Biodiesel Technology Need of the Hour for India

The non-renewability, environmental concerns and health threats related to the fossil fuels has resulted in exploration of of energy to substitute 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 derived from vegetable 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 contains no petroleum however can be combined with petroleum diesel for usage or could be utilized in its pure type.

Developed nations especially United States and European Countries have actually currently made considerable advances in the Biodiesel Technology. Biodiesel have actually found its usage across industries and verticals and might become a perfect cleaner and cheaper alternative to gas, diesel and nonrenewable fuel sources. India has likewise started checking out the chances to produce and use bio-diesel. A number of plants for biodiesel transesterification are currently operating in the country where vegetable oils are responded with alcohols (ethanol or methanol normally) to produce bio-diesel.

The primary reason for the increasing need for biodiesels is the reality that biodiesels are eco-friendly and carbon-neutral, therefore having no net effect on the environment. Besides, bio-diesel runs in compression engines much like normal petroleum diesel and thus can be utilized with little or no engine adjustments. Biodiesel do not need any different facilities for its storage and can be stored much like the petroleum based fuels.

Considering the growing energy need in the country, rising petroleum rates and the environmental hazards of fossil fuels, the Indian Government has taken up efforts 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 veggie oils like sunflower, soya bean, rape seed, palm oil are used as the pre-dominant basic materials for oil processing and biodiesel production but 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 benefit of utilizing Jatropha as a raw material is that this plant can be grown in huge quantities in wastelands all throughout India needing very little water in contrast to other cash crops. Once grown, the plant has a beneficial lifespan of several years. The Jatropha seeds consist of 40% oil and are considered to be an excellent source of bio-diesel. The Government of India has actually determined 400,000 square kilometres of land appropriate for the Jatropha cultivation in the nation. 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 generate around Rs. 5500 crores in the rural economy and help in decrease of Green House Gas emission by 3 Million Metric Tonnes (MMT) every year. The federal government is taking actions to motivate the cultivation of Jatropha in India supplying complimentary seeds, subsidized loans and other facilities. India needs to now enhance its efforts to make the maximum usage of the Biodiesel Technology. Besides Jatropha, the avenues for drawing out biodiesel from veggie oils, fats, sunflower, rape seed oil and palm oil must likewise be explored. It will not just supply an answer to the difficulty of Global Warming however could reduce our dependence on foreign oil and add to our own economy.