Algal biofuels

Why in news?

• India’s Reliance Industries Ltd has recently released developed cutting-edge algae-to-fuel technology.

About Algal biofuels:

• Algae came to the limelight in the world’s fight against climate change about a decade ago for its vast benefits in industrial production.
• It can synthesise large volumes of oil (20 times more than that of mustard per acre), grow fast (10 times quicker than terrestrial plants) and capture carbon dioxide (CO2).
• Since then, big industries and startups around the globe have been working to commercialise algae-based biofuel processes to reduce dependence on conventional fossil fuels like petrol and diesel.
• Microalgae are excellent at converting CO2 and sunlight into oil-rich biomass, especially when compared to land-based crop plants like oil palm and soy.
• By adapting microalgae to function as cell factories producing energy-dense oils that can easily be refined into renewable diesel and jet fuel, we can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 70 per cent.

Add ons:

• At the global level, oil and gas giant ExxonMobil partnered with Viridos to commercialise algal biofuels.

PRACTICE QUESTION:

Consider the following:

1. Reducing import dependency

2. Cleaner environment

3. Additional income to farmers

Which of these are the expected benefits of using Biofuels?

(a) 1 only

(b) 2 only

(c) 1 and 2 only

(d) 1, 2 and 3

Answer