The non-renewability, ecological concerns and health risks associated with the nonrenewable fuel sources has resulted in exploration of alternative sources of energy to substitute the conventional ones. An appealing technology, still in its infancy, that could reveal us the method to the future ahead is Biodiesels. Biodiesels are diesel fuels stemmed from grease or animal-fat that could be used to run diesel engines. 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 but can be mixed with petroleum diesel for use or could be utilized in its pure type.
Developed nations especially United States and European Countries have already made substantial advances in the Biodiesel Technology. Biodiesel have found its use throughout industries and verticals and could become an ideal cleaner and more affordable alternative to gas, diesel and fossil fuels. India has actually likewise started exploring the opportunities to produce and use bio-diesel. A variety of plants for biodiesel transesterification are already operating in the country where veggie oils are reacted 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 renewable and carbon-neutral, therefore having no net impact on the climate. Besides, in compression engines much like typical petroleum diesel and hence can be utilized with little or no engine adjustments. Biodiesel do not need any different facilities for its storage and can be saved simply like the petroleum based fuels.
Considering the growing energy demand in the country, rising petroleum prices and the environmental dangers of fossil fuels, the Indian Government has used up efforts 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 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 optimal potential to produce biodiesels is from jatropha curcas oil - a non-edible one produced from the seeds of the Jatropha curcas. The greatest advantage of using Jatropha as a raw product is that this plant can be grown in big quantities in wastelands all across India requiring extremely little water in comparison to other cash crops. Once grown, the plant has a beneficial life-span of several decades. The Jatropha seeds include 40% oil and are considered to be an excellent source of bio-diesel. The Government of India has actually recognized 400,000 square kilometres of land suitable for the Jatropha growing in the country. India now
A study estimates that even if a mixing effort 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 assistance in decrease of Green House Gas emission by 3 Million Metric Tonnes (MMT) every year. The government is taking steps to encourage the cultivation of Jatropha in India supplying complimentary seeds, subsidized loans and other facilities. India needs to now reinforce its efforts to make the max use of the Biodiesel Technology. Besides Jatropha, the opportunities for extracting biodiesel from veggie oils, fats, sunflower, rape seed oil and palm oil must also be explored. It will not just provide an answer to the obstacle of Global Warming however could decrease our dependence on foreign oil and add to our own economy.
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Biodiesel Technology Need of the Hour For India
Isobel Creel edited this page 2025-01-10 20:08:08 +01:00