Correct Answer : 10th August
World Biofuel Day is commemorated on 10th August every year to raise awareness about the use of non-fossil fuel as an alternative to conventional fossil fuel. Any fuel that is derived from the biomass, like plants, agricultural wastes, crops, algae, or animal wastes, is known as biofuel.
During this day, the government and private organisations come together to spread awareness about the importance of non-fossil fuels as a different source of energy. There are plenty of reasons why biofuels should be used instead of fossil fuels. And one of the top reasons is that it can help in the reduction of carbon emission.
Types : Bioethanol, biodiesel, and biogas are the three types of biofuels used in India. Bioethanol is made from sugar and starch-heavy crops and surplus agricultural waste and biomass. Biodiesel is produced from various types of vegetable oil and biomass wastes from agricultural farms and forests. Biogas is produced via anaerobic digestion of biomass wastes and animal wastes.
World Biofuel Day History : August 10 was chosen as World Biofuel Day since it was on this date in 1893 that German inventor "Sir Rudolf Diesel" successfully ran his diesel engine on peanut oil. As the name suggests, he was the one who invented the diesel engine. And he was the first one to predict the use of vegetable oils as an alternative to fossil fuel with an experiment.
He was the first one to run a mechanical engine with peanut oil. To mark this marvelous experiment, World Biofuel Day is celebrated.
Significance : Biofuels are the key to reducing our dependence on crude oil and it ensures a cleaner environment. It leads to the generation of more employment for rural people.
It also helps in the reduction of carbon emission. The burning of fossil fuels leads to carbon emission, and this is very harmful for our air and environment.
The rising air pollution and carbon emission due to the burning of fossil fuels has turned metro cities like Delhi into toxic gas chambers. Even if someone doesn’t smoke, his/her lungs can turn into the lungs of a smoker if he/she is continuously exposed to such toxic gases.
The fact that everyone needs to think about the environment and also their health, biofuel is the need of the hour. If used as an alternative to fossil fuel, it can drastically reduce the release of harmful gases, like carbon dioxide and nitrogen oxides.
Theme : The theme of World Biofuel Day for the year 2022 hasn’t been announced yet. The theme for the
previous year 2021 was “
the promotion of biofuels for a better environment”..
Source : First Post
