Energy Nexus 4 (2021) 100036

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Nexo de energía
Pagina de inicio: www.elsevier.com/locate/nexus

Los biocombustibles y sus fuentes de producción: una revisión sobre alternativas

sostenibles más limpias frente a los combustibles convencionales, en el marco del nexo
entre alimentos y energía
Sangita Mahapatraÿ , Dilip Kumar, Brajesh Singh, Pravin Kumar Sachan

Departamento de Ingeniería Bioquímica, Escuela de Tecnología Química, Universidad Técnica Harcourt Butler, Kanpur 208002, UP, India

información del
artículo A bstracto

Palabras clave : Los tiempos modernos se enfrentan a una crisis masiva con el aumento de la demanda mundial de energía y la
Biofuel emisión de dióxido de carbono debido al consumo de combustibles fósiles. El agotamiento del combustible
Conventional fuels derivado del petróleo ha creado una demanda de una fuente de combustible alternativa. Los combustibles fósiles
Nexus también se consideran combustibles convencionales, son las principales fuentes de energía no renovable, cuya
GHGS pérdida no puede sostenerse en años. Según la revisión estadística global de la energía mundial de 2019, hay una
Biomasa tasa de emisión de dióxido de carbono aumentada en un 0,5 % y un consumo de energía primaria del 1,3 % en
todo el mundo. Este aumento de las tasas es una alarma disparada para la humanidad y el medio ambiente.
Mientras tanto, las fuentes renovables como el biocombustible muestran un uso potencial con baja emisión de
dióxido de carbono, menos contaminantes y se pueden crear a partir de biomasa en forma de residuos orgánicos.
Además, son efectivos contra la emisión de gases de efecto invernadero (GEI) y el impacto del cambio climático
de los transportes y vehículos. Hoy en día la investigación de biocombustibles se realiza a nivel mundial debido a las
dos propiedades fundamentales, la sostenibilidad y la renovabilidad. Hay muchas fuentes efectivas de producción
de biomasa y se dividen en tres categorías, que incluyen biocombustibles de primera generación, segunda
generación y tercera generación. La primera generación comprende biomasa relacionada con cultivos alimentarios,
mientras que la segunda generación incluye biomasa lignocelulósica, y la tercera generación presenta fuentes
renovables potenciales en forma de biomasa de algas. El documento tiene como objetivo revisar las diversas fuentes
de biocombustibles y los métodos utilizados en la producción, y discutir sus ventajas y sostenibilidad

Introduccion
En los últimos tiempos, los biocombustibles han adquirido una importancia
significativa debido a las limitadas reservas de petróleo, la seguridad
energética y las crecientes preocupaciones ambientales debido al aumento del
cambio climático y las emisiones de gases de efecto invernadero. Los
biocombustibles se refieren a cualquier combustible derivado y producido a
partir de material orgánico como plantas y sus residuos, cultivos agrícolas,
subproductos que pueden ser un sustituto adecuado del combustible derivado
del petróleo [1,2]. Hoy en día, con la creciente tecnología de punta, hay un
aumento considerable en la demanda de energía que conduce a un consumo
excesivo de combustibles fósiles [3]. Por lo tanto, la energía renovable se
considera u posible sustituto y está ganando importancia a nivel mundial por
sus impactos sociales, económicos y ambientales. La idea detrás del uso de
biocombustibles se ha derivado de las edades Anteriormente en la historia
humana, los materiales biológicos se utilizaron para la producción de energía.
Pero debido a la fácil disponibilidad, razón económicamente factible, la
humanidad siguió adelante con el uso de combustibles fósiles en lugar de los
recursos vegetales como fuente de energía [4].
Los biocombustibles se pueden utilizar como aditivos de combustible o en su
forma pura.
Además, los biocombustibles se clasifican comúnmente en bioetanol y
biodiesel [5].
∗
Corresponding author.
E-mail address: mahapatra.sangitask@gmail.com (S. Mahapatra).
Los biocombustibles líquidos se pueden utilizar como una fuente alternativa
a los combustibles convencionales en el sector del transporte,
contribuyendo con aproximadamente el 18 % del consumo de energía
primaria [1,6]. Hoy, aproximadamente el 80% del biocombustible líquido se
fabrica en bioetanol, y el resto es a través de biodiesel [7]. Los
biocombustibles difieren de otras materias primas de petróleo en términos
de contenido de oxígeno. Tienen niveles de oxígeno que van del 10% al 45%
en comparación con los productos derivados del petróleo que no tienen
ninguno. Los biocombustibles también tienen niveles más bajos de azufre y
nitrógeno en comparación con las fuentes de petróleo [8]. La figura 1
muestra los datos estadísticos de los cinco principales países con altas
emisiones de dióxido de carbono del año 2009–2019 [9]. El aumento de la
liberación de dióxido de carbono es una alarma amenazante que continúa
aumentando y puede causar serias amenazas. En septiembre de 2015 se dio
un gran paso con la introducción de los Objetivos de Desarrollo Sostenible,
tras lo cual muchos países se adelantaron para tener objetivos similares
como EE . 10–13]. Los biocombustibles se pueden producir a través de
varios métodos, incluidos métodos biológicos, químicos y físicos [14] Este
artículo revisa y compara diferentes estrategias para la producción de
biocombustibles y concluye acerca de su confiabilidad frente a los
combustibles convencionales. Considera la viabilidad y la eficacia detrás del
uso primero, segundo

