The non-renewability, environmental concerns and health dangers associated with the fossil fuels has caused exploration of alternative sources of energy to replace the traditional 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 veggie oil or animal-fat that could be used to run diesel motors. Vegetables oils like sunflower, rape seed, palm oil, soya bean, Jatropha etc can be subjected to oil processing to produce biodiesels. It contains no petroleum but can be mixed with petroleum diesel for usage or could be used in its pure kind.
Developed nations especially United States and European Countries have actually currently made significant advances in the Biodiesel Technology. Biodiesel have discovered its use throughout industries and verticals and might become an ideal cleaner and less expensive option to fuel, diesel and fossil fuels. India has actually also begun exploring the opportunities to produce and utilize bio-diesel. A number of plants for biodiesel transesterification are currently operating in the country where vegetable oils are reacted with alcohols (ethanol or methanol typically) to produce bio-diesel.
The main reason for the increasing need for biodiesels is the reality that biodiesels are sustainable and carbon-neutral, hence having no net effect on the environment. Besides, bio-diesel runs in compression engines much like regular petroleum diesel and hence can be utilized with little or no engine adjustments. Biodiesel do not require any different infrastructure for its storage and can be kept similar to the petroleum based fuels.
Considering the growing energy demand in the nation, increasing petroleum costs and the environmental risks of nonrenewable fuel sources, the Indian Government has actually taken up efforts to develop the Bio Diesel Technology in India and established more oil processing units. The Government revealed its 'National Biofuel Policy' on 12 September 2008 which aims to satisfy 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 used as the pre-dominant raw materials for oil processing and biodiesel production however 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 greatest benefit of utilizing jatropha curcas as a raw material is that this plant can be grown in huge amounts in wastelands all across India needing extremely little water in comparison to other cash crops. Once grown, the plant has a beneficial lifespan of several years. The Jatropha seeds consist of 40% oil and are thought about to be an exceptional source of bio-diesel. The Government of India has determined 400,000 square kilometres of land appropriate for the Jatropha cultivation in the nation. India now
A study approximates that even if a blending effort 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 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 in India providing free seeds, subsidized loans and other facilities. India requires to now reinforce its efforts to make the max usage of the Biodiesel Technology. Besides jatropha curcas, the avenues for drawing out biodiesel from vegetable oils, fats, sunflower, rape seed oil and palm oil must likewise be checked out. It will not just provide an answer to the challenge of Global Warming but might reduce our reliance on foreign oil and contribute to our own economy.
