Biofuel: Solution to energy crisis
Moratuwa University’s biofuel initiative Sugarcane cultivation Sixty percent of oil imported to Sri Lanka is used in the transportation sector. According to the latest Central Bank Annual Report, the Sri Lankan Government spent USD 2,496.8 million on petroleum in 2007, which is 22.1 percent of total imports. Finding an alternative for fossil fuel has been on the table for discussion ever since Limits to growth foretold the imminent depletion of all fossil fuel deposits. One such alternative, the production of biofuel, for all the debate and controversy that surrounds it, is still practiced in developed countries. As the major controversy in biofuel production concerns the use of edible feedstocks, scientists the world over, are now focused on exploiting non-edibles. The production of biodiesel using oil-bearing crops such as coconut, palm and jatropha is not unheard of in Sri Lanka, but large-scale experiments have not yet been conducted. The Brazilian transportation service depends 1...