Biofuel is defined as any fuel whose energy is obtained through process of biological carbon fixation. It can be characterized on basis of their source biomass.
Generations of Biofuels
- 1G Biofuel: They produced directly from food crops such as wheat and sugar etc.
- 2G Biofuel: They are produced from marginal croplands unsuitable for food production or non-food crops. For example-Jatropha. It overcomes over food vs. fuel debate in first generation biofuel.
- 3G Biofuels: It is based on improvements on production of biomass by taking advantage of specially engineered energy crops such as algae as its energy source.
- These engineered energy crops can be cultured to act as low-cost, high-energy and entirely renewable feedstock. They have potential to produce more energy per acre than conventional crops.