1 Biodiesel Technology Need of the Hour For India
Nicholas Reibey edited this page 1 week ago


The non-renewability, environmental issues and health with the nonrenewable fuel sources has resulted in expedition of alternative sources of energy to replace the conventional ones. An appealing innovation, still in its infancy, that could reveal us the method to the future ahead is Biodiesels. Biodiesels are diesel fuels originated from grease or animal-fat that could be used to run diesel motors. Vegetables oils like sunflower, rape seed, palm oil, soya bean, jatropha curcas and so on can be subjected to oil processing to produce biodiesels. It includes no petroleum but can be blended with petroleum diesel for use or could be used in its pure kind.

Developed nations especially United States and European Countries have actually already made substantial advances in the Biodiesel Technology. Biodiesel have found its use throughout industries and verticals and could become a perfect cleaner and less expensive alternative to gas, diesel and fossil fuels. India has also started exploring the opportunities to produce and utilize bio-diesel. A number of plants for biodiesel transesterification are already operating in the country where veggie oils are reacted with alcohols (ethanol or methanol typically) to produce bio-diesel.

The primary factor for the increasing need for biodiesels is the reality that biodiesels are sustainable and carbon-neutral, therefore having no net impact on the climate. Besides, bio-diesel runs in compression engines much like normal petroleum diesel and thus can be used with little or no engine modifications. Biodiesel do not need any different infrastructure for its storage and can be kept simply like the petroleum based fuels.

Considering the growing energy demand in the nation, increasing petroleum rates and the ecological risks of nonrenewable fuel sources, the Indian Government has taken up efforts to develop the Bio Diesel Technology in India and established more oil processing systems. The Government revealed its 'National Biofuel Policy' on 12 September 2008 which aims to satisfy 20% of India's diesel need with bio-fuels in the coming years.

Globally, edible vegetable oils like sunflower, soya bean, rape seed, palm oil are used as the pre-dominant basic materials for oil processing and biodiesel production but in India the maximum capacity to produce biodiesels is from jatropha curcas oil - a non-edible one produced from the seeds of the Jatropha curcas. The biggest benefit of utilizing Jatropha as a raw product is that this plant can be grown in big quantities in wastelands all across India needing very little water in contrast to other money crops. Once grown, the plant has a useful lifespan of several years. The jatropha curcas seeds include 40% oil and are considered to be an exceptional source of bio-diesel. The Government of India has identified 400,000 square kilometres of land suitable for the Jatropha cultivation in the country. India now

A research study estimates that even if a blending initiative of 2% jatropha curcas based Biodiesel is achieved in 2011-12, India will save around Rs. 3000 crores. Besides, it will generate around Rs. 5500 crores in the rural economy and aid in decrease of Green House Gas emission by 3 Million Metric Tonnes (MMT) every year. The federal government is taking actions to encourage the cultivation of jatropha curcas in India providing free seeds, subsidized loans and other centers. India requires to now reinforce its efforts to make the maximum use of the Biodiesel Technology. Besides jatropha curcas, the avenues for drawing out biodiesel from vegetable oils, fats, sunflower, rape seed oil and palm oil ought to also be checked out. It will not only provide a response to the obstacle of Global Warming but could decrease our reliance on foreign oil and add to our own economy.