Biodiesel Technology Need of the Hour for India

The non-renewability, environmental concerns and health threats related to the fossil fuels has led to exploration of alternative sources of energy to substitute the traditional ones. A promising innovation, still in its infancy, that might show us the way to the future ahead is Biodiesels. Biodiesels are diesel fuels originated from veggie oil or animal-fat that could be used to run diesel motors. Vegetables oils like sunflower, rape seed, palm oil, soya bean, Jatropha and so on can be subjected to oil processing to produce biodiesels. It contains no petroleum however can be mixed with petroleum diesel for usage or could be utilized in its pure form.

Developed countries especially United States and European Countries have currently made substantial advances in the Biodiesel Technology. Biodiesel have found its usage across markets and verticals and could become a perfect cleaner and cheaper option to fuel, diesel and nonrenewable fuel sources. India has actually likewise started checking out the opportunities to produce and use bio-diesel. A number of plants for biodiesel transesterification are currently functioning in the country where vegetable oils are responded with alcohols (ethanol or methanol typically) to produce bio-diesel.

The primary factor for the increasing demand for biodiesels is the fact that biodiesels are renewable and carbon-neutral, thus having no net impact on the climate. Besides, bio-diesel runs in compression engines simply like typical 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 simply like the petroleum based fuels.

Considering the growing energy demand in the country, increasing petroleum rates and the ecological hazards of fossil fuels, the Indian Government has actually taken up initiatives to establish the Bio Diesel Technology in India and set up more oil processing units. The Government revealed its ‘National Biofuel Policy’ on 12 September 2008 which aims to fulfill 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 however in India the maximum capacity to produce biodiesels is from Jatropha oil – a non-edible one produced from the seeds of the Jatropha curcas. The biggest advantage of using Jatropha as a basic material is that this plant can be grown in big amounts in wastelands all across India needing extremely little water in comparison to other cash crops. Once grown, the plant has a helpful life-span of a number of decades. The Jatropha seeds contain 40% oil and are thought about to be an excellent source of bio-diesel. The Government of India has actually recognized 400,000 square kilometres of land suitable for the Jatropha growing in the nation. India now

A research study approximates 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 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 government is taking steps to motivate the cultivation of Jatropha in India supplying free seeds, subsidized loans and other facilities. India requires to now reinforce its efforts to make the fullest usage 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 offer an answer to the obstacle of Global Warming but could reduce our dependence on foreign oil and add to our own economy.