The non-renewability, environmental concerns and health risks associated with the fossil fuels has led to expedition of alternative sources of energy to substitute the traditional ones. A promising technology, still in its infancy, that might reveal us the way to the future ahead is Biodiesels. Biodiesels are diesel fuels stemmed from grease or animal-fat that could be utilized to run diesel motors. 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 contains no petroleum but can be combined with petroleum diesel for use or might be utilized in its pure type.
Developed nations particularly United States and European Countries have currently made significant advances in the Biodiesel Technology. Biodiesel have discovered its use across industries and verticals and could emerge as an ideal cleaner and cheaper option to fuel, 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 already in the nation where vegetable oils are responded with alcohols (ethanol or methanol typically) to produce bio-diesel.
The primary factor for the increasing demand for biodiesels is the reality that biodiesels are eco-friendly and carbon-neutral, hence having no net influence on the environment. Besides, bio-diesel runs in compression engines much like typical petroleum diesel and for this reason can be utilized with little or no engine modifications. Biodiesel do not require any separate infrastructure for its storage and can be stored similar to the petroleum based fuels.
Considering the growing energy demand in the nation, increasing petroleum costs and the ecological risks of fossil fuels, the Indian Government has actually taken up initiatives to develop the Bio Diesel Technology in India and set up more oil processing systems. The Government revealed 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 products for oil processing and biodiesel production but in India the optimal potential to produce biodiesels is from Jatropha oil - a non-edible one produced from the seeds of the Jatropha curcas. The biggest advantage of utilizing Jatropha as a raw product is that this plant can be grown in substantial amounts in wastelands all throughout India requiring very little water in contrast to other cash crops. Once grown, the plant has a useful lifespan of numerous years. The jatropha curcas seeds contain 40% oil and are considered to be an outstanding source of bio-diesel. The Government of India has actually identified 400,000 square kilometres of land appropriate for the jatropha curcas cultivation in the nation. India now
A study estimates that even if a blending effort of 2% Jatropha based Biodiesel is attained in 2011-12, India will conserve around Rs. 3000 crores. Besides, it will generate around Rs. 5500 crores in the rural economy and assistance in reduction 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 curcas in India offering complimentary seeds, subsidized loans and other facilities. India requires to now enhance its efforts to make the maximum usage of the Biodiesel Technology. Besides Jatropha, the opportunities for extracting biodiesel from vegetable oils, fats, sunflower, rape seed oil and palm oil ought to also be explored. It will not only supply an answer to the challenge of Global Warming however might decrease our reliance on foreign oil and add to our own economy.
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Biodiesel Technology Need of the Hour For India
Adalberto Jessop edited this page 1 month ago