The non-renewability, ecological concerns and health risks connected with the nonrenewable fuel sources has led to exploration of alternative sources of energy to replace the standard ones. A promising innovation, still in its infancy, that could show us the way to the future ahead is Biodiesels. Biodiesels are diesel fuels originated from grease or animal-fat that could be used to run diesel motors. Vegetables oils like sunflower, rape seed, palm oil, soya bean, jatropha curcas etc can be subjected to oil processing to produce biodiesels. It includes no petroleum however can be blended with petroleum diesel for use or could be utilized in its pure type.
Developed nations specifically United States and European Countries have actually currently made considerable advances in the Biodiesel Technology. Biodiesel have actually discovered its use across industries and verticals and could emerge as a perfect cleaner and cheaper option to gas, diesel and nonrenewable fuel sources. India has actually also started exploring the opportunities to produce and use bio-diesel. A number of plants for biodiesel transesterification are already functioning in the country where veggie oils are responded with alcohols (ethanol or methanol normally) to produce bio-diesel.
The primary reason for the increasing demand for biodiesels is the fact that biodiesels are sustainable and carbon-neutral, thus having no net influence on the environment. Besides, bio-diesel operates in compression engines similar to normal petroleum diesel and thus can be utilized with little or no engine adjustments. Biodiesel do not require any separate facilities for its storage and can be kept similar to the petroleum based fuels.
Considering the growing energy demand in the country, increasing petroleum costs and the ecological risks of fossil fuels, the Indian Government has taken up efforts to establish the Bio Diesel Technology in India and established more oil processing systems. The Government announced its 'National Biofuel Policy' on 12 September 2008 which intends to satisfy 20% of India's diesel need with bio-fuels in the coming years.
Globally, edible vegetable oils like sunflower, soya bean, rape seed, palm oil are used as the 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 using Jatropha as a raw material is that this plant can be grown in huge amounts in wastelands all across India needing extremely little water in contrast to other money crops. Once grown, the plant has a helpful lifespan of several decades. The jatropha curcas seeds consist of 40% oil and are considered to be an outstanding source of bio-diesel. The Government of India has actually recognized 400,000 square kilometres of land ideal for the Jatropha growing in the country. India now
A study estimates that even if a mixing initiative of 2% jatropha curcas based Biodiesel is attained 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 curcas in India supplying free seeds, subsidized loans and other facilities. India requires to now enhance its efforts to make the fullest use of the Biodiesel Technology. Besides Jatropha, the opportunities for drawing out biodiesel from veggie oils, fats, sunflower, rape seed oil and palm oil must likewise be explored. It will not only offer an answer to the difficulty of Global Warming however might decrease our reliance on foreign oil and contribute to our own economy.
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Biodiesel Technology Need of the Hour For India
Erna Curnow edited this page 2025-01-11 21:23:11 +08:00