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nexus.2021.100036
Received 3 August 2021; Received in revised form 13 November 2021; Accepted 28 November 2021
Available online 1 December 2021
2772-4271/© 2021 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
S. Mahapatra, D. Kumar, B. Singh et al.
Fig. 1. Top countries with higher rate of carbon dioXide emission [9].
biocombustibles de segunda y tercera generación y hace una comparación
entre los principales países su tasa de consumo de energía y métodos para
reducirla.
Finalmente, el documento analiza algunos métodos rentables para la
producción de biocombustibles desde una perspectiva futura. Clasificación
de biocombustibles –
Los biocombustibles líquidos se clasifican relativamente en función de la
materia prima utilizada–
Para fabricarlos . Dependiendo de la materia prima que sea [15] -
A biocombustible de primera generación
B Biocombustibe segunda
generacion
C Biocombustible tercera
generacion
D Biocombustible cuarta
generacion
Biocombustibles de primera generación
Los biocombustibles de primera generación se obtienen
mayoritariamente de la alimentación animal cultivos u otros productos
alimenticios [16]. Esta fabricación de biocombustibles emplea el uso de
varias tecnologías y procesos destacados, como la fermentación, la
destilación y la transesterificación, por lo que estos biocombustibles
también se consideran "biocombustibles convencionales" [16]. El
proceso se centra principalmente en la producción de combustible
únicamente, y el resto de productos no combustibles la materia se
desecha como desecho; como resultado, no se requieren membranas en
estos métodos [17].
higos. 2–8.XXXXX
Biocombustibles de segunda generación
Los biocombustibles de segunda generación se producen íntegramente a
partir de productos no alimentarios. materias primas como cultivos
energéticos dedicados y otras materias primas lignocelulósicas plantas,
residuos agrícolas, residuos forestales y otros productos de desecho
[dieciséis]. En comparación con la producción de biocombustibles de
primera generación, la segunda generación es un método mejorado que se
centra tanto en una mayor recuperación de combustible como en la
producción de materias primas secundarias. A diferencia del primero
proceso de generación, se enfoca en producir combustibles valiosos y reducer
el costo total de la energía y la cantidad de producción de desechos, lo que lo
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Energy Nexus 4 (2021) 100036
convierte en un método económicamente factible. Por estas razones, los
investigadores suelen apoyarse en técnicas como la filtración por membrana y
la integración de varios biorrefinerías para mejorar el rendimiento de los
biocombustibles. Una variedad de mesófilos y Los organismos termofílicos se
utilizan tanto en reacciones por lotes como continuas. para generar
biocombustibles, ácidos orgánicos y aminoácidos [17]..
Third-generation biofuels
The third-generation biofuels are derived from microalgae via
trans- esterification or hydrotreatment of the algal oil [16]. These
methods can efficiently increase the biofuel yield per year than the first
generation biofuels that use traditional crops [18]. The second and
third-generation biofuels are still under development and research
progress, and hence, they are collectively regarded as advanced
biofuels [16]. The primary sources include feasible resources that don’t
affect the food chain and are feasible, readily available and flexible
towards environmental parame- ters. These sources are majorly
microalgae, animal oils, fish oil, waste cooking oil, animal fat etc.
another significant advancement include the potential to decrease
water pollution and a load of waste handling plant [19,20].
Biocombusstibles de cuarta generacion
Los biocombustibles de cuarta generación se procesan a partir de algas
modificadas genéticamente (GM) y combustibles solares fotobiológicos y
electrocombustibles [20,21]. La biomasa de algas GM es eficaz en la producción
de biocombustibles, mejora la eficiencia fotosintética y aumenta la penetración
de la luz [21]. Las materias primas solares de cuarta generación están
ampliamente disponibles, son económicamente más baratas e inagotables. La
modificación genética de las microalgas La biomasa tiene una aplicación
potencial en la metodología de extracción de petróleo por inducir la autólisis de
células y sistemas de secretaría de productos. Herramientas de edición del
genoma como la nucleasa de dedo de zinc (ZFN), efector similar a la
transcripción Las nucleasas (TALEN) y las secuencias palindrómicas agrupadas
regularmente interespaciadas (CRISPR/Cas9) son herramientas
bioinformáticas ampliamente utilizadas [21,22].
Tipos de Biocombustibles
Además, los biocombustibles se clasifican según la biomasa utilizada para su
fabricación. Estos son
Solid biofuels
Estos biocombustibles están compuestos por biomasa sólida orgánica no fósil
de origen biológico. Estas biomasas tienen importantes aplicaciones en calor.
producción, energía y generación de electricidad [26]. Estos biocombustibles
son producido a partir de carbón vegetal, leña, pellets de madera, residuos de
madera, animales
S. Mahapatra, D. Kumar, B. Singh et al. Energy Nexus 4 (2021) 100036

