1 Biodiesel Technology Need of the Hour For India
Raina Joseph edited this page 2025-01-11 18:16:30 +00:00


The non-renewability, ecological issues and health hazards associated with the nonrenewable fuel sources has caused expedition of alternative sources of energy to replace the standard ones. A promising technology, still in its infancy, that might show us the method to the future ahead is Biodiesels. Biodiesels are diesel fuels obtained from vegetable oil or animal-fat that could be used to run diesel engines. Vegetables oils like sunflower, rape seed, palm oil, soya bean, jatropha curcas etc can be subjected to oil processing to produce biodiesels. It contains no petroleum but can be blended with petroleum diesel for usage or could be used in its pure kind.

Developed nations particularly United States and European Countries have currently made considerable advances in the Biodiesel Technology. Biodiesel have actually found its usage throughout markets and verticals and could emerge as a perfect cleaner and cheaper alternative to fuel, diesel and fossil fuels. India has actually also begun checking out the opportunities to produce and use bio-diesel. A variety of plants for biodiesel transesterification are already operating in the nation where veggie oils are responded with alcohols (ethanol or methanol generally) to produce bio-diesel.

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

Considering the growing energy demand in the country, increasing petroleum costs and the environmental risks of nonrenewable fuel sources, the Indian Government has actually used up initiatives to establish the Bio Diesel Technology in India and set up more oil processing systems. 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 basic materials for oil processing and biodiesel production however in India the optimal capacity to produce biodiesels is from Jatropha oil - a non-edible one produced from the seeds of the Jatropha curcas. The greatest advantage of using Jatropha as a basic material is that this plant can be grown in huge quantities in wastelands all throughout India needing really little water in contrast to other money crops. Once grown, the plant has a helpful lifespan of a number of decades. The jatropha curcas seeds include 40% oil and are considered to be an exceptional source of bio-diesel. The Government of India has recognized 400,000 square kilometres of for the Jatropha growing in the country. India now

A study estimates that even if a mixing effort of 2% jatropha curcas based Biodiesel is accomplished in 2011-12, India will conserve around Rs. 3000 crores. Besides, it will produce around Rs. 5500 crores in the rural economy and assistance in reduction of Green House Gas emission by 3 Million Metric Tonnes (MMT) every year. The government is taking steps to motivate 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 should also be explored. It will not just provide an answer to the obstacle of Global Warming but could decrease our reliance on foreign oil and add to our own economy.