1 Biodiesel Technology Need of the Hour For India
Jai Bermudez edited this page 7 months ago


The non-renewability, ecological issues and health dangers related to the fossil fuels has resulted in expedition of alternative sources of energy to substitute the traditional ones. An appealing technology, still in its infancy, that could show us the method to the future ahead is Biodiesels. Biodiesels are diesel fuels stemmed from vegetable oil 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 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 across markets and verticals and might emerge as an ideal cleaner and less expensive alternative to fuel, diesel and fossil fuels. India has also begun checking out the opportunities to produce and use bio-diesel. A variety of plants for biodiesel transesterification are currently operating in the country where veggie oils are responded with alcohols (ethanol or methanol normally) to produce bio-diesel.

The main factor for the increasing need for biodiesels is the truth that biodiesels are eco-friendly and carbon-neutral, hence having no net influence on the climate. Besides, bio-diesel runs in compression engines simply like regular petroleum diesel and thus can be used with little or no engine adjustments. Biodiesel do not require any separate infrastructure for its storage and can be saved similar to the petroleum based fuels.

Considering the growing energy need in the country, increasing petroleum rates and the ecological risks of nonrenewable fuel sources, the Indian Government has used up initiatives to establish the Bio Diesel Technology in India and established more oil processing units. The Government announced 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 raw products for oil processing and biodiesel production but in India the maximum potential to produce biodiesels is from Jatropha oil - a non-edible one produced from the seeds of the Jatropha curcas. The most significant advantage of utilizing Jatropha as a raw product is that this plant can be grown in big quantities in wastelands all throughout India requiring really little water in contrast to other cash crops. Once grown, the plant has a beneficial lifespan of numerous years. The Jatropha seeds include 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 ideal for the jatropha curcas growing in the country. India now

A study estimates that even if a blending initiative of 2% Jatropha based Biodiesel is achieved in 2011-12, India will conserve around Rs. 3000 crores. Besides, it will produce 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 motivate the growing of jatropha curcas in India supplying free seeds, subsidized loans and other centers. India requires to now strengthen its efforts to make the maximum usage of the Biodiesel Technology. Besides Jatropha, the opportunities for extracting biodiesel from oils, fats, sunflower, rape seed oil and palm oil must also be explored. It will not just supply an answer to the difficulty of Global Warming but might decrease our reliance on foreign oil and contribute to our own economy.