Biodiesel Technology Need Of The Hour For India
The non-renewability, environmental issues and health threats associated with the nonrenewable fuel sources has resulted in exploration of alternative sources of energy to replace the traditional ones. A promising technology, still in its infancy, that might reveal us the method to the future ahead is Biodiesels. Biodiesels are diesel fuels obtained from grease or animal-fat that might be used to run diesel engines. Vegetables oils like sunflower, rape seed, palm oil, soya bean, jatropha curcas and so on can be subjected to oil processing to produce biodiesels. It includes no petroleum but can be combined with petroleum diesel for usage or might be utilized in its pure form.
Developed countries specifically United States and European Countries have actually already made significant advances in the Biodiesel Technology. Biodiesel have discovered its usage throughout industries and verticals and might become an ideal cleaner and more affordable alternative to petrol, diesel and fossil fuels. India has also begun exploring the chances to produce and use bio-diesel. A variety of plants for biodiesel transesterification are already working in the country where vegetable oils are reacted with alcohols (ethanol or methanol normally) to produce bio-diesel.
The main factor for the increasing need for biodiesels is the reality that biodiesels are renewable 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 used with little or no engine adjustments. Biodiesel do not need any separate facilities for its storage and can be saved just 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 actually used up initiatives 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 fulfill 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 capacity to produce biodiesels is from jatropha curcas oil - a non-edible one produced from the seeds of the Jatropha curcas. The greatest benefit of utilizing jatropha curcas as a basic material is that this plant can be grown in huge amounts in wastelands all across India requiring very little water in comparison to other cash crops. Once grown, the plant has a helpful life of several years. The Jatropha seeds consist of 40% oil and are thought about to be an excellent source of bio-diesel. The Government of India has identified 400,000 square kilometres of land appropriate for the jatropha curcas cultivation in the country. India now
A study estimates that even if a mixing effort of 2% jatropha curcas 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 government is taking actions to encourage the cultivation of Jatropha in India providing totally free seeds, subsidized loans and other facilities. India needs to now enhance its efforts to make the maximum use of the Biodiesel Technology. Besides jatropha curcas, the opportunities for extracting biodiesel from vegetable oils, fats, sunflower, rape seed oil and palm oil should also be checked out. It will not only supply an answer to the difficulty of Global Warming however might reduce our dependence on foreign oil and contribute to our own economy.