Fig. 2. Classification on the biofuels on the basis of feedstock used for production.

waste and other renewable industrial waste. Some significant examples
are biochar [27].
Liquid biofuels
Estos biocombustibles incluyen todo tipo de liquidos productos a partir de
biomasa o fraccion biodegradable [27] Los biocombustibles liquidos ofrecen
muchas ventajas sobre los biocombustibles solidos y gaseosos debido a su
alto contenido energetico densidad, lo que los hace ideales para el
trasnporte , el almacenamiento y modernizacion [29]Algunos de los
principales ejemplos de biocombustibles liquidos con importancia
primordial importancia incluyendo el bioetanol ,el biodiesel y el bioaceite
otros biocombustibles liquidos pueden clasificarse como ,
•
Triglycerides based biofuels- these include biomass such as veg-
etable oil, pyrolytic oil, biodiesel, hydrogenated oil and bio-
gasoline.
•
•Biocombustibles de base lignocelulósica : estos incluyen materias
primas para biocombustibles como los bioaceites, junto con el diesel
BTL y los biocombustibles directos [28].
Gaseous biofuels
Los biocombustibles gaseosos son de naturaleza gaseosa con baja densidad
Algunos de los ejemplos significativos son de biogas, el biohodrogeno y el
biogas
Biomass conversion technology
The production of necessary biofuels depends on the feedstock pro-
vided, leading to biomass-energy conversion technologies. These tech-
nological processes are highly variable in nature and depend on various
factors such as energy density, size, moisture content and intermittent
supply [31]. Today biomass is considered as the world’s significant re-
newable energy source that can ring into the limelight to avoid further over-
exploitation of fossil fuels [32]. The significant advantages of utiliz- ing
biomass include its renewability nature, making it ideal for sustain- able
usage. Secondly, it poses a less damaging threat to the environment with a
low net release of carbon dio Xide (CO2) and sulfur. Thirdly, it is
economically more feasible when compared to fossil fuels which may in-
crease in cost with the increasing demand [33]. Therefore today, many

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S. Mahapatra, D. Kumar, B. Singh et al. Energy Nexus 4 (2021) 100036

Fig. 3. Utilization of solid and liquid biogas in the past years worldwide for electricity generation.

industries are focusing on utilizing biomass conversion technologies to high-pressure liquefaction and fast pyrolysis [36].
biofuels conversion and utilize it further as various energy sources [34].
In recent years the biomass supply has gradually increased globally.
By 2018, the majority, approXimately 85%, of domestic biomass supply
is received from solid biomasses, whereas liquid biofuels account for
7%, followed by industrial gas and biogas sectors with 7% and 3%, re-
spectively. Furthermore, there is a 2% annual growth in bioenergy
from 2000 to 2018, where liquid biofuels have emerged as the fastest-
growing sector with a growth rate of 13%, followed by biogas 9% [35].
Therefore this data provides the importance of biofuels and their
utilization.
Chart 1 and Tables 2–4XXXX.

Methods of biomass conversation

The biomass conversion to produce energy is accomplished by two

main processes: thermo-chemical conversion and biochemical conver-
sion. The biomass is converted via these processes to obtain three
major types of products biofuels, heat and power for electricity
generations.

Thermo-chemical processes

The thermo-chemical conversion of biomass is further classified as

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S. Mahapatra, D. Kumar, B. Singh et al. Energy Nexus 4 (2021) 100036
The biomass, majorly bio-oils obtained after thermochemical con-
version, has major importance in fuels industries as alternative
sources of fuels and chemicals.

Pyrolysis
Pyrolysis is one of the primary biomass conversion processes in
the production of biofuels [36]. In this process, the heat is applied n
feed- stock in anaerobic conditions (absence of o Xygen) to break the
long- chain molecules to their respective short-chain [31]. Fast
pyrolysis has produced prominent results in producing concentrated
fuel oils and re- covering bio-fuels with medium-low calorific power
[36]. Generally, biomass or wastes are used as primary feedstock to
produce syngas and other liquid fuels by varying the process
conditions [37].
The major advantages involve converting solid materials into gas
and vapours that are convenient to handle, transport and store. In
con- trast, the disadvantages involve significant heat input to carry
out the chemical reactions for the production of syngas [31].

