Biodiesel Technology Need of the Hour for India

The non-renewability, environmental issues and health risks associated with the nonrenewable fuel sources has led to expedition of alternative sources of energy to replace the standard 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 vegetable oil or animal-fat that might be used to run diesel motors. Vegetables oils like sunflower, rape seed, palm oil, soya bean, Jatropha etc can be subjected to oil processing to produce biodiesels. It contains no petroleum however can be mixed with petroleum diesel for use or could be utilized in its pure kind.

Developed countries particularly United States and European Countries have actually currently made considerable advances in the Biodiesel Technology. Biodiesel have found its use across markets and verticals and might emerge as a perfect cleaner and cheaper alternative to fuel, diesel and fossil fuels. India has actually also begun exploring the opportunities to produce and utilize bio-diesel. A number of plants for biodiesel transesterification are currently operating in the nation where vegetable oils are reacted with alcohols (ethanol or methanol generally) to produce bio-diesel.

The primary reason for the increasing need for biodiesels is the fact that biodiesels are eco-friendly and carbon-neutral, therefore having no net effect on the environment. Besides, bio-diesel runs in compression engines much like normal petroleum diesel and thus can be used with little or no engine adjustments. Biodiesel do not require any separate facilities for its storage and can be kept simply like the petroleum based fuels.

Considering the growing energy demand in the nation, rising petroleum prices and the ecological dangers of fossil fuels, the Indian Government has actually used up efforts 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 satisfy 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 used as the pre-dominant raw products 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 most significant advantage of using Jatropha as a basic material is that this plant can be grown in big amounts 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 several years. The Jatropha seeds include 40% oil and are considered to be an of bio-diesel. The Government of India has determined 400,000 square kilometres of land appropriate for the Jatropha cultivation in the nation. India now

A study approximates that even if a mixing effort of 2% Jatropha based Biodiesel is attained in 2011-12, India will conserve around Rs. 3000 crores. Besides, it will produce around Rs. 5500 crores in the rural economy and help in reduction 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 free seeds, subsidized loans and other centers. India requires to now enhance its efforts to make the maximum use of the Biodiesel Technology. Besides Jatropha, the opportunities for drawing out biodiesel from vegetable oils, fats, sunflower, rape seed oil and palm oil ought to also be explored. It will not just supply an answer to the obstacle of Global Warming but might decrease our reliance on foreign oil and contribute to our own economy.