in 2021,” says Pike, an expert Market Analyst. “Biofuel Markets and Technologies are estimated to rise steadily towards 2016 and achieve promptness between 2017 and 2021 as a consequence of higher oil prices, emerging mandates, new feedstock availability, and advanced technologies,” he sums.

The yield of biofuel in the worldwide marketplace is anticipated to get to 65.7 billion gallons per year by 2021, and with a projection that ethanol will keep up the supremacy among them with production of about 50 billion gallons per year compared to biodiesel’s 16.2 billion gallons per year. The United States, Brazil, and European Union are the three largest markets contributing 85 percent of worldwide production in 2010. North America dominated the industry accounting for nearly 48 percent of the worldwide market in biofuel while the European Union stands top in terms of global biodiesel production contributing 49 percent in world’s total production.

The industry may not meet total market demand by 2021 irrespective of its growing trend, which is referable to some internal factors like intensive livestock cropping, loss of biodiversity, and hike in agricultural commodities. Meanwhile, there will be an increase in the demand of transportation fuel, including air and maritime sector, which again will be an added pressure mounted on biofuel industry. According to Pike, “the global gasoline market will hit 375 billion gallons per year; the global diesel ground transportation market will reach 427 billion gallons per year.” Even if the biofuel market grows twofold, it will kick in only seven percent of the total transportation fuel market.

In recent years, algae seems to be the cynosure for its advantage and greater contribution in the biofuel market. Many conferences have been held overtime for disseminating algae’s special characteristics. One such conference was ‘World Biofuels Markets’ organized in Rotterdam, Netherland. Over 15000 delegated across the world took part in the conference to hash out the importance of the algae. “Everyone from U.S. President Obama to leading scientists and investors around the globe are talking about algae, and hence our timely focus on the latest issues helps the attendees,” said Claire Poole, Event Director for World Biofuels Markets. “With the development of pilot and demonstration projects, all the promise of algae is beginning to become reality and we count forward to exploring timelines and existing hurdles the industry is addressing.”

Conclusion

The technological advancement of first-generation biofuel sources (such as maize, sugar cane, rapeseed and soy) when combined with second-generation fuel sources could contribute to an increased biofuel production in the future. The combination of mature investments along with growing demand, and industry consolidation indicate an optimistic future for the biofuel industry. Even in this rapidly growing phase, there remain some political as well as social hurdles that could prevent the industry from meeting government’s demand. Few other hurdles may also occur in the form of vested interest created by the uninterested parties towards nation’s development. So it is every government’s responsibility to think in term of their political as well as social issues before proceeding farther into the renewable energy marketplace.