Biodiesel Technology Need of the Hour For India

The non-renewability, ecological concerns and health dangers associated with the nonrenewable fuel sources has caused expedition of alternative sources of energy to replace the standard ones. A promising technology, still in its infancy, that could 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 curcas etc can be subjected to oil processing to produce biodiesels. It includes no petroleum however can be combined with petroleum diesel for use or could be utilized in its pure form.

Developed nations specifically United States and European Countries have currently made considerable advances in the Biodiesel Technology. Biodiesel have actually discovered its use throughout industries and verticals and could become an ideal cleaner and more affordable option to gas, diesel and fossil fuels. India has also begun checking out 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 responded with alcohols (ethanol or methanol usually) to produce bio-diesel.

The main reason for the increasing need for biodiesels is the fact that biodiesels are sustainable and carbon-neutral, thus having no net impact on the climate. Besides, bio-diesel runs in compression engines similar to normal petroleum diesel and thus can be utilized with little or no engine modifications. Biodiesel do not need any different facilities for its storage and can be saved similar to the petroleum based fuels.

Considering the growing energy demand in the nation, rising petroleum rates and the environmental threats of nonrenewable fuel sources, the Indian Government has actually taken 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 intends to satisfy 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 biodiesel production however in India the maximum potential to produce biodiesels is from Jatropha oil – a non-edible one from the seeds of the Jatropha curcas. The most significant advantage of utilizing jatropha curcas as a basic material is that this plant can be grown in big amounts in wastelands all across India requiring really little water in contrast to other money crops. Once grown, the plant has a useful life-span of several years. The Jatropha seeds contain 40% oil and are considered to be an exceptional source of bio-diesel. The Government of India has actually determined 400,000 square kilometres of land appropriate for the Jatropha cultivation in the country. India now

A study estimates that even if a mixing initiative of 2% Jatropha based Biodiesel is attained in 2011-12, India will conserve around Rs. 3000 crores. Besides, it will generate around Rs. 5500 crores in the rural economy and assistance in reduction of Green House Gas emission by 3 Million Metric Tonnes (MMT) every year. The government is taking actions to encourage the growing of jatropha curcas in India providing totally free seeds, subsidized loans and other facilities. India needs to now enhance its efforts to make the max use of the Biodiesel Technology. Besides jatropha curcas, the avenues for extracting biodiesel from veggie oils, fats, sunflower, rape seed oil and palm oil should also be explored. It will not only supply an answer to the challenge of Global Warming however could decrease our dependence on foreign oil and add to our own economy.