One of the biggest problems facing the world economy is that all the countries are far too much dependent on one natural resource in order to survive in the current scenario.
Even all the developed countries of Europe and US are relying heavily upon oil supplies to fuel their economies.
While the technology and research in recent times has brought about many breakthroughs, the energy crisis surrounding the world economy needs to be addressed.
It would be a far cry to think that the current oil and gas reserves in the world can fulfill the growing needs of the US, China, Russia and the rest of the Europe.
Therefore, the situation demands an alternative to meet energy needs of the growing population of Earth.
Although, many efforts are in progress and new ideas are being presented but that alternative should also be practical and cheaper.
Currently fossil fuels are widely in use to meet energy demands, but there are other natural sources which have a potential to reduce our dependency on fossil fuel.
Biofuel is one such resource that is extracted from recently dead plants and animals, as opposed to fossil fuel which is obtained from long dead material.
Mostly biofuel is produced from photosynthetic plants and there are two major ways of producing it.
One is to grow crops that are high in sugar content, like sugar cane, sugar beet, sweet sorghum or starch and then use yeast fermentation to extract ethyl alcohol.
While the second way is to grow plants that highly contain oil such as, oil palm, soy bean etc.
The oils obtained from these plants can be directly burnt in a diesel engine or can be processed to manufacture biodiesel.
Although, physical properties of biofuel are same as compared to petroleum but its emissions are far more environment friendly.
A major plus in using it is that it greatly decreases carbon emissions into the atmosphere, a major cause of global warming.
Using biodiesel in a conventional diesel engine substantially reduces emissions of unburned hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide, sulfates, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, nitrated polycyclic aromtic hydrocarbons, and particulate matter.
Although, biofuel, biodiesel, energy production from biowaste and such methods are being employed in some European countries and the US, currently its cost for the consumer is almost same as fossil fuels.
Therefore, in order to implement it globally and present it as a better choice than fossil fuel, more steps will have to be taken.
But if usage of biofuel is made cheaper and its production increased it will most definitely help decrease the high oil demand, if not replace it all together.