Biofuel from rice straw. (20th December 2020) - Sharma, Archita
Abstract: Globally, protecting the environment is one of the major concerns and there is a need for an hour to accomplish the same by dropping numerous harmful activities such as less dependence on fossil fuels and tailpipe emissions. Additionally, a huge investment made on waste disposal is particularly not economical; but recycling is from the viewpoint of producing energy from renewable resources. These further result in the development of society in an eco-friendly way. Exploiting biodegradable wastes like agricultural or forestry residues, a non-edible portion is value-added biological products (biofuels) with an inexpensive potential to replace fossil fuels. The shortages of labor in the agricultural sector along with swift alterations from political, social, and economic aspects have resulted in accelerating the process of mechanization, precisely harvesters in the rice cropping systems. This bolsters the open-field burning of straw and results in nutrient loss, air pollution, more emissions of greenhouse gasses, and human respiratory disorders. This review aims to acknowledge readers with the concept of rice straw and its recent application in the production of biofuels, since biofuels act as a helping hand in minimizing greenhouse gases (GHGs) emissions, renders energy security all over the globe and boosts the concept of sustainable development. Recent research reports and documentation have been discussed to support biofuel production from such biological products, at a much larger scale. All-inclusive, the discussion has been subjected as an outlook of future perspectives by the researchers for making most of the rice straw into more doable products to sort out numerous environmental issues and health hazards that are subjected to humanity. Graphical abstract: Image 1 Highlights: Discussion of the long-term sustainable development approach keeping in mind the energy security of all over the globe for future generations. Discussion regarding the importance of biofuels to mitigate the effect of fossil fuel reserves on the ecosystem and hence climatic changes. Life-cycle assessment (LCA) and SWOT analysis of rice straw for the production of biofuels. Brief descriptions of numerous examples to support the utilization of rice straw for generating biofuels. Discussion regarding the advantages and disadvantages of crop residue for biofuels production.