Carbonisation
The method of slow pyrolysis is regarded as carbonisation, which
is majorly used in modern times for charcoal production [31]. These
are done by three basic methods-
•
Internal heating of raw materials with controlled combustion
•
EXternal heating by fuelwood or fossil fuels

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 S. Mahapatra, D. Kumar, B. Singh et al. Energy Nexus 4 (2021) 100036

Fig. 4. Domestic supply of biomass globally [35].

Chart 1
Comparison of advantages and disadvantage of the various generations of biofuels [21,23–25].

Topic First-generation biofuels Second-generation biofuel Third-generation biofuel Fourth-generation biofuel

Land Feedstock
footprint Easily available crops, Edible Non-food crops Non-food crops Non-food crops
oil and starch Arable land/ forest Non-arable land Non-arable land
Arable land
Major benefits Simple conversion process Doesn’t affect the food chain Raw material can be obtain from cheap Increased lipid content, carbon dioXide
supply with less production sources such as waste food oil, waste and absorbing, high energy with better growth
costs sea water rate
Manufacturing cost Economically feasible Economically less Oil extraction processes are expensive Intial investment and pilot setup are
effective expensive
due to complicated
conversion technology
Water footprint Required portable water for Required portable water for Can use waste, saline and non portable Can use waste, saline and non portable
generation of biofuels generation of biofuel water for generation of biofuel water for generation of biofuel
Nutrient requirements Dependant on fertilizers and Not dependant on any Dependant majorly on carbon and Dependant majorly on carbon and
pesticides fertilizer treatment nitrogen sources. Nutrients can be nitrogen sources. Nutrients can be
recycled and solar energy can be also recycled and solar energy can be also
used. used.
Chemical fertilizers and Principally used Not consumed Not consumed Not consumed
pesticides
Environmental risk Usage of pesticides and Major risk is deforestation Major risk is marine eutrophication GMO release in environment can be
fertilizers are threat for threat.
environment
Harvesting Its done by machine or hand Its done by machine or hand Microalgae harvesting is complicated and Microalgae harvesting is complicated and
picking picking financially expensive financially expensive

Table 2
Comparison of petrol with bioethanol [54]. Table 3
Comparison of fossil diesel with biodiesel [54].
Petrol Bioethanol
Diesel biodiesel
Density [kg/l] 0.76 0.79
Viscosity [mm2 /s] 0.6 1.5 Density [kg/l] 0.84 0.88
Flashpoint [degree celcius] Less than 21 Less than 21 Viscosity [mm2 /s] 5 4
Caloric value [at 20° celcius MJ/kg] 42.7 26.8 Flashpoint [degree celcius] 80 120
Caloric value [MJ/l] 32.35 21.17 Caloric value [at 20° celcius MJ/kg] 42.7 37.1
Fuel-equivalence 1 0.65 Caloric value [MJ/l] 35.87 32.65
Fuel-equivalence 1 0.97
Cetane number 50 56

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S. Mahapatra, D. Kumar, B. Singh et al. Energy Nexus 4 (2021) 100036

Fig. 5. Overview of major biomass conversion.

Table 4 tricity. A variety of process equipment is used to conduct the com-
Water consumption during major biofuel production [74].
bustion process, including stoves, furnaces, boilers, steam turbines,
Biofuel turbo-generators, etc. [39]. The main combustion products include heat,
Water consumption factor in m3 /GJ
cultivation
Estimated Minimum Maximum power or CHP via consecutive heterogeneous and homogenous reactions
Ethanol Maize 8.090 0.0 554.0
[40]. The biomass combustion significantly depends on feedstock’s
Sugar beet 9.790 0.0 157.0 par- ticle size, temperature and combustion atmosphere. The major
Sugarcane 24.55 0.0 156.0 limita- tion of the combustion process is the high emission of carbon
Biodiesel Rapeseed 19.740 0.0 270.0 dioXide and nitric oXide, and particulate matter and ashes release
Soybean 11.260 0.0 844.0
[41].
Palm Oil 0.0 0.0 0.850

Gasification
Gasification is another thermochemical process that incorporates
•
Hot circulating gas for production of chemicals in the retort or con- biomass fuel to obtain energy-rich gaseous products [36]. The major
verter gas [38]. products received after combustion includes syngas and fuel gas. The
production of syngas also leads to the production of methanol and hy-
Combustion drogen, which are widely used as fuels for transportation [39].
Combustion involves burning biomass in the air that is further An important concept of BIG/CC Biomass Integrated Gasification/
utilised to convert chemical energy to heat, mechanical power, or elec- Combined Cycle Plant systems are also related to gasification conver-

