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Biomass

Sustainable Energy Solution from Agriculture

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Handbook of Energy Management in Agriculture

Abstract

Biomass as energy source is being utilized since dawn of humans for various purposes like cooking, heating, and lighting. Prior to the nineteenth century, plant oil was the primary source of lighting fuel and wood was the primary fuel for cooking and heating. However, discovery of fossil fuel like coal and petroleum gradually reduced the use of biomass. Fossil fuels currently account for >80% of all energy use worldwide. With growing environmental concern and depleting fossil fuel resources, geophysical instability and climate change have changed the way biomass were thought of. The main benefits of biomass over other forms of renewable energy are that it is almost carbon neutral and that it is widely available. The environmental advantages of liquid biofuels, particularly biodiesel, have made them more appealing than biomass as a source of energy and wider use in automobile section. Production of biofuel domestically, and its use as alternate fuel, can help to reduce reliance on petroleum oil, decrease trade imbalances, air pollution, and GHG emissions. However, the second-generation biofuels, raw materials, high cost, marketing, and priority given to it all suggest that switching the energy demand from fossil fuels to biofuels will be difficult, at least for a few years. However, with demand and intervention of strong government policies, use of nonfood biomass will be a sustainable step toward reliving our reliance for fossil fuel. Moreover, it will help in achieving our goal in reducing carbon footprint.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. ICAR-Research Complex for Eastern Region, Patna, Bihar, India

    Rachana Dubey, A. K. Choudhary & A. Upadhyaya

  2. ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute, Gauria Karma, Jharkhand, India

    Dipak Kumar Gupta & P. Surendhar

  3. ICAR -Central Arid Zone Research Institute, Regional Research Station, Bhuj, Gujarat, India

    Sheetal K. Radhakrishnan

  4. Department of Agrometeorology and Environmental Science, Birsa Agricultural University, Ranchi, Jharkhand, India

    Chandan Kumar Gupta

Authors
  1. Rachana Dubey
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  2. Dipak Kumar Gupta
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  3. Sheetal K. Radhakrishnan
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  4. Chandan Kumar Gupta
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  5. P. Surendhar
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  6. A. K. Choudhary
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  7. A. Upadhyaya
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry, Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India

    Amitava Rakshit

  2. School of Environmental Science, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada

    Asim Biswas

  3. Department of Agriculture, Integral Institute of Agricultural Science and Technology, Integral University, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India

    Deepranjan Sarkar

  4. Borlaug Institute for South Asia, Bihar, India

    Vijay Singh Meena

  5. Department of Geology and Pedology, Mendel University in Brno, Brno, Czech Republic

    Rahul Datta

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Dubey, R. et al. (2023). Biomass. In: Rakshit, A., Biswas, A., Sarkar, D., Meena, V.S., Datta, R. (eds) Handbook of Energy Management in Agriculture. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-7736-7_11-1

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