Biodiesel is a safe alternative fuel to replace traditional petroleum diesel. It has high-lubricity, is a clean-burning fuel and can be a fuel component for use in existing, unmodified diesel engines. This means that no retrofits are necessary when using biodiesel fuel in any diesel powered combustion engine. It is the only alternative fuel that offers such convenience. Biodiesel acts like petroleum diesel, but produces less air pollution, comes from renewable sources, is biodegradable and is safer for the environment. Producing biodiesel fuels can help create local economic revitalization and local environmental benefits.
Many groups interested in promoting the use of biodiesel already exist at the local, state and national level. Biodiesel is designed for complete compatibility with petroleum diesel and can be blended in any ratio, from additive levels to 100 percent biodiesel. In the United States today, biodiesel is typically produced from soybean or rapeseed oil or can be reprocessed from waste cooking oils or animal fats such as waste fish oil. Because it is made of these easily obtainable plant-based materials, it is a completely renewable fuel source.
With increase in the demand of petroleum products the prices of petrol & diesel are increasing world wide. This trend is expected in years to come as the resources are also depleting. Hence alternative sources of energy for running our generators, automobiles etc. are being considered world wide. The possibility of obtaining oil from plant resources has aroused a great interest and in several countries, vegetable oil after esterification being used as ‘Biodiesel’. Biodiesel is a nontoxic, biodegradable replacement of the petroleum diesel.
The vegetable oils are treated with alcohol ethanol or methanol and alkali. The products of the reaction are Biodiesel and glycerol. Chemically biodiesel is monoalkyl esters of long chain fatty acid and its properties are similar to petrodiesel. The biodiesel can be used as 20% blend with petrodiesel in existing engines without any modification. Both the edible and non edible vegetable oils can be used as the raw materials for the biodiesel. Considering the cost and demand of the edible oils the non edible oils may be preferred for the preparation of biodiesel in India.
In India a National mission on Biodiesel has been launched with the objective for producing biodiesel required for blending to the extent of 20% with the petrodiesel in the year 2011-12. Further it has decided to go for the massive plantation of non edible oil producing plant species. The following plant species are known to be good sources for the biodiesel 1. Jatropha curcas (Jatropha) 2. Pongamia pinnata (Karanj) 3. Azadirachta indica (Neem) 4. Madhuca indica (Mahua) The process of obtaining Biodiesel is simple and requires only two steps as follows: 1. Extracting oil from seeds by expeller . Esterification of the extracted oil Jatropha curcas has the oil contents 33 – 40% and it can be grown in the salty, stony and sandy soils and in the areas having rainfall even up to 200 mm. The animals also do not consume Jatropha plants. The Biotech Park has under taken a project for raising the Nursery of the Jatrophacurcas plants by the technology provided by National botanical Research Institute, Lucknow. The jatropha plantlets are raised from the seedlings and cuttings. The plantlets raised at the Biotech Park are disease free and will yield seeds with high oil contents.
The Biotech Park has received an order for supply of three lakhs Jatropha plants from National Oil Seeds and Vegetable Oil Development Board, Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India. Besides this the farmers from different parts of states of UP are approaching Park and booking their orders for the supply of Jatropha plants The low point of Sean Lee Davies’ Southeast Asian road trip was having to beg in Kuala Lumpur. Sitting in the street, with a fuel container and signs pleading for help, he wasn’t asking for money. He just needed a few litres of waste cooking oil to get him back on the road.
He hadn’t had much success knocking on restaurant doors, which he puts down to a lack of awareness. It was the first setback on his quest to drive 2,500 kilometres from Singapore to Cambodia in an off-road vehicle powered only by used oil from restaurants and food hawkers. The journey was filmed for a recently aired reality TV series, Fill My Tank, for Singapore-based Channel NewsAsia. Lee Davies turned the oil into biodiesel using a converter provided by Singapore Polytechnic, which he delivered to an orphanage in Siem Reap at the end of his trip. Sean Lee Davies begs for waste cooking oil on his road rip. “The trip was really an eco-travel show, mixing the adventure of a travel show with a focus on green technology. If it was just a programme about green technology or biofuels, no one would watch it,” the filmmaker, writer and photographer says. His aim was to promote the conversion of waste products into fuel. “I’m not suggesting that biofuels are going to replace traditional fossil-fuel oil, but certainly they will contribute to carbon dioxide mitigation,” he says. It’s a process that could offer an alternative to other, more costly and controversial renewable energy sources.
Solar and wind power need heavy investment in infrastructure and so-called land-based biofuels – made from sugar, starch and vegetable oils – have drawn a backlash in recent years. The UN warned in 2009 that despite helping to curb carbon dioxide emissions, the benefits of using crops for fuel could be offset by environmental problems including deforestation, soil erosion, a loss of biodiversity, and higher food prices for poor communities as land for food production became scarcer. “If you go to Brazil, the US, everybody knows about biodiesel.
If you go to Malaysia, where they have so much agricultural produce, where there’s palm oil, food crops, tonnes of waste cooking oil, no one really knows about it,” Lee Davies says. The same can be said for Hong Kong, he says, and he hopes to share his experience with the government. “Hong Kong has very little awareness about carbon mitigation. It’s all about luxury goods and high-end consumption, but you have a huge air pollution problem, and a lot of that comes from dirty diesel engines. ” The government adopted Euro V diesel standards in June last year for vehicles weighing more than 3. tonnes. The benefit is a 40 per cent cut in nitrogen oxide emissions over the Euro IV standard, which had been in place since 2006. But there are still 80,000 heavily polluting pre-Euro and Euro I to III commercial diesel vehicles on the roads, the government says. In January, Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying pledged to introduce a HK$10 billion package to purge the roads of dirty trucks and buses by 2019. “If it’s going to take years, we can at least change the diesel stocks so they burn cleaner fuel, and reduce carbon dioxide in the process.