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S. Mahapatra, D. Kumar, B. Singh et al. Energy Nexus 4 (2021) 100036
sion systems. It has a notable use due to the availability of cleaning
the

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S. Mahapatra, D. Kumar, B. Singh et al.
Fig. 6. Overview of basic principles of biorefinery.
gas before combustion in the turbine. This makes the gas volume
signif- icantly reduced in volume due to cleaning and making it more
compact [39,42].
Liquefaction
Liquefaction is converting biomass or organic material into stable
liquid hydrocarbons under low temperature and high hydrogen pressure
[39]. The high-pressure liquefaction of air-dried wood provides bio-oils
composed of a complex mi Xture of volatile organic acids and alcohols,
aldehydes, ethers, esters, ketones, furans phenols, hydrocarbons, and
non-volatile components [36].
Catalytic liquefaction is an efficient process to produce products
with higher energy density in the liquid phase. The catalytic conversion
is aided by using a catalyst or under high hydrogen partial pressure.
How- ever, the technology poses many technical problems and has
limited the utilisation of the process [31].
Bio-chemical processes
The bio-chemical (or biological) conversion processes include the
utilisation of bacteria to convert biomass into gaseous products that
are economically feasible and have plenty of applications [41]. Two
main processes used are fermentation and anaerobic digestion-
Fermentation
It is an anaerobic process commercially used to produce ethanol from
sugar and starch crops such as sugarcane, sugar beet and wheat. The first
step involves breaking down saccharides followed by conversion via
en- zymes and yeast to produce ethanol. Later on, the purification is
done by distillation. The solid residues left aren’t simply discarded;
rather, they are used as cattle feed, fuel for boilers (sugarcane
product), or subjected to gasification. Sugarcane is majorly used as a
preferred feedstock due to its high productivity, high residue energy
potential [31].
Similarly, the lignocellulosic biomass such as wood and grasses are
also broken down into simpler units. But these compounds have a
more complex structure due to the presence of longer-chain
polysaccharides. Hence, it is subjected to acid or enzymatic hydrolysis
and then fer- mented to form ethanol. [39]
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Energy Nexus 4 (2021) 100036
Anaerobic digestion
Anaerobic digestion involves the digestion of microbial feedstock
without oXygen to release heat, carbon dioXide, methane and hydrogen
sulphide. This process is carried in large tanks under ideal conditions
for several days. After completing digestion, the remaining solid diges-
tate is used as fertilisers, and the released gases (biogas) are used as
fuel [31]. The process is considered the most energy-e fficient and eco-
friendly technology to produce biogas for heat and /or electricity gen-
eration, biosolids used for soil conditioning and liquor used as liquid
fertilisers [43].
Biorefinery system
The biomass used in the production of biofuels follows a biorefin-
ery model due to environmentally sustainable reasons [44]. In 1990,
NREL defined the term biorefinery as biomass utilisation for manufac-
turing various fuels and other bioproducts [45]. The biorefinery system
includes production, conversion, processing of end product. Today nu-
merous biorefinery models have gained much interest from researchers
because of their advantage in decreasing the carbon dio Xide and produc-
tion cost [46]. One of the significant biorefinery applications includes
biomass processing so that the by-products can be used primarily in
place of fossil fuels [47]. It has also reduced the total cost of manufac-
turing biofuel and aided the recovery of various value-added products,
including antioXidants, natural dyes, cosmetics, supplements, etc. [48].
Types of biorefinery
Green biorefinery- The green biorefineries incorporate biomass
such as grass, green crops and plants and are collectively regarded as
green biomass. These biorefinery systems are muti-products derived
from plants [49]. In the first step, the green biomass is subjected to
wet- fractionation to produce a fibre-rich press cake that contains
cellulose, starch, dyes, crude drugs and other organic materials, which
are further used for the production f green feed pallets that can be used
for conver- sion to syngas and synthetic fuels. At the same time, green
juice contains free amino acids, dyes, enzymes and hormones and
S. Mahapatra, D. Kumar, B. Singh et al. Energy Nexus 4 (2021) 100036
minerals [44].

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S. Mahapatra, D. Kumar, B. Singh et al. Energy Nexus 4 (2021) 100036

Fig. 7. The comparison between biodiesel/bioethanol with petrodiesel/petro-gasoline o the basis of their overall energy yields.

Fig. 8. Biofuels implications and it’s interdependency on food, water and energy nexus.

