Biodiesel Technology Need of the Hour for India

The non-renewability, environmental concerns and health threats related to the nonrenewable fuel sources has actually resulted in expedition of alternative sources of energy to substitute the traditional ones. A promising innovation, still in its infancy, that might show us the method to the future ahead is Biodiesels. Biodiesels are diesel fuels stemmed 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 blended with petroleum diesel for usage or could be used in its pure kind.

Developed countries particularly United States and European Countries have actually already made significant advances in the Biodiesel Technology. Biodiesel have found its use across markets and verticals and could emerge as an ideal cleaner and cheaper option to gas, diesel and nonrenewable fuel sources. India has likewise begun checking out the opportunities to produce and utilize bio-diesel. A variety of plants for biodiesel transesterification are already operating in the country where veggie oils are responded with alcohols (ethanol or methanol usually) to produce bio-diesel.

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

Considering the growing energy demand in the country, increasing petroleum costs and the ecological risks of fossil fuels, the Indian Government has used up efforts to develop the Bio Diesel Technology in India and established more oil processing systems. The Government announced its ‘National Biofuel on 12 September 2008 which intends to fulfill 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 utilized as the pre-dominant raw products 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 benefit of using Jatropha as a basic material is that this plant can be grown in big amounts in wastelands all throughout India needing very little water in contrast to other cash crops. Once grown, the plant has a useful lifespan of numerous decades. The Jatropha seeds consist of 40% oil and are thought about to be an excellent source of bio-diesel. The Government of India has actually recognized 400,000 square kilometres of land appropriate for the Jatropha cultivation in the nation. India now

A study estimates that even if a blending effort of 2% Jatropha based Biodiesel is accomplished in 2011-12, India will conserve around Rs. 3000 crores. Besides, it will generate 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 government is taking steps to encourage the cultivation of Jatropha in India supplying free seeds, subsidized loans and other centers. India needs to now reinforce its efforts to make the fullest usage 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 checked out. It will not only provide a response to the obstacle of Global Warming but could decrease our reliance on foreign oil and add to our own economy.