You could do that very quickly,” Lee Davies says. Edwin Lau Che-feng, director of general affairs for Friends of the Earth (Hong Kong), says the government should set mandatory targets for a switch to a blend of 5 per cent or 10 per cent biodiesel – called B5 and B10 – to prod owners of polluting vehicles to clean up their act. Inside ASB’s biodiesel factory in Tseung Kwan O. Photo: Kitmin Lee”Both [blends] are widely available in Europe for cars and ships because they reduce particulate matter,” he says, adding that a big problem in Hong Kong is the lack of a distribution network. If the government doesn’t mandate it, the oil companies will not accommodate it in their service stations because it affects their bottom line. ” The government could use tax incentives to make biodiesel an attractive option, he says. “With the bus companies, the government could set terms in their franchise that they either improve the fleet or use cleaner fuels for the same fleet. ” There are doubts, however, that the government will take meaningful action. On Wednesday, the Legislative Council unanimously passed a motion calling for the government to support the local biodiesel industry.
The purpose of the motion was to eradicate “gutter oil” – after it was reported late last year that some restaurants in the city were using recycled cooking oil. The use of “gutter oil” is a serious problem, on the mainland, and legislators were keen to know where an estimated 8,000 tonnes of waste cooking oil that is not accounted for in Hong Kong ended up. Environment Secretary Wong Kam-sing told Legco the government was “generally supportive” of the biodiesel industry. He said a pilot scheme by government departments to use B5 would be expanded mid-year. But the scheme is voluntary. Basically he said we’re already doing enough,” says Anthony Dixon, CEO of ASB Biodiesel (Hong Kong). ASB, one of a handful of biodiesel producers in the city, has been lobbying the government to make blending mandatory. The company is building a biodiesel plant in Tseung Kwan O that is due to start production in September. Dixon says ASB collects about 20 per cent of the city’s used restaurant cooking oil, which should increase shortly to 30 per cent. “We are talking to an oil company that has a licence to blend and would sell biodiesel to corporate customers – but not on the forecourt.
We will be producing enough biodiesel to run all diesel vehicles in Hong Kong on a 10 per cent blend,” he says, adding that local vehicles use about one million tonnes of diesel a year. Most of ASB’s biodiesel will be exported globally, with the main market being Europe. On the subject of Lee Davies’ road tip, Dixon says there is no technical reason why vehicles can’t run on 100 per cent biodiesel. “Many engine manufacturers recommend a blend of not more than 20 per cent biodiesel, but that’s because they are being conservative with their warranties. In Europe, most heavy vehicles run on B5, he says, but that is due to limited supply. Since biodiesel contains a solvent, vehicles usually need to be maintained more frequently in the first few months of switching from straight diesel to biodiesel, such as a change of air filters. “After that, there won’t be any problems,” Dixon says. Lee Davies says that apart from running out of fuel in Malaysia, the only glitch he had with his vehicle was a wiring problem. His converter – which “looks like a big coffee machine” – fitted in the boot.
Potassium hydroxide, a biocatalyst, was added, and it took two hours to clean 20 litres. Ten litres of cooking oil produces eight litres of biodiesel and two litres of glycerine, which is often used as a moisturiser in the production of soap and cosmetics. “Biodiesel is the same as diesel. It gives the same mileage, it burns cleaner, it’s a carbon dioxide reduction of up to 80 per cent and in my experience it was more efficient, and it’s renewable,” Lee Davies says. The polytechnic’s converter was developed for poor rural communities.
Since the electricity supply is unstable in the Cambodian countryside, villagers often rely on generators. The kingdom was the least aware of biodiesel among the countries Lee Davies visited, however. “If people were tuned in to biodiesel, it would back up their generators with a sustainable supply of fuel,” he says. “We delivered this converter to the orphanage so that when they don’t have electricity, they can power their generator with biodiesel. In the process, they save about US$1,000 per month in fuel costs. Although the biodiesel industry has experienced tremendous growth, raw material supplies have served as a natural brake and created a strain on margins for biodiesel producers. The surge in commodities prices is a result of numerous factors including a weak dollar, expanding domestic and global biofuel production capacity, low commodity stocks due to global weather situations, increased energy and transportation costs, and the strength of global food demand. The National Biodiesel Board was formed during a time period of record inventories of fats & oils and extremely low feedstock prices.
However, achieving the industry vision of replacing 5% of diesel demand by 2015 calls for additional focus on new raw materials sources for biodiesel production. New feedstock opportunities vary significantly; both in terms of potential impact on the market in terms of volume and timing to commercialization. The following summary will highlight a limited number of near-term and longer-term opportunities to add to the U. S. supply of raw materials for biodiesel production. Existing feedstock supplies with a limited supply response or feedstock supplies that are primarily imported are not addressed in the summary.
Near-term opportunities exist with the creation of “virtual acres” (greater yields of oil per acre), capitalizing on growth in the ethanol industry, and additional acres of high oil content crops such as winter canola and camelina. Corn Oil—Changing Biofuels Landscape Creates Opportunity to Benefit from Increased Ethanol Usage Ethanol producers may offer the biodiesel industry its nearest term opportunity for additive supplies. Historically, corn oil has not been a viable biodiesel feedstock due to its relatively high cost and high value as edible oil.
In current dry grind processes, the corn oil essentially passes through the process and remains in the resulting distillers dry grains with solubles (DDGS). Ethanol firms are investigating fractionating technology to remove corn germ (the portion of the corn kernel that contains oil) prior to the ethanol process. Furthermore, some ethanol plants have already made public their intention to employ technology to remove the remaining vegetable oil from dried distillers grains, a co-product of the ethanol process.
In addition to the various extraction technologies, the quantity of corn oil could also be increased in the long term by producing more high-oil corn varieties. All of these technologies could add to the biodiesel raw material supply in a meaningful way. Corn oil could help to meet feedstock market demand in two ways. First is for edible corn oil to displace other edible oils that could then be diverted to biodiesel production. Second is for nonedible corn oil to be used directly for biodiesel production.
