Potential production of bioenergy from biomass in an Indian perspective N.B. Singh a,n , Ashwani Kumar b , Sarita Rai c a Research and Technology Development Centre, Sharda University, Greater Noida, India b Department of Botany, Dr. Harisingh Gour University (Central University), Sagar, MP, India c Department of Chemistry, Dr. Harisingh Gour University (Central University), Sagar, MP, India article info Article history: Received 18 March 2014 Received in revised form 29 June 2014 Accepted 10 July 2014 Keywords: Renewables Biofuel Biomass Biodiesel Biohydrogen abstract Concerns over climate change, fossil fuel depletion, and increase in natural gas prices have sparked a great interest in various forms of renewable energy and its imposition, particularly in developing countries. Biomass is utilized as number one energy resource for developing countries, supplying energy to households for cooking purposes, and signifying about 70–80% of the global bioenergy contributions. India has vast biomass resources and wasteland to support cultivation of bioenergy crops, the potential of that can be harnessed to resolve energy crisis. Bioenergy can contribute to energy security whilst also decreasing the emissions of greenhouse gases from fossil fuels. The objective of this review is to give an overview of biomass energy potential and its utilization in India, state of the art of the technologies used for biomass conversion, and latest development in biomass conversion technologies. & 2014 Published by Elsevier Ltd. Contents 1. Introduction ......................................................................................................... 66 2. Biomass ............................................................................................................ 67 2.1. Biomass and biofuel ............................................................................................ 68 3. Biomass energy potential and its utilization as energy in the India ............................................................. 68 4. Technologies for conversion of biomass to energy .......................................................................... 70 4.1. Biomass for power and heat ...................................................................................... 70 4.1.1. Combustion ............................................................................................ 70 4.1.2. Combined heat and power ................................................................................ 70 4.2. Biogas ........................................................................................................ 70 4.2.1. Gasification............................................................................................. 70 4.2.2. Anaerobic digestion ...................................................................................... 70 4.3. Biofuels....................................................................................................... 70 4.3.1. Classification of biofuels [33] .............................................................................. 71 4.3.2. Production processes for biofuels ........................................................................... 71 5. Latest development in biomass technologies ............................................................................... 77 6. Future of biomass energy in India ....................................................................................... 77 References .............................................................................................................. 77 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/rser Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2014.07.110 1364-0321/& 2014 Published by Elsevier Ltd. n Corresponding author. E-mail addresses: nbsingh43@gmail.com (N.B. Singh), ashwaniiitd@gmail.com (A. Kumar). Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 39 (2014) 65–78