Biodiesel Technology Need of the Hour for India

The non-renewability, environmental issues and health risks related to the fossil fuels has caused expedition of alternative sources of energy to replace the traditional ones. A promising technology, still in its infancy, that could reveal us the method to the future ahead is Biodiesels. Biodiesels are diesel fuels stemmed from vegetable oil or animal-fat that might be utilized 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 contains no petroleum however can be combined with petroleum diesel for usage or could be used in its pure type.

Developed countries specifically United States and European Countries have actually already made considerable advances in the Biodiesel Technology. Biodiesel have actually found its use throughout markets and verticals and might become an ideal cleaner and cheaper option to fuel, diesel and fossil fuels. India has likewise begun checking out the opportunities to produce and utilize bio-diesel. A number of plants for biodiesel transesterification are already operating in the nation where veggie oils are responded 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 sustainable and carbon-neutral, hence having no net effect on the environment. Besides, bio-diesel runs in compression engines much like typical petroleum diesel and for this reason can be used with little or no engine adjustments. Biodiesel do not need any different infrastructure for its storage and can be stored much like the petroleum based fuels.

Considering the growing energy demand in the nation, rising petroleum costs and the ecological threats of fossil fuels, the Indian Government has actually used up initiatives to establish the Bio Diesel Technology in India and set up more oil processing units. The Government announced its ‚National Biofuel Policy‘ on 12 September 2008 which aims to meet 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 utilized as the pre-dominant basic materials for oil processing and biodiesel production but in India the maximum potential to produce biodiesels is from Jatropha oil – a non-edible one produced from the seeds of the Jatropha curcas. The most significant benefit of utilizing Jatropha as a raw product is that this plant can be grown in huge amounts in wastelands all throughout India requiring extremely little water in comparison to other cash crops. Once grown, the plant has a helpful life expectancy of numerous years. The Jatropha seeds include 40% oil and are thought about to be an outstanding source of bio-diesel. The Government of India has identified 400,000 square kilometres of land ideal for the Jatropha cultivation in the nation. India now

A study approximates that even if a blending 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 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 supplying totally free seeds, and other centers. India requires to now enhance its efforts to make the fullest usage of the Biodiesel Technology. Besides Jatropha, the opportunities for extracting biodiesel from vegetable oils, fats, sunflower, rape seed oil and palm oil must likewise be checked out. It will not just supply an answer to the difficulty of Global Warming however might reduce our dependence on foreign oil and contribute to our own economy.