For example, reaching the proposed goal of 15 billion gallons of ethanol production from corn could generate almost 400 million gallons worth of vegetable oil if only ? pound of oil was extracted from each bushel of corn. Soybean Virtual Acres: New Technology Will Add to the U. S. Raw Material Supply “Virtual acres” is a term for generating additional feedstock from the same acre. Monsanto plans to introduce new technology that can increase soybean yields 9 to 11 percent. DuPont is commercializing soybean varieties that increase yields by as much as 12 percent. These technologies are set to have an impact in 2010.
If 90% of U. S. soybean acres adopted the new technology, more than 60 million acres could benefit from a 10% increase in yield. This equates to more than 250 million additional bushels of soybeans (the equivalent of 380 million gallons of biodiesel) without increasing acreage in the U. S. The same benefit can be achieved by increasing soybean oil content. Current industry genetic programs suggest 10% oil increases are achievable within the next few years. New approaches for achieving even higher oil levels in plants are needed. Previous efforts focused on increasing the flow of carbon into the oil biosynthesis pathway.
However, downstream bottlenecks appear to reduce the value of this approach. The National Biodiesel Board (NBB) has teamed up with The Donald Danforth Plant Science Center to look at the potential to enhance the oil production in soybeans and other oilseeds, although this is a longer-term endeavor. At the heart of the Danforth Plant Sciences strategy is the hypothesis that the ability to utilize available carbon limits oil production. Therefore, their work will focus on engineering carbon sinks that will pull metabolites through the oil production process in plants.
This is a three-year program, initiated in 2008. Camelina, Canola, & Brassica Juncea — Crops with Higher Oil Content The production of oilseeds on new acres may also offer additional raw material supplies to the biodiesel industry. Private firms are offering camelina contract opportunities in the Pacific Northwest and the U. S. Canola Association has established an initiative to increase canola acres by 2010. Although interest in these oilseeds is high, global wheat consumption has surpassed production in six of the last eight years.
The resulting price spike in wheat has negatively impacted the current opportunity for expansion of winter canola and camelina acres. Camelina Just as biodiesel producers like to say that biodiesel can be used in any application that diesel fuel is used, camelina is said to be adapted to any region in the Upper Midwest where wheat can be grown. According to Montana State University, camelina is a short season crop (85 to 100 days) that is well suited for marginal soils and has a lower break-even cost than wheat or canola. It performs well under drought stress and can yield up to 2,200 ounds per acre (1,200 to 1,500 lbs/acre typical) in areas with less than 16 inches of annual rain, although reported yields are still highly variable in different regions. Camelina is said to be a good fit for cool regions where canola production is difficult. In 2007 there were a reported 50,000 acres of production in Montana with limited acreage in surrounding states. Camelina is an annual or winter annual crop that researchers say can be planted on marginally productive cropland from eastern Washington to North Dakota.
Long considered a weed in northern states, camelina is a member of the mustard family and also known as false flax, gold of pleasure, and leindotter in Germany. Researchers and producers indicate the crop can be grown in arid conditions, prefers lower humidity levels, does not require significant levels of inputs such as fertilizer, and the oil will produce a high quality biodiesel. Typical varieties of camelina are approximately 38 to 40% oil. At least two firms are offering contracts to producers with stated goals of achieving two million acres of production.
Depending upon the type of extraction technology used, more than 100 million gallons of oil could be added to the market. Canola Canola is a type of rapeseed that was first developed in the 1970s. Canadian plant breeders developed canola explicitly for its nutritional advantages compared to industrial rapeseed. Original rapeseed’s nutritional content has always been questioned due to their high levels of elcosenoic and erucic fatty acids, which is a fatty acid that has been shown to be related to heart disease.
In the 1960s, Canada began researching rapeseeds by isolating specific lines that were low in erucic acid to produce an oilseed that could be considered safe for human consumption. The result of their efforts was “Canola,” defined as oil that contains less than 2% erucic acid. Canola is a popular crop throughout the world because of its variety of uses and the nutritional value compared to competing crops. Canola can be produced in some countries where similar crops are not able to grow because of short growing seasons. In the U. S. , North Dakota is the leading producer of canola.
Canola oil has been increasing its market share in the United States, because of its nutritional advantages compared to other competitive vegetable oils. Although canola oil would primarily move into edible markets, increased U. S. acreage will have positive impacts on the overall vegetable oil supply. The U. S. Canola Association has established goals and programs to expand canola acreage to 2 million acres by 2010. Significant to a portion of this goal is expansion of winter canola acres. Canola in the U. S. is almost exclusively grown as a spring crop.
Expansion of winter canola acres in the Great Plains and mid-South would add to the vegetable oil supply. Brassica Juncea Mustard is the common name for multiple species in the Brassica genus. The species of which most people are aware is yellow mustard, referred to as white mustard in Europe, and is grown primarily for condiment mustard seed. As a result, it does not have as high oil content as the other commonly known Indian mustard referred interchangeably in commerce as brown or oriental mustard. This mustard’s botanical name is Brassica juncea.
Juncea varieties are grown for edible leaves or greens or for condiment mustard, and have been and are increasingly grown as an oilseed crop. The crops commonly called rapeseed and canola in commerce are also in the Brassica genus, and areBrassica napus species. As a result, they are closely related to juncea. Because canola is not a botanical term, but one used to describe compositional qualities, the term is often used with juncea when discussing cultivars that have been developed for the oilseed market. Canadian plant breeders have developed Br. uncea cultivars with canola characteristics. As a result, canola varieties of napusand canola-type juncea have similar compositional characteristics but different crop or agronomic qualities. In theory, oils from both species have the same acid profiles (high in monosaturates and low in saturates) and oil characteristics (lower pour and melting point and better cold flow properties) and similar meal properties (35 to 40% meal protein content with low glucosinolate levels). The key differences between napus and canola-type juncea lie in their agronomic characteristics.