Forest and lignocellulosic biorefinery

The lignocellulosic material consists of polysaccharides, cellulose
and hemicelluloses that are together bounded by lignin. It has three
basic chemical fractions-
i Hemicelluloses, sugar molecules (majorly pentoses).
ii Cellulose and polysaccharide with glucose polymer
iii Lignin, phenol polymer
The biorefinery majorly utilises hard, fibrous plant materials from
lumber or municipal waste. Initially, the plant material is cleaned and
subjected to three fractions described above via enzymatic and
chemical digestion [49]. Few sugar polymers such as cellulose and
hemicellulose
11
are converted to simpler subunits via hydrolysis [44]. The hydrolysis
of these compounds provides simpler sugars and essential
intermediate products. The reactions occurring in transformation are
described be- low:
Lignocelluloses + H2O = lignin + cellulose + hemicelluloses
( )
Hemicelluloses + H2O = xylose 5− carbon sugar,C5H10O5
( )
Xylose + acid catalyst = f urfural C5H10O2 + 3H2O Cellulose
( )
C6H10O6 + H2O = glucose
S. Mahapatra, D. Kumar, B. Singh et al. Energy Nexus 4 (2021) 100036

The furfural is an intermediate product used as motor oils, precursors vegetable oils and animal fats using transesterification processes [57].
of certain plastics and cleaning agents in liquid fuels [45]. It can be used as Biodiesel production in India is majorly relied on

Whole-crop biorefinery
The whole-crop biorefinery utilises raw materials such as wheat,
rye, triticale and maise. The first step includes the mechanical
separation of the raw materials into corn and straw [49]. The straw
production rep- resents a lignocellulosic biorefinery and is a starting
material for syngas production, which is further used to synthesise fuels
and methanol. Next, the corn is converted into starch that can be
modified chemically or via plasticisation and biotechnological
conversion [45].

Integrated biorefinery
The integrated biorefinery includes various other conversion tech-
nologies such as thermo-chemical, bio-chemicals, etc., which can be
collectively used to reduce the economical cost and better product yield
[44]. For example, flour mills can be operated 70–80% grain to flour
yields and contain approXimately 25–30% high proportion starch con-
tent that can be used for conversion into valuable chemicals such as
succinic acid (SA) [50].

Algae biorefinery
The bioproducts obtained from algae biorefinery are obtained from
algal biomass. Algae are autotrophic microorganisms that can make
their food via photosynthesis in sunlight, carbon dioXide and water
[51]. The algae or cyanobacteria are used as biomass for bioprocessing
(can be grown in a photo-bioreactor) to reduce the emission of carbon
dioX- ide from power plants for oil extraction and biodiesel
productions. The oil content from some algal species can exceed up to
80% of their dry weight [44,45].

Common types of biofuel

There are many common types of biofuels that are today used
worldwide are biodiesel and bioethanol. These two bioenergy products,
known as biofuels, are used majorly to replace fossil fuels [52].

Bioethanol
Yeast cells are the prime sources of ethanol production via fermen-
tation of carbohydrates in the absence of carbon dioXide. Bioethanol is
derived from a renewable source of energy from ethanol via the
fermen- tation of sugar and starch. Bioethanol is first-generation biofuels
derived from agricultural products such as corn, sugarcane, potatoes,
rice, etc. [52,53]. Ethanol has approXimately one-third lower value
than petrol. One litre of ethanol substitutes for appro Ximately about
0.65 litres of petrol. The energy content of ethanol is better than petrol,
with a dif- ference of 11.3 MJ/l. The ethanol also had lower vapour
pressure that enables it to store in pure fuel form, which is a challenge
for gasoline [54]. Bioethanol is blended (5%) with petrol under the EU
quality stan- dard. This blend doesn’t require any further engine
modification and can be used at higher levels [34]. The United States
(US) is the high- est producer of ethanol (the fuel is made from 10%
ethanol and 90% gasoline), followed by Brazil (27% of ethanol)
[55,56].

Limitations
In a colder climate, the lower vapour pressure of pure ethanol cre-
ates a significant problem with starting the engine. Therefore, in cold
climates, ethanol is miXed with gasoline (E85). However, the lower-
level blends of ethanol and gasoline raise the vapour pressure of base
gasoline and therefore, the ethanol is added. Hence, ethanol is blended
about 40 per cent with gasoline to obtain a higher evaporative
emission [34,54].

Biodiesel
Biodiesel is another important first-generation biofuel made from
1
S. Mahapatra, D. Kumar, B. Singh et al. Energy Nexus 4 (2021) 100036
non-edible sources such as Jatropha, mahua, karanja, neem, etc. (55). directly
Biodiesels are used as a fuel additive to reduce pollutants from diesel-
powered vehicles such as carbon mono Xide and hydrocarbons [57].
Biodiesels are used as a fuel additive to reduce pollutants from diesel-
powered vehicles such as carbon monoXide and hydrocarbons [57].
The transesterification of vegetable oils lowers oil’s viscosity and is
carried out in supercritical methanol without a catalyst. Biodiesel
offers many carbon dioXide reductions and sulphur levels in the
atmosphere, mak- ing it more eco-friendly than regular fossil fuels
[34]. Biodiesel has an energy efficiency of approXimately 0.69, which
means making 1 unit of fuel; only 0.31 units of biodiesel is required
in total [58].

