Biodiesel Technology Need of the Hour for India

The non-renewability, ecological concerns and health dangers connected with the nonrenewable fuel sources has led to expedition of alternative sources of energy to substitute the conventional ones. A promising technology, still in its infancy, that could show us the way to the future ahead is Biodiesels. Biodiesels are diesel fuels stemmed from veggie oil or animal-fat that could be utilized 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 includes no petroleum however can be blended with petroleum diesel for use or could be utilized in its pure form.

Developed countries particularly United States and European Countries have actually currently made substantial advances in the Biodiesel Technology. Biodiesel have actually found its use across markets and verticals and could become a perfect cleaner and less expensive alternative to fuel, diesel and fossil fuels. India has likewise started checking out the chances to produce and use bio-diesel. A variety of plants for biodiesel transesterification are currently functioning in the nation where veggie oils are reacted with alcohols (ethanol or methanol typically) 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 climate. Besides, bio-diesel runs in compression engines much like typical petroleum diesel and for this reason can be utilized with little or no engine adjustments. Biodiesel do not need any different facilities for its storage and can be stored similar to the petroleum based fuels.

Considering the growing energy need in the country, increasing petroleum prices and the environmental hazards of fossil fuels, the Indian Government has actually taken up initiatives to the Bio Diesel Technology in India and established more oil processing units. The Government revealed 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 utilized as the pre-dominant raw materials for oil processing and biodiesel production however in India the optimal potential to produce biodiesels is from Jatropha oil – a non-edible one produced from the seeds of the Jatropha curcas. The biggest advantage of utilizing Jatropha as a basic material is that this plant can be grown in huge amounts in wastelands all across India requiring very little water in contrast to other money crops. Once grown, the plant has a useful lifespan of a number of years. The Jatropha seeds contain 40% oil and are considered to be an excellent source of bio-diesel. The Government of India has identified 400,000 square kilometres of land ideal for the Jatropha growing in the country. India now

A study approximates that even if a blending 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 aid in decrease of Green House Gas emission by 3 Million Metric Tonnes (MMT) every year. The federal government is taking actions to encourage the growing of Jatropha in India offering free seeds, subsidized loans and other centers. India needs to now enhance its efforts to make the maximum use of the Biodiesel Technology. Besides Jatropha, the avenues for extracting biodiesel from vegetable oils, fats, sunflower, rape seed oil and palm oil must likewise be explored. It will not just offer a response to the difficulty of Global Warming however might reduce our reliance on foreign oil and add to our own economy.