Both are an annual, cool season crop. However, juncea tolerates high temperatures and drought better than napus, and thus is better suited for the warmer, drier climates of the Upper Plains of the U. S. Cultivars of juncea have been or are being developed in the private domain for commercial use, and at least two companies are currently marketing juncea varieties in Canada and the U. S. Pioneer Hi-Bred has released 45J10 to be commercially available in 2008. Viterra Proven Seeds is marketing two Juncea canola varieties – Proven Estlin and Proven Dahinda.
In addition, Pacific Seeds began marketing their first Juncea canola variety in 2007 in Australia in limited quantities. Research is ongoing to create juncea cultivars that are more “canola-like” to increase oil content. Other varieties have been developed by public entities such as Arid and Amulet (developed by the Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Saskatoon Research Center, and Saskatchewan Wheat Pool) and the University of Idaho’s cultivars, Kodiak. “The greatest service which can be rendered any country is to add a useful plant to its agriculture. ” Thomas Jefferson, ca. 1800
The current feedstock supply situation has sent numerous signals to the market to invest in new technologies and methods to increase raw material supplies. Investment in new, non-edible raw materials sources such as algae, jatropha, mustard, brown grease, and seashore mallow continues at an aggressive rate. The list is not short for potential avenues to generate raw materials; however we must remain realistic relative to the amount of time required to fully benefit from these investments. A number of opportunities are highlighted in the following text. Algae Lipid production from algae holds much promise for the biodiesel industry.
Microalgae are microscopic aquatic plants that carry out the same process and mechanism of photosynthesis as higher plants in converting sunlight, water and carbon dioxide into biomass, lipids and oxygen. However, algae production does not require fresh water or arable land used for cultivation of food crops. Large scale production of these algal lipids is still a few years away but many companies and universities are working to unlock the potential of these single-celled plants, which can contain up to 50 percent oil by weight and double their numbers in a single day.
Once realized oil yield per acre is expected to be the highest of any triglyceride source currently available. Yield projections in the medium term are estimated to range from 2,000-5,000 gallons per acre as compared to 61 gallons per acre for soybeans. There are two algae production paths that are being pursued: open ponds or bioreactors. The open pond method involves growing the algae in open ponds of water, much like it grows in nature. Open ponds are generally less capital intensive than the other production methods, but they require a reliable supply of water to replenish that lost from evaporation.
The lack of temperature, weather and algae species control can decrease yields from the theoretical potential. Closed loop or bioreactor systems grow algae in a controlled environment using a wide variety of production processes like plastic bags, tubes or fermentation reactions. Closed loop systems provide the advantage of additional control over seasonal temperature changes, evaporation losses and contamination by undesired algae strains. However, the capital costs of bioreactors tend to be higher than for open pond systems.
Locating algae processing plants intelligently can add to their efficiency. Locating algae facilities next to carbon producing power plants, or manufacturing plants, for instance, the plants could sequester the C02 they create and use those emissions to help grow the algae, which need the C02 for photosynthesis. Very little biodiesel to date has been from algal lipids. Several algae production companies have indicated that the biodiesel has been produced will meet the ASTM D6751 specification. The wide range of algae species will differ in the oils they produce.
Jatropha Jatropha is a small but versatile bush/tree from the Euphorbiaceae family. The tree flowers and produces clusters of about 10-15 fruits with a seed containing high concentrations of oil. Jatropha Curcas L. is gaining a lot of attention as a potential feedstock for biodiesel production due to its high oil content and ability to grow in less than ideal conditions. However, harvesting and logistical challenges have kept the plant from being grown in large scale production in places where there is not an abundance of low cost labor.
Historically, most of the Jatropha has been grown in tropical areas including Africa and Asia, especially India. More recently, it has been grown on most continents around the world. The green shading on the map below indicates the primary areas where Jatropha is grown. These areas are mainly inside the tropics and are not known to have land of good quality. This low maintenance plant has generally proven to be resistant to local pests under common cultivation practices and can produce seeds containing up to 40 percent oil.
While Jatropha is touted as being able to survive in poor soils with very little fertilizer and water, the fruit (and thus oil) yields increase significantly with increased soil fertility and water. For example, adding small amounts of magnesium, sulfur, and calcium have a significant impact on improving yields. Jatropha can survive in areas with annual rainfall of 8-12 inches. In extreme conditions, plants will survive drought by dropping its leaves to reduce transpiration loss. In fact, this resilient plant can survive three full years of drought before it would die.
However, fruit production is very low during these drought years. While Jatropha is most commonly grown in low altitude regions that are relatively warm, it can grow at higher altitudes but can only handle a slight frost. Since Jatropha can grow in arid areas that are not suitable for traditional grain crops, there could be a potential market for growing Jatropha in portions of the United States. Such areas could include much of the dry southern states including Arizona, Texas, and New Mexico, and other arid grounds.
Literature has also suggested that Jatropha could grow very well Florida, California, Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana. In order to be economically viable in these states, Jatropha would need to be grown in a manner that it does not compete with existing crops or alternative competition such as urban sprawl. Seashore Mallow Many land areas are presently not arable because freshwater is lacking, the soils are naturally saline, or the soils are salty as the result of previous agricultural practices. Many of these areas have abundant saline water available either as surface or ground water.
Seashore mallow is a novel salt-tolerant perennial crop, derived from a salt marsh plant. With an oil content of approximately 18% and residual meal that contains 30% protein, this crop can be grown on saline land and produce vegetable oil on underutilized or non-arable land. As reported by researchers at the University of Delaware, seashore mallow has a productive life of about a decade and the oil is very similar in fatty acid composition to the oil from cottonseed. There are few reported insects or diseases that impact the crop, breeding efforts have been almost non-existent.
