Powering India with agricultural biomass: Biofuels as an alternative to burning

Year after year, farmers across India burn leftover stalks and husks, eliminating an estimated 90 million tonnes of biomass out of 500 million tonnes of biomass generated. The practice lowers air quality, wastes a valuable resource and accounts for nearly 17 per cent of the greenhouse gases that Indian farming emits.

According to the Ministry of Environment, crop residue burning contributes up to 40 per cent of seasonal air pollution in North India, particularly choking cities like Delhi during winter. It also wastes a massive, untapped energy source. Reprocessing those leftovers into biofuels offers a triple win: cleaner skies, greater energy independence and fresh streams of rural income.

Biofuel potential from biomass

Residue availability: Of the 500-million-tonne total, researchers agree that about 120 to 150 million tonnes lie idle each season. Set aside as surplus, this could supply roughly 17 per cent of national transport fuel needs when converted to bioethanol or biodiesel. Every year India imports over 85 per cent of its crude oil requirement which costs more than $100 billion annually. Biofuels produced from biomass could help us in shrinking this bill while stabilising fuel prices domestically.

Marginal land utilisation: As per NITI Aayog, wasteland in India is estimated at 55.76 million hectares. Considering half of this area (28 million hectares) for cultivation and taking the average biomass yield of Miscanthus (10–30 tonnes per acre) and Switchgrass (6–20 tonnes per acre) as 15 tonnes per acre, the net biomass potential is estimated to exceed 400 million tonnes per year. Cultivating these crops on marginal land could also improve soil quality and biodiversity over time.

Ethanol production: Second-generation processing of existing agricultural residues could churn out roughly 44.4 billion litres of ethanol per year, enough to smash India’s 2025 blending target of 13.5 billion litres. The Indian government aims to achieve 20 per cent ethanol blending in petrol by 2025, the timeline has been preponed from the earlier 2030 goal.

Benefits for environment & economic benefits

Emission reduction: Biofuels produced from paddy straw, wheat husks and sugarcane bagasse offer a massive climate advantage. When their full life cycle is measured, starting from collection to combustion, they emit up to 85 per cent fewer greenhouse gases compared to conventional petrol. This makes them one of the most effective substitutes for fossil fuels in terms of carbon footprint reduction.

Emissions gain: In the northern India states like Punjab and Haryana, over 15 million tonnes of paddy straw are burned each year and it is estimated that capturing even half of it for biofuel use could significantly reduce smog levels. Systematically gathering straw instead of burning the fields can cut airborne particulate levels by more than 40 across farming belts.

Water savings: Traditional fuel crops like sugarcane are water-intensive, guzzling billions of litres of irrigation water. Therefore, by turning rice straw and sugarcane bagasse into ethanol spares substantial amount of irrigation water that would-go towards growing extra fuel-crop sugarcane.

Job and income boost: Madhya Pradesh’s Biofuel Scheme-2025 offers 200 crore in subsidies for bio-CNG and biodiesel plants, expected to generate around half a million processing-and-supply jobs. Nationwide, we need similar initiatives that could help in doubling the farmer income each year through biomass sales.

Challenges & solutions

Various supply-chain issues and gaps make residue and waste collection immensely costly and erratic. Forming cooperatives and collaborating with state logistics systems-such as those undertaken in Madhya Pradesh, where equipment grants help streamline the process. In our country, second-generation biofuel plants are still energy-starved. Targeted research on enzymatic hydrolysis could trim that input demand by nearly 30 per cent. Though the 2018 National Biofuel Policy backs 2G fuels, progress on plants and permits has been slow. Fast-tracking incentives like tax breaks and guaranteed grid access for bio-refineries is now critical.

(The author is Chairman, Indian Biogas Association)

Published on July 26, 2025

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