August 10 marks the World Biofuel Day, which is dedicated to raise awareness regarding unconventional sources of fuels that could work as alternatives to fossil fuels. Biofuels are renewable, biodegradable, sustainable sources of energy. With the help of biofuels, one can decrease the import dependency on crude oil, and welcome a cleaner setting.
A biofuel is any source of energy that is extracted from biological material such as agricultural wastes, crops, trees or grass. Biofuel can be produced from any source of carbon that can be rejuvenated rapidly, like plants. Biofuels are known to contain no sulfur and produce low carbon monoxide and toxic emissions, as compared to conventional fossil fuels.
World Biofuel Day: History
August 10 is marked as the World Biofuel day because on August 9, 1893 Sir Rudolf Diesel, inventor of the diesel engine, had run the mechanical engine with Peanut oil for the first time efficiently. His experiment had predicted that vegetable oil would change from fossil fuels to gas in the subsequent century with completely different mechanical engines. It is to commemorate this experiment that the day is celebrated.
World Biofuel Day: Significance
On this day government and private organisations come together to generate consciousness about the significance of non-fossil fuels as a different form of energy resource. In 2019 Food Safety and Standard Authority of India, in association with the Health Ministry, had started an initiative called ‘Repurpose of Used Cooking Oil’ in which the used oil was supposed to be collected from hotels and restaurants and sent to the biodiesel plants for blending.
World Biofuel Day: Theme
Earlier in June, Prime Minister Narendra Modi participated in the World Environment Day event via video conferencing. The PM declared “biofuels for a better environment” as the theme for this year’s World Environment Day as he interacted with farmers to hear their experiences of using ethanol and biogas.
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