Due to limited breeding efforts, yields of seashore mallow are low compared to other oilseeds. Researchers envision at least four ways that seashore mallow may fit into agronomic scenarios: * Grown on salinized farmland, * Grown on dry farmland with brackish water wells, * Grown on sandy coastal deserts, or * Grown on farmland or aquatic ecosystems in transition. Peanuts Today, seven states account for approximately 99% of all peanuts grown in the U. S. Georgia grows the major proportion of all peanuts followed by Texas, Alabama, North Carolina, Florida, Virginia, and Oklahoma.
With the 2007 Farm Bill making major changes in many aspects of the agriculture industry, many special incentive programs were cut. Some of those include charging the farmer for storage and handling and assigning crop base to growers and not land owners, causing less acreage for peanut production. Georganic—or similar varieties—may be the future of peanut biodiesel because it can be planted and grown with just one herbicide application for weed control, compared to the three to four applications typically sprayed during a growing season for edible peanuts.
Additionally, these fuel peanuts are grown without fungicides, which are the greatest input cost in traditional peanut production. Currently, there are 24 peanut varieties being scrutinized in this biodiesel screening project, including Georganic, which was developed by ARS breeders in Tifton, Ga. Promising varieties also include DP-1 and Georgia-04S, a new high-oleic-acid, Spanish-type peanut (ars. usda. gov). Production of these peanuts would be limited to the southern regions of the U. S. where growing conditions are more suitable. Chinese Tallow Tree
The Chinese Tallow Tree (T. sebifera) is a plant native to central China. The tree is most favorably grown in warm climates with well-drained soils, with the fruit being harvested in early winter after the leaves have fallen off. It was first introduced into the United States in 1776 by Ben Franklin. Since then it was become an invasive species, growing on canal banks, steep mountains, granite hills, or sandy beaches. The Chinese Tallow Tree is shade, sun, drought, flood, freeze, and salt-tolerant, making it a plant that is very hard to control.
According to studies done on the plant properties of the Chinese Tallow Tree, one seed contains about 20% oil, 24% tallow, 11% extracted meat, 8% fibrous coat and 37% shell. The oil keeps well and probably does not need refining. In plantations, when trees are planted about 400 trees per hectare and if pruned would yield 14 MT seed/ha, containing 2. 6 MT oil. Some reports yield of 4,000 to 10,000 kg/ha, and cite estimates of 25 barrels of oil per year as a sustained energy yield. Since the Chinese Tallow Tree is very hard to control making it seem as if there are no impediments to its growth.
Although it has been an invasive species in many states, California uses the tree as a street and ornamental plant and it does not interfere with the other plant life. Many scientists have speculated that it does not spread as quickly in California because of the lack of rain in their climate. With some tolerance to salt, the tallow trees could be investigated as energy crops for saline situations. Among automotive engineers, industry watchers, politicians and other pundits, there’s consensus that one day we’ll all be driving hydrogen-powered vehicles. The consensus evaporates as soon as somebody asks, “When? Some would answer, “Now,” and point to the fleet of 100 hydrogen-powered fuel-cell Equinox SUV that Chevrolet is putting up for lease, or a smaller California-only lease program now offered by Honda and their all-new FCX Clarity hydrogen/fuel-cellsedan. BMW fans will no doubt say that the Munich-based manufacturer is leading with their fleet of one hundred hydrogen-powered 7-Series sedans that are now being given to celebrities on short-term loans. The truth is that while these cars represent movement in the right direction, they’re not really available to the public.
Typical consumers can’t buy or lease a vehicle that runs on hydrogen and, if we did, where would we fill it up? That’s one of the biggest problems to be overcome by the backers of the hydrogen economy. Estimates of when we’ll have a hydrogen economy with convenient refueling stations are all over the map, but all of them say that we’re decades away. I want to know what I can drive now that will make a difference, as I’ll be long since dead before hydrogen powers anything of consequence on American highways. Ethanol in the US Ethanol is one alternative to conventional gasoline.
Arguments continue to rage as to whether it makes sense as an alternative fuel simply because it takes so much energy to produce gallons of fuel from bushels of corn. However, ethanol does have a greater energy output compared to gasoline (ed. note: as it relates to horsepower), and it does emit approximately 22 percent fewer greenhouse gases when you total the emissions from production and consumption. For these reasons, especially in the corn-rich Midwest, ethanol is the alternative powering a growing national fleet (in the millions) of E85-capable vehicles from Detroit manufacturers and some imports.
Biodiesel Basics But ethanol isn’t the answer for the near future. Right now, industry divining rods are coming together over the next most probable big thing: bio-diesel, a vegetable-based fuel that can power any diesel engine with little or no modification. First things first: forget most everything you know about diesel engines … and the fact that they used to be noisy, clattering, dirty, smelly and black-cloud belching. Today, diesels are as quiet as gasoline engines, smooth running, powerful, and nearly soot-less in terms of exhaust emissions. Simply put, modern diesels are not dirty anymore.
Even that objectionable “eau d’diesel” that makes diesels so unpleasant to tail in traffic is pure history. However, if you recall that diesel engines are efficient, do keep that in mind because today’s modern oil burners are exceptionally fuel-efficient. This efficiency is why over half of all vehicles in western Europe are diesel powered. Now imagine the benefits of being able to run a modern diesel engine on a non-petroleum diesel fuel. Wouldn’t that be fantastic? It would be even better if the fuel were made from something other than what we directly or indirectly eat, like corn.
