Biodiesel Technology Need of the Hour for India

The non-renewability, ecological concerns and health threats associated with the nonrenewable fuel sources has led to expedition of alternative sources of energy to replace the conventional ones. An appealing technology, still in its infancy, that could show us the way to the future ahead is Biodiesels. Biodiesels are diesel fuels stemmed from vegetable oil or animal-fat that might be used to run diesel engines. Vegetables oils like sunflower, rape seed, palm oil, soya bean, Jatropha and so on can be subjected to oil processing to produce biodiesels. It consists of no petroleum but can be blended with petroleum diesel for usage or could be utilized in its pure type.

Developed countries especially United States and European Countries have actually already made substantial advances in the Biodiesel Technology. Biodiesel have found its use across industries and verticals and could emerge as a perfect cleaner and more affordable alternative to petrol, diesel and fossil fuels. India has also started exploring the chances to produce and use bio-diesel. A number of plants for biodiesel transesterification are currently operating in the country where veggie oils are reacted with alcohols (ethanol or methanol normally) to produce bio-diesel.

The primary factor for the increasing demand for biodiesels is the reality that biodiesels are renewable and carbon-neutral, therefore having no net influence on the climate. Besides, bio-diesel operates in compression engines just like typical petroleum diesel and for this reason can be utilized with little or no engine modifications. Biodiesel do not need any separate infrastructure for its storage and can be kept just like the fuels.

Considering the growing energy demand in the country, increasing petroleum costs and the environmental risks of fossil fuels, the Indian Government has used up initiatives to develop the Bio Diesel Technology in India and established more oil processing units. The Government announced its ‘National Biofuel Policy’ on 12 September 2008 which intends to satisfy 20% of India’s diesel demand 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 however 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 greatest advantage of using Jatropha as a raw material is that this plant can be grown in substantial quantities in wastelands all throughout India requiring very little water in comparison to other cash crops. Once grown, the plant has a useful lifespan of a number of 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 ideal for the Jatropha growing in the nation. India now

A research study approximates that even if a blending effort of 2% Jatropha based Biodiesel is attained in 2011-12, India will save around Rs. 3000 crores. Besides, it will create around Rs. 5500 crores in the rural economy and help in decrease of Green House Gas emission by 3 Million Metric Tonnes (MMT) every year. The government is taking steps to encourage the cultivation of Jatropha in India providing totally free seeds, subsidized loans and other centers. India needs to now strengthen its efforts to make the maximum use of the Biodiesel Technology. Besides Jatropha, the avenues for drawing out biodiesel from veggie oils, fats, sunflower, rape seed oil and palm oil must also be explored. It will not only offer a response to the difficulty of Global Warming but might reduce our reliance on foreign oil and add to our own economy.