UPGRADING OF AGRICULTURAL RESIDUES FOR TRANSPORTATION FUELS

Oxygenated fuels derived from biomass are ga1n1ng importance because of the restrictions on the presence of lead and aromatics 1n gasoline as well as because of their capability to reduce the net green house gases from autoemissions. In addition, biomass provides the cleanest synthetic fuel as compared to coal, shale and'tar sands. Biomass from which energy can be reclaimed can be harvested as gro~n crops or natural stands from waste, arid and semiarid lands, as surplus from crops grown primarily for food and manufacturing raw materials and through agricultural wastes. Since India has basically agricultural dependent economy, the manufacture of chemicals and fuels from agriculture wastes and forestry products is getting a degree of attention it never had before. The paper presents an overv1ew of the availability of some of the surplus agricultural resides as well as the var10us conversion processes for upgrading these to liquid fuels. Advantages of , some of the processes over others are also discussed