Rising prices for milk, beef, and tortillas as a result of corn now being used to make ethanol. Currently, biodiesel in the US is made from rapeseed (canola) and soy oils. These oils are plentiful and cheap, and turning them into usable fuel is not too complex provided you understand transesterification and don’t mind working with methanol (a toxic substance). Lucky for us, there are plenty of people who do understand how to safely turn these plant oils into fuel, and US biodiesel production has increased from a mere 500,000 gallons in 2000 to over 75 million gallons in 2006 according to figures published at biodieselnow. om. Additional high-capacity plants are said to be coming on-line so biodiesel will continue to become more available. See bio-diesel stations around the country here. The Biodiesel Boom Because we here at AOL Autos are in the business of watching what’s new within the automotive industry, we see big things happening in the world of diesel, and specifically in terms of bio-diesel. A strong indicator of a trend is the fact that more automotive manufacturers including Mercedes and Volkswagenare offering a wider selection of diesel-powered vehicles. Domestic manufacturers are also in on the movement.
This summer, General Motors announced plans to produce a 4. 5-liter light-duty diesel engine that will be fitted to cars and trucks. Ford additionally announced its plans to extend the availability of diesel power to its popular F-150 pickup. Currently, Ford only offers their 6. 4-liter Power Stroke diesel V8 engine in F-250, F-350, and F-450 Super Duty pickup models. Mercedes and Volkswagen are also importing more diesel-powered vehicles. Beyond these official industry actions, when we walked the halls at November’s SEMA show (Specialty Equipment Market Association) we saw many diesels that touted biodiesel in their tanks.
Several vehicles were particularly interesting, including the enormous F-450 built by Beau Boeckmann of Galpin Auto Sports in California (the group is part of the Galpin auto dealership kingdom in Van Nuys, California). When this truck’s engine isn’t running on pure hydrogen, it runs on bio-diesel. To match the truck’s customized looks, the engine is also modified to make the most of every ounce of bio-diesel, and it claims to produce 500 horsepower when running on the fuel. A stock Ford 6. 4-liter diesel produces 350 horsepower. We interviewed Boeckmann at SEMA where he told us, “I really love the presence of this vehicle.
We didn’t want to do something that was wimpy environmentalism. We wanted to make a serious environmental statement. This truck proves that you don’t have to give up performance to be environmentally friendly. ” Tom Holm of the Eco Trek Foundation also had several bio-diesel-powered trucks at the SEMA show. Holm’s runs Eco Trek, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to producing vehicles that have less negative impact on the earth. You may recognize Holm from his show on cable TV’s Outdoor Life Network called Adventure Highway.
Tom’s story provides an interesting blend of high-horsepower fun and ecology. “Doing ‘Adventure Highway’ gave me the chance to go to some of the most beautiful places on Earth and then do great things when I was there; surf, ski, you name it,” he said. “But then I realized that I was driving to these unspoiled places in monstrous trucks that were getting like six miles to the gallon. ” He knew there had to be a better way. Holm’s search led him to biodiesel, and he has tapped engineers to help him increase the horsepower and fuel economy of his ‘Adventure Highway’ vehicles to truly astounding levels.
The HUMMER H2 shown here is not yet available from the factory with the GM Duramax diesel engine, but Holm’s team made it fit. Then they super tuned it to produce 500 horsepower while attaining 24 mpg, about triple that of the gasoline-powered H2. “We can tune the engine to produce more power, but then the mileage goes down. Plus we also have really good emissions from this engine calibration. I drive this truck all the time and it works great, and I feel good driving it because I’m not burning any petroleum-based fuel. ” The Eco Trek H2 shows that Holm’s dedication to the environment is well rounded.
All of the “bling” visible on his H2 is polished aluminum, not chrome. “Chrome is a really nasty thing, very toxic to produce and bad for the world because it can’t even be recycled,” he said. The shiny bits and pieces on the H2 are all polished aluminum, a material that is much less toxic to produce and is recyclable. Touches inside continue this line of thought and include carpets made from recycled soda bottles, floor mats from recycled rubber, a headliner woven from Canadian hemp, and seats trimmed in imitation leather. “The leather tanning process is super toxic and I wanted this truck to be as responsible as possible,” Holm said.
Holm has made many aspects of his Eco Trek HUMMER available to new truck buyers through special arrangements with General Motors, Ford, and Dodge. Eco Trek up-fitted pickups and SUVs can be ordered by your local dealer and then transformed into a more environmentally friendly vehicle by a large automotive supplier that Holm has partnered with. The company is Southern Comfort out of Birmingham, Ala. The Eco Trek package for the H2 (minus the diesel engine conversion) even shows up on the HUMMER’s regular production option sheet. The Biodiesel Advantage
Aside from the fact that biodiesel is organic and renewable, it holds several other advantages according to many authorities, including biodieselnow. com. First, it is naturally a super lubricant … if you’ve ever cooked without oil you know what happens to whatever is in the pan. It sticks. Adding oil to the pan keeps your food from sticking as it’s cooking. Biodiesel does the same thing in an engine: it lubes everything up so there’s less friction. This is particularly important now because today’s petroleum-based diesel fuels are now ultra-low sulfur, and sulfur acted as an added lubricant within the fuel.
Bio-diesel’s second advantage is that in its many forms, the fuel does not require any engine modifications. If you have a newer diesel-power vehicle, it can likely burn the bio-fuel without any issues. Third, biodiesel actually helps clean the internals of a diesel engine, another quality that helps improve fuel efficiency. When compared to ethanol and petrol-based diesel, biodiesel produces more power from each gallon of fuel, helping engines produce more horsepower and torque. Lastly, and importantly, this fuel is much less toxic to the environment.
Spill it, and it’s biodegradable. Burn it and many forms of diesel exhaust emissions — including soot and CO2 — drop by as much as 68% depending on the blend according to the EPA. For those concerned about global warming and man-made CO2 emissions, this may be one of the fuel’s most important attributes. Only nitrous oxides increase when the two fuels are compared. Buying Biodiesel Hundreds of small-volume producers are “brewing” biodiesel all over the country. Nearly all of it is used to blend with conventional petrol-based diesel.
