1 Biodiesel Technology Need of the Hour For India
Yvonne Ordonez edited this page 2 weeks ago


The non-renewability, environmental concerns and health risks connected with the fossil fuels has caused exploration of alternative sources of energy to replace the conventional ones. An appealing innovation, still in its infancy, that might show us the way to the future ahead is Biodiesels. Biodiesels are diesel fuels obtained from grease or animal-fat that might be utilized 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 mixed with petroleum diesel for usage or might be utilized in its pure type.

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 might become an ideal cleaner and cheaper option to gas, diesel and nonrenewable fuel sources. India has actually also started checking out the opportunities to produce and utilize bio-diesel. A variety of plants for biodiesel transesterification are currently working in the nation where vegetable oils are responded with alcohols (ethanol or methanol normally) to produce bio-diesel.

The primary factor for the increasing demand for biodiesels is the truth that biodiesels are renewable and carbon-neutral, therefore having no net influence on the environment. Besides, bio-diesel operates in compression engines simply like normal petroleum diesel and for this reason can be with little or no engine modifications. Biodiesel do not need any different infrastructure for its storage and can be stored much like the petroleum based fuels.

Considering the growing energy need in the country, increasing petroleum prices and the environmental dangers of fossil fuels, the Indian Government has actually taken up initiatives to develop the Bio Diesel Technology in India and established more oil processing units. The Government revealed its 'National Biofuel Policy' on 12 September 2008 which intends to meet 20% of India's diesel demand with bio-fuels in the coming years.

Globally, edible veggie oils like sunflower, soya bean, rape seed, palm oil are utilized as the pre-dominant raw 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 greatest advantage of utilizing Jatropha as a basic material is that this plant can be grown in big quantities in wastelands all across India requiring extremely little water in contrast to other cash crops. Once grown, the plant has a beneficial life-span of several decades. The Jatropha seeds contain 40% oil and are considered to be an excellent source of bio-diesel. The Government of India has recognized 400,000 square kilometres of land suitable for the Jatropha cultivation in the nation. India now

A study estimates that even if a mixing effort of 2% Jatropha based Biodiesel is achieved in 2011-12, India will save around Rs. 3000 crores. Besides, it will produce around Rs. 5500 crores in the rural economy and aid in reduction of Green House Gas emission by 3 Million Metric Tonnes (MMT) every year. The federal government is taking steps to encourage the growing of jatropha curcas in India offering free seeds, subsidized loans and other centers. India requires to now enhance its efforts to make the maximum usage of the Biodiesel Technology. Besides Jatropha, the opportunities for drawing out biodiesel from veggie oils, fats, sunflower, rape seed oil and palm oil ought to also be explored. It will not only provide a response to the obstacle of Global Warming however could reduce our reliance on foreign oil and contribute to our own economy.