Biodiesel Technology Need of the Hour for India

The non-renewability, ecological issues and health dangers connected with the nonrenewable fuel sources has caused expedition of alternative sources of energy to substitute the standard ones. An appealing innovation, still in its infancy, that could show us the way to the future ahead is Biodiesels. Biodiesels are diesel fuels obtained from grease 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 blended with petroleum diesel for usage or could be utilized in its pure type.

Developed countries specifically United States and European Countries have currently made significant advances in the Biodiesel Technology. Biodiesel have found its use throughout industries and verticals and could become an ideal cleaner and cheaper option to gas, diesel and nonrenewable fuel sources. India has also begun checking out the opportunities to produce and use bio-diesel. A number of plants for biodiesel transesterification are currently working in the nation where veggie oils are reacted with alcohols (ethanol or methanol normally) to produce bio-diesel.

The primary reason for the increasing demand for biodiesels is the truth that biodiesels are eco-friendly and carbon-neutral, hence having no net effect on the climate. Besides, bio-diesel operates in compression engines much like typical petroleum diesel and thus can be used with little or no engine adjustments. Biodiesel do not require any different facilities for its storage and can be saved much like the petroleum based fuels.

Considering the growing energy need in the country, rising petroleum costs and the ecological dangers of fossil fuels, the Indian Government has taken up efforts to establish the Bio Diesel Technology in India and established more oil processing units. The Government announced its ‘National Biofuel Policy’ on 12 September 2008 which intends to fulfill 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 but in India the optimal potential to produce biodiesels is from Jatropha oil – a one produced from the seeds of the Jatropha curcas. The greatest benefit of utilizing Jatropha as a basic material is that this plant can be grown in substantial quantities in wastelands all across India requiring very little water in contrast to other money crops. Once grown, the plant has a useful life expectancy of several years. The Jatropha seeds consist of 40% oil and are considered to be an exceptional source of bio-diesel. The Government of India has actually identified 400,000 square kilometres of land suitable for the Jatropha cultivation in the nation. India now

A research study estimates that even if a mixing initiative of 2% Jatropha based Biodiesel is attained in 2011-12, India will save around Rs. 3000 crores. Besides, it will produce 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 steps to encourage the growing of Jatropha in India supplying complimentary seeds, subsidized loans and other facilities. India needs to now strengthen its efforts to make the fullest usage of the Biodiesel Technology. Besides Jatropha, the avenues for drawing out biodiesel from vegetable oils, fats, sunflower, rape seed oil and palm oil should likewise be checked out. It will not just offer an answer to the challenge of Global Warming but could decrease our reliance on foreign oil and add to our own economy.