Currently, there are industry standards for these blends, and they include fuels with names like B5, B10, and B20. The “B” stands for Bio, as in bio-diesel. The numerals (5, 10, 20, etc. ) stand for the percentage of biodiesel per gallon. So, a gallon of B5 is 5% biodiesel and 95% petrol-based diesel. Biodiesel may be made from many different sources, including common kitchen waste grease or fat proteins produced by algae. This source flexibility is great to have, as most of us realize that the single source of petrol-diesel (ancient plant matter and dinosaurs) won’t last forever.
There are industry standards for all grades of biodiesel up to B100, however there are some issues with the fuel that prevent auto manufacturers form approving the use of bio blends above a B20. Problems with Biodiesel While additives can help, most readers will go, “Ah Ha” when the fuel’s primary roadblock is pointed out. When biodiesel gets cold … just like the bottle of vegetable oil in your refrigerator … it turns gel-like. It won’t flow. A fuel that won’t flow below 32 doesn’t do a driver in Duluth any good in December.
The fuel also has issues at high temperatures, when it tends to oxidize, a process that releases acids into the fuel and forming deposits that can clog the fuel system. Additionally, because the fuel is actually derived from a food, microbes can grow in it. Compared to petrol-based diesel, the bio-fuel absorbs water more easily, and water isn’t good for engines or combustion. The Future of Biodiesel is Growing In addition to coming from canola or soy, biodiesel could one day be made from other natural sources such as switchgrass or algae.
Until then, we can drive cleaner and without compromise using existing biodiesel fuels. Great progress is being made to overcome B100’s negative qualities, and all grades of biodiesel are becoming more widely available. With more manufacturers building more diesel-burning engines, all signs are pointing toward something good. Biodiesel in India: Editor’s Note: Biofuel crops are usually grown either to make bio-diesel, a fuel for high-compression diesel engines, that is refined from the vegetable fats in a crop, or ethanol, a fuel for engines with spark-plugs, which is distilled from a crop that is fermented.
Crops that can be distilled into bio-ethanol generally require very specific conditions to grow sustainably – the vast and rain-drenched lowlands of Brazil for sugar cane, or the endless praires of North America for corn and soybeans. As such, bio-ethanol is a high-yield, high-maintenance biofuel, and nonetheless, in many regions of the world growing ethanol is already economically viable. But bio-diesel crops grow in far more places, with far less maintenance required.
Therefore the bio-diesel crops are the quiet revolution, having the potential to be economically viable without huge capital investments, or perfectly suited land. grab this widget | start a petition | by Care2 If a country has ample reserves of marginal land, or arid land, or land endangered by desertification, wouldn’t a biofuel crop make sense? On the arid fringes of lands where there are farms or orchard or woodland, wouldn’t a biofuel crop make sense?
Satish Lele, the author of the e-book “BioDiesel & Jatropha Plantations” works to enable communities in rural India to develop alternative energy options that will be good for the environment and help promote sustainable livelihoods in the region, hopefully without exposing them to adverse effects of modernization, and allowing them to retain independence in the face of globalization. Mr. Lele, along with his associates, provides fully integrated nursery, plantation, growing, farming, processing and marketing expertise for the biofuel Jatropha.
Their nursery is spread over 30 acres of land at Saswad, 22 km from Pune, (200 km from Mumbai) in Maharashtra, India. According to their website, which is one of the most comprehensive jatropha websites we’ve ever found, particularly for India, they have 400,000 to 500,000 seedlings ready at any time and the cultivation goes on round the year, with a staff of around 200 trained persons, and they can create jatropha plantations on turn-key basis. They have the capacity to produce 20,000,000 saplings per year, and can supply truck loads of saplings in the lots of 50,000, 100,000 or 250,000.
They can also supply tested quality seeds for raising seedlings in a nursery in 1 Kilogram packets. (3 kilograms of sorted quality seeds are required for plantation in 1 Hector or 2. 5 acres of land). We highly recommend you visit Mr. Lele’s website, which includes information on the economics of growing jatropha, technical information on how to grow jatropha, and other information that goes well beyond what we can include in this article, which focuses on business interests in India who are now investing in jatropha.
It is amazing how many companies have gotten involved and how quickly a global biofuel economy is developing. To exchange information about Jatropha and any biofuel readers are invited to blog to www. ecoworld. net/forum/jatropha/. Undoubtedly more people learning about these exciting crops will do much to alleviate fuel shortages and spread prosperity throughout the world. – Ed “Redwood” Ring | Jatropha seeds – seeds of prosperity? | Economic development in India has led to huge increases in energy demand, which in-turn has encouraged development of the Jatropha Cultivation and
Biodiesel Production Systems Communities in rural India need to develop alternative energy options that will be good for the environment and help promote sustainable livelihoods in the region, without exposing them to such adverse effects of modernization as cultural transformations, and allowing them to retain independence in the face of globalization. The establishment of the Jatropha cultivation and local, community-based production of environmentally friendly biodiesel fuel can lead to income improvement in these regions.
Establishment and ongoing improvement of a Jatropha System will benefit four main aspects of development and secure a sustainable way of life for village farmers and the land that supports them. THE FOUR MAIN BENEFITS OF JATROPHA CULTIVATION: (1) Renewable Energy (2) Erosion Control and Soil Improvement (3) Promotion of Women employment (4) Poverty Reduction. WHY AND HOW TO BUILD A BIODIESEL INDUSTRY: Jatropha cultivation and biodiesel production should be a low-risk venture with attractive returns.