Biomethanol
Methanol is another potential biofuel that can be used in place of
other conventional motor fuels. Methane is the simplest hydrocarbon
with a general formula of CH4, and at standard temperature and pres-
sure (STP), it is found in the gaseous state [54]. Earlier it was used to
power automobiles, and its synthetically produced variant was widely
used in Germany during World War. Methanol is regarded as ‘wood
al- cohol’ and are currently produced from natural gas via partial
oXidation reaction [59], whereas bioethanol requires the distillation
of liquid ob- tained after wood pyrolysis. The biomethane consist of
various purifi- cation treatments, majorly constituting methane (>
80% volume) and carbon dioXide [54].

Biofuel implication in energy, water and food nexus

Biofuels production has a significant advantage over conventional

fossil fuels and directly or indirectly impacts biodiversity [60]. Biofuel
generation plays a crucial role in the water-food-energy nexus for sus-
tainable development. These biofuels utilise ecological resources and
services and have a significant role in the various nexus [61]. Biofuel
promotion develops a complete linkage between food, water, land,
and energy [62]. The first-generation biofuels are derived from
agricultural crops and, therefore, can negatively impact the
ecosystem, especially inland usage and deforestation [61,63,64].
Biofuels utilises water and land resources that can be carefully used to
produce food and other eco- nomically essential goods for living
beings. This direct competition with the food production affects the
water and land management with higher irrigation requirements,
better crop management with a higher yield of food and feedstock
[65].
The implication of biofuels and their respective interactions with
wa- ter, energy and food nexus (WEF nexus) shares a potential for
better bal- ancing between the tradeoffs of these resources involving
WEF nexus. In addition, it allows better governance and management
for these sec- tors and ensures resource security [66–68]. A
mathematical formula is derived for representing nexus index:

𝑁𝐼 = 𝜂𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟 × 𝜂𝑓 𝑜𝑜𝑑 × 𝜂𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑑

Water implication
Water plays a crucial role in biofuel production and is utilized in
massive amounts during farming crops as feedstock. The concept of
vir- tual water is used to describe the amount of water embedded
during traded goods [65,69]. Further, the water footprint indicator
was used to quantify the water utilized in processing the goods and
services [70]. Similarly, the water efficiency index is used to
determine the consump- tion of water-related in the production of
biofuels. It is the product of two components, i.e. the quantity of
water utilized to produce crops for biofuel generation. The later
component involves the source of water [65]:

𝜂𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟 = 𝜂𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟.𝑞𝑢𝑎𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑡𝑦 × 𝜂𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟.𝑠𝑜𝑢𝑟𝑐𝑒

