Biodiesel Technology Need of the Hour for India

The non-renewability, environmental issues and health dangers related to the fossil fuels has actually caused expedition of alternative sources of energy to replace the standard ones. A promising innovation, still in its infancy, that might reveal us the way to the future ahead is Biodiesels. Biodiesels are diesel fuels stemmed from grease or animal-fat that could 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 contains no petroleum but can be combined with petroleum diesel for use or might be utilized in its pure kind.

Developed countries specifically United States and European Countries have actually already made significant advances in the Biodiesel Technology. Biodiesel have found its usage across industries and verticals and might become an ideal cleaner and more affordable alternative to gas, diesel and fossil fuels. India has also started checking out the opportunities to produce and utilize bio-diesel. A number of plants for biodiesel transesterification are currently operating in the country where vegetable oils are responded with alcohols (ethanol or methanol usually) to produce bio-diesel.

The primary reason for the increasing demand for biodiesels is the fact that biodiesels are renewable and carbon-neutral, thus having no net effect on the environment. Besides, bio-diesel runs 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 stored much like the petroleum based fuels.

Considering the growing energy need in the country, rising petroleum prices and the ecological threats of nonrenewable fuel sources, the Indian Government has actually taken up initiatives to develop the Bio Diesel Technology in India and established more oil processing . The Government revealed its ‘National Biofuel Policy’ on 12 September 2008 which intends to meet 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 used as the pre-dominant raw 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 most significant advantage of using Jatropha as a basic material is that this plant can be grown in huge amounts in wastelands all throughout India requiring very little water in contrast to other cash crops. Once grown, the plant has a helpful life expectancy of several years. The Jatropha seeds include 40% oil and are thought about to be an outstanding source of bio-diesel. The Government of India has identified 400,000 square kilometres of land suitable for the Jatropha cultivation in the nation. India now

A research study estimates that even if a blending initiative of 2% Jatropha based Biodiesel is accomplished in 2011-12, India will save around Rs. 3000 crores. Besides, it will produce 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 actions to motivate the growing of Jatropha in India offering complimentary seeds, subsidized loans and other centers. India needs to now reinforce its efforts to make the fullest use of the Biodiesel Technology. Besides Jatropha, the avenues for extracting biodiesel from vegetable oils, fats, sunflower, rape seed oil and palm oil should also be checked out. It will not only supply an answer to the obstacle of Global Warming however could decrease our dependence on foreign oil and add to our own economy.