Private investors can help in funding Jatropha cultivation and biodiesel production development. Jatropha refining is a challenge that will build the technical capacities of rural entrepreneurs. There are new work opportunities in Jatropha cultivation and biodiesel production related sectors, and the industry can be grown in a manner that favors many prosperous independent farmers and farming communities. A compendium of the latest biodiesel developments through 2005 in India: | Jatropha seedlings|
Price Policy for BioDiesel: Public sector oil firms have announced a price of Indian Rupees 25 (US$ 0. 56) per liter for procuring bio-diesel extracted from non-edible oilseeds for mixing in diesel. The program to sell diesel mixed with non-edible oil extracted from Jatropha Curcas and Pongamia Pinnata, which could cut India’s import dependence, but would take 4-5 years to launch on commercial scale. It will take time for adequate quantities of Jatropha Curcas and Pongamia Pinnata to be planted and oil extracted for mixing in diesel. Bio-Diesel Credit Bank: The Petroleum Conservation
Research Association (PCRA), launched a Bio-Diesel Credit Bank. It will co-ordinate activities relating to Carbon Credits. Several Field trials have been performed. Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) placed an order of 450 kiloliters of bio-diesel in 2004, for field trials with the Indian Railways and State Roadways. IOC will be able to supplement 5% of diesel with bio-diesel in three years. The first phase of the project, by Daimler-Chrysler India, in 2003-04 saw production of the indigenous biodiesel and completion of road trials on two C-Class Mercedes-Benz cars.
The cars, powered by pure (neat) Biodiesel, traversed the rugged terrain of the country in April-May, 2004, and clocked over 5,900 kilo meters under very hot and humid conditions. The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) is now in talks with country’s biggest truck and bus maker Tata Motors and Indian Oil to take its biofuel project to the next stage, for testing its vehicles on bio-diesel developed from jatropha plant. | Jatropha flowers|
It is likely there will be a clear-cut and updated Indian government bio-diesel policy by early 2006, after the Energy Policy Committee submits its report to the government by November 30, 2005. An in-principle approval is expected to be given by that time, which will be worked into a formal bio-fuel policy later. The report from the committee is expected to make specific proposals which will then be forwarded to the Energy Co-ordination Committee for final acceptance by the government. The Indian government is likely to change the excise duty structure for biofuels in the next Budget to make their use attractive.
Petroleum ministry officials said the excise duty on biodiesel and ethanol is likely to be made nil and states would be asked to have a favorable sales tax regime. The Indian government plans to assist states to promote Jatropha cultivation for increasing bio-diesel production in the country under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, the Rajya Sabha was informed on 7 Dec 2005. The Andhra Pradesh government has introduced a draft biodiesel policy to facilitate both investors and farmers to plant oil-bearing trees on 1. 5 million acres in the next four years.
Also, a risk fund of Indian Rupees 2. 0 Billion is expected to be created, as a loan to the state government, to support small and marginal farmers having up to five acres of land. There is also a proposal for constituting a biodiesel board, which would be an autonomous board for integrated development of jatropha cultivation and bio-diesel oil in the state. The proposed board, having legal authority, will monitor the tripartite agreement signed between the stake holders, besides assisting, encouraging, and promoting jatropha cultivation, according to the officials involved in preparing the draft policy.
Following the constitution of policy, the government is determined to promote contract farming for buyback of jatropha seeds. The minimum buy-back price will be fixed considering the different variables including the quality and quantity of the produce. A special department called the Rain Shadow Area Department has been created as a special purpose vehicle for planning, coordinating, monitoring and implementation of the biodiesel program. Two small units are already in commercial production. | Jatropha fruits| Aatmiya Biofuels Pvt Ltd, 68,G. I. D. C.
Por Ramangamdi Taluka & District Vadodara, Gujarat- 391243, Phone No : 0265 2885009, Mobile No : 09879359010, has commercialized the production of biodiesel in Gujarat on 8th March 2005 and now producing 1000 liters/day. The company is promoted by Mr. Umakant Joshi, umakantjoshi@hotmail. com a Chemical Engineer who graduated with an M. S. from the University of Vadodara, then was a post-graduate in Chemical Engineering at Delaware University (USA), specializing in Bioenergy. Gujarat Oelo Chem Limited (GOCL), a Panoli-based firm started on 12th of March 2005, producing bio-diesel from vegetable based feedstock.
It released the first commercial consignment of bio-diesel to Indian Oil Corporation (IOC). Head Office : Gujarat Oleo Chem. Ltd. , D-315, Crystal Plaza, Oshiwara Link Road, Andheri(W), Mumbai- 400053, Tel : 91-22-2673 3369 / 70 / 71, Fax: 91-22-2634 9195. E-mail: gocl@bom5. vsnl. net. in, Website: www. gujaratoleochem. com. Regd. Off & Works: Plot No. 631-639, GIDC, Panoli, 394 116, Tel : 91-2646-271 730 / 731 / 647, Fax : 91-2646-272195. A number of companies are planning to set up new units. Kochi Refineries Ltd. KRL) is setting up a pilot plant with a US firm to extract biodiesel from rubber seed oil. An R&D exercise, the company proposed to look at the feasibility of the project and would initially have a pilot plant set up with a daily capacity of 100 liters. The company has initiated studies into the availability of rubber seed oil from neighboring Tamil Nadu, especially from the Nagercoil belt. Another Kochi-based company, TeamSustain Ltd. , a division of US-based Dewcon Instruments Inc, is in talks with a US firm for setting up a biodiesel plant in Kochi. Some of India’s ideal growing regions for jatropha| Pune-based Shirke Biohealthcare Pvt. Ltd. , 11, Navrang Plaza, Tingre Nagar, Vishrantwadi, Airport Road, Pune, India, 411 015. Tel: 91-20-5623 3110, Cell : 91-9422010236, Fax : 91-20-2581 3993, jet_india@rediffmail. com, is setting up a refinery at Hinjewadi, with a capacity to process 5,000 liters biodiesel per day from Jatropha plant. The refinery will also produce 1 MW power with the oil cake, apart from natural gas which will be used to run the power plant.
Renewable energy company Bhoruka Power Corporation Ltd, has received a grant of 100,000 dollars from the US government to conduct a detailed feasibility report for a bio-diesel project in State of Karnataka