Biodiesel Technology Need of the Hour For India

The non-renewability, environmental concerns and health risks associated with the fossil fuels has resulted in expedition of alternative sources of energy to substitute the conventional ones. A promising innovation, still in its infancy, that might show us the way to the future ahead is Biodiesels. Biodiesels are diesel fuels stemmed from veggie oil or animal-fat that might 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 biodiesels. It consists of no petroleum but can be combined with petroleum diesel for use or might be utilized in its pure kind.

Developed countries particularly United States and European Countries have actually already made considerable advances in the Biodiesel Technology. Biodiesel have discovered its usage throughout industries and verticals and might emerge as an ideal cleaner and cheaper alternative to gas, diesel and fossil fuels. India has also begun checking out the chances to produce and use bio-diesel. A variety of plants for biodiesel transesterification are already working in the country where vegetable oils are reacted with alcohols (ethanol or methanol generally) to produce bio-diesel.

The main factor for the increasing demand for biodiesels is the fact that biodiesels are sustainable and carbon-neutral, thus having no net influence on the environment. Besides, bio-diesel operates in compression engines simply like typical petroleum diesel and hence can be used with little or no engine adjustments. Biodiesel do not require any separate facilities for its storage and can be kept similar to the petroleum based fuels.

Considering the growing energy need in the nation, rising petroleum prices and the ecological threats of nonrenewable fuel sources, the Indian Government has used up initiatives to develop the Bio Diesel Technology in India and set up more oil processing systems. The Government announced 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 raw products for oil processing and biodiesel production but 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 most significant benefit of using Jatropha as a basic material is that this plant can be grown in substantial quantities in wastelands all throughout India requiring very little water in contrast to other cash crops. Once grown, the plant has a beneficial life-span of numerous decades. The Jatropha seeds contain 40% oil and are thought about to be an outstanding source of bio-diesel. The Government of India has determined 400,000 square kilometres of land appropriate for the Jatropha cultivation in the country. India now

A 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 produce around Rs. 5500 crores in the rural economy and aid in reduction of Green House Gas emission by 3 Million Metric Tonnes (MMT) every year. The federal government is taking steps to encourage the growing of jatropha curcas in India offering complimentary 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 avenues for drawing out biodiesel from vegetable oils, fats, sunflower, rape seed oil and palm oil should also be checked out. It will not only offer an answer to the difficulty of Global Warming however could decrease our reliance on foreign oil and add to our own economy.