Biodiesel Technology Need of the Hour for India

The non-renewability, environmental concerns and health threats related to the fossil fuels has led to exploration of alternative sources of energy to substitute the traditional ones. A promising innovation, still in its infancy, that could reveal us the way to the future ahead is Biodiesels. Biodiesels are diesel fuels stemmed from veggie oil 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 consists of no petroleum but can be combined with petroleum diesel for usage or could be used in its pure type.

Developed nations especially United States and European Countries have actually currently made significant advances in the Biodiesel Technology. Biodiesel have found its usage throughout industries and verticals and could become an ideal cleaner and cheaper alternative to gas, diesel and nonrenewable fuel sources. India has actually also begun exploring the opportunities to produce and utilize bio-diesel. A number of plants for biodiesel transesterification are already functioning in the country where vegetable oils are responded with alcohols (ethanol or methanol typically) to produce bio-diesel.

The primary factor for the increasing demand for biodiesels is the fact that biodiesels are sustainable and carbon-neutral, therefore having no net effect on the climate. 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 need any separate facilities for its storage and can be kept similar to the petroleum based fuels.

Considering the growing energy need in the nation, increasing petroleum costs and the ecological risks of nonrenewable fuel sources, the Indian Government has taken up efforts to develop the Bio Diesel Technology in India and established more oil processing systems. The Government announced its ‘National Biofuel Policy’ on 12 September 2008 which aims to satisfy 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 basic 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 greatest advantage of utilizing Jatropha as a raw material is that this plant can be grown in substantial quantities in wastelands all across India requiring very little water in comparison to other money crops. Once grown, the plant has a helpful life-span of several decades. The Jatropha seeds consist of 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 nation. India now

A study approximates that even if a mixing effort of 2% Jatropha based Biodiesel is achieved in 2011-12, India will save around Rs. 3000 crores. Besides, it will create 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 government is taking actions to encourage the growing of Jatropha in India providing seeds, subsidized loans and other facilities. India needs to now reinforce its efforts to make the fullest use of the Biodiesel Technology. Besides Jatropha, the opportunities for drawing out biodiesel from vegetable oils, fats, sunflower, rape seed oil and palm oil should also be explored. It will not just provide a response to the difficulty of Global Warming but might decrease our dependence on foreign oil and add to our own economy.