Biodiesel Technology Need of the Hour for India

The non-renewability, ecological concerns and health threats related to the fossil fuels has caused expedition of alternative sources of energy to substitute the conventional ones. A promising innovation, still in its infancy, that could show us the way to the future ahead is Biodiesels. Biodiesels are diesel fuels stemmed from veggie oil or animal-fat that could be utilized to run diesel engines. Vegetables oils like sunflower, rape seed, palm oil, soya bean, Jatropha etc can be subjected to oil processing to produce biodiesels. It consists of no petroleum but can be blended with for use or might be used in its pure form.

Developed countries specifically United States and European Countries have actually currently made substantial advances in the Biodiesel Technology. Biodiesel have actually found its usage across industries and verticals and might become an ideal cleaner and less expensive option to gas, diesel and nonrenewable fuel sources. India has actually likewise started exploring the opportunities to produce and utilize bio-diesel. A variety of plants for biodiesel transesterification are currently functioning in the country 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 fact that biodiesels are sustainable and carbon-neutral, thus having no net effect on the environment. Besides, bio-diesel operates in compression engines just like typical petroleum diesel and thus can be used with little or no engine modifications. Biodiesel do not need any separate facilities for its storage and can be kept simply like the petroleum based fuels.

Considering the growing energy demand in the country, rising petroleum costs and the ecological dangers of nonrenewable fuel sources, the Indian Government has actually 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 intends to fulfill 20% of India’s diesel need 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 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 biggest benefit of utilizing Jatropha as a raw product is that this plant can be grown in substantial quantities in wastelands all across India requiring extremely little water in comparison to other cash crops. Once grown, the plant has a beneficial life-span of numerous decades. The Jatropha seeds contain 40% oil and are considered to be an excellent source of bio-diesel. The Government of India has actually identified 400,000 square kilometres of land ideal for the Jatropha cultivation in the country. India now

A study approximates that even if a mixing initiative of 2% Jatropha based Biodiesel is achieved in 2011-12, India will save around Rs. 3000 crores. Besides, it will create around Rs. 5500 crores in the rural economy and assistance in decrease of Green House Gas emission by 3 Million Metric Tonnes (MMT) every year. The federal government is taking steps to motivate the cultivation of Jatropha in India providing free seeds, subsidized loans and other facilities. India requires to now strengthen its efforts to make the max use of the Biodiesel Technology. Besides Jatropha, the opportunities for extracting biodiesel from veggie oils, fats, sunflower, rape seed oil and palm oil must likewise be explored. It will not just provide a response to the difficulty of Global Warming but might reduce our reliance on foreign oil and add to our own economy.