The water utilized in biofuel production depends on the type of

crops, geography, location, and cultivation soil. The water footprint of
first-generation biofuels is higher than conventional fuels and
1
S. Mahapatra, D. Kumar, B. Singh et al.
competes with the food ecosystem [71]. As the water usage for biofuel
production is relatively high, some measures can be applied to reduce
the water impacts. This involves reducing non-beneficial consumption
via a better supply chain and improving the management of water con-
sumption and the productivity for agricultural management [72]. Re-
cent work on solar technologies integrated biofuels cultivation has the
potential to reduce water usage for energy and crops [73].
Food implications
The different biofuels can be produced from various food crops
such as first-generation biofuels, whereas; the second generation
biofuels are obtained from cellulose-rich crop residues. The commonly
used first- generation biofuels such as bioethanol are produced from
maize and sugarcane, whereas biodiesel is produced from vegetable
oils derived from soybean, rapeseed and palm oils [71]. The food
efficiency of food nexus implication describes the competition
involving the flexible crops (crops used in nutrition and energy) in food
sectors and biofuel sectors in countries with food scarcity [65]. The
crops require for producing 1
T.J. biofuels (bioethanol and biodiesel) are adequate to feed 90 to 110
people. This creates a significant competition with the food availabil-
ity for the living beings. Maize and wheat used for the production of
bioethanol can be directly consumed as food. According to the study of
Rulli et al. in 2013, the crop calories utilized to produce biofuels can
feed 280 million people [63].
The data from FAOSTAT 2014 indicates the food e fficiency with an
indicator (M.I.). If the value of M.I. ranges between 0 and 1, then it de-
scribes that the percentage of the population in a country doesn’t con-
sume a sufficient amount of food. Further, the value is adjusted with
an exponent (𝛼), where the parameter (𝛼) is adjusted at 5. If the 𝛼
value is more significant, more sensible results are produced, especially
if the value is greater than 5, the 𝜂 food value is stable. The formula of
food efficiency becomes:
𝜂𝑓 𝑜𝑜𝑑 = (1 − 𝑀.𝐼 )α
Here, M.I refers to the prevalence of malnutrition as per FAOSTAT
[65,75].
In the past 50 years a significant increase in the global food pro-
duction including the crop and animal production has been monitored.
According to Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) the production
has significantly tripled by 2.5-fold and since the mid-1980s today the
production supply has increased y 50% [76]. The production of biofu-
els exploits various food system activities such as natural resources and
their production, processing and transport [77].
The concept of food waste associated with biofuel production-
Generation of food waste is globally associated social problem
whose interaction with various other resources such as water and energy
affects the environmental quality and social justice of mankind [78].
The case got worsen with the addition of utilizing food crops for
production of biofuels creating not only a direct competition with food
supply but creating more and more food waste [66,75,77].
The food waste production requires solution based on advanced tech-
nologies and direct public interventions [78]. It demands attention
from three different levels; firstly, individual analysis and via focusing
on the consumer’s behaviour towards waste regulation and their
actions. Sec- ondly, targeting the local levels and monitoring the
governance of the area and their objectives to reduce the waste. Finally
at the third in- volves monitoring the higher levels of governance,
associated invest- ments etc. It’s hard to eliminate food waste
completely especially when linked with production of biofuels, but with
significant measure it can be minimized [78,79].
Energy implications
The production of biofuels has a significant effect on energy pro-
duction. The generation of first, second, a third and fourth generation
1
Energy Nexus 4 (2021) 100036
utilizes a considerable amount of energy. Due to biofuels, unconven-
tional fossil fuels have gained tons of attention as a potential energy
source [71]. Biofuels utilizes biomass for their production, and in
recent times biomass derived from cellulosic bioenergy crops can play
a pivotal role in future energy systems. As the bioenergy potential is
limited glob- ally, it is highly required to sustainably utilize other
resources [81]. The energy nexus is highly interdependent with the
water and food nexus. Therefore the conservation of energy and careful
utilization of food and crop management will decrease energy scarcity
worldwide. Crops such as Switchgrass and lignocellulosic are more
suitable to produce better biofuel energy and require less water,
cultivation land area and agro- chemicals. The Energy Information
Administration (EIA) has monitored the thermoelectric generation from
fossil fuels, and other sources such as coal, natural gases, and nuclear
sources can increase by 22% from 2005 to 2030. If the water
consumption for biofuel production is combined, the rate has
increased by 6.2 billion m3 . This is an alarm for shortage and scarcity
of energy, water and food nexus [80–82].
Conclusion
In modern times the biofuel production is constantly increasing. With
the trends and data, it is evident that biofuel production from edible
sources shares a more promising, economically viable and stable
source than comparing to non-edible plant sources and microalgal
sources. The efficiency of the biodiesel industry depends on the
standard procedures followed during production and conversion, along
with the achieve- ments of oil extraction. The enzymatic, biochemical
and transesterifica- tion technologies can replace conventional biofuels
production methods and are more eco-friendly and safe. The biofuel
The first-generation biofuels have several advantages but suffer
from significant limitations such as; a. involvement in the food chain
and di- rect competition with food production; b. using feedstocks
rather than energy sources can increase scarcity of food c. production
cost is rela- tively high d. using specific plant products leads to
avoidance of other necessary products available from the source and
lowers land-use effi- ciency.
The second-generation biofuels are majorly produced from
lignocel- lulosic feedstocks. This biomass is generally non-edible and
has few ad- vantages over the second-generation biofuels, including; a.
it doesn’t interfere with the food direction; b. higher production per
unit land area; c. increased land-use efficiency because it includes the
above- ground plant material and wastes. However, the production of
second- generation biofuels involves more sophisticated
instrumentation with increased investment. The third and fourth
generation also provides a better option for generating biofuels, but the
research expedition is time- consuming and requires expert handling.
One of the significant limitations of biofuel production is its impli-
cation on energy, water and food nexus. The growing demand and uti-
lization of biofuels has developed a direct competition with the global
food, energy water resources and is consuming many lands. Moreover,
the production of feedstocks for the generation of first and second-
generation requires farming and harvesting of large amounts of various
primary crops that can be consumed directly by humans. This crop
har- vesting requires lots of water and energy that can be utilized to
reduce malnutrition in the world. Hence, it is convenient to say that
biofuel production has many environmental advantages and is reliable
for sus- tainable development. Still, careful management is also
required so that the production won’t create scarcity and malnutrition
worldwide.
Declaration of Competing Interest
The authors declare that they have no known competing financial-
S. Mahapatra, D. Kumar, B. Singh et al. Energy Nexus 4 (2021) 100036
interestsor personal relationships that could have appeared to
influence the work reported in this paper.

1
S. Mahapatra, D. Kumar, B. Singh et al. Energy Nexus 4 (2021) 100036

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