Biofuels for Energy Security

Ever since Rudolf Diesel (inventor of the diesel engine) successfully operated a mechanical engine with peanut oil in 1893, it was predicted that vegetable oil will replace fossil fuels. However, availability of cheap and surplus fossil fuels had hindered research on vegetable oils (biofuels), and fossil fuels have continued to be the single most important source of energy. In India, diesel alone meets an estimated 73% of transportation fuel demand. However, domestic production caters to only 22% of the demand, the rest is imported and the amount of imports is increasing with every passing year, from 189.4 million tonnes (mt) in 2014–15 to 202.1 mt of crude oil in 2015–16. Continued dependence on fossil fuels, in addition to a huge strain on the government exchequer, has led to environmental pollution, and global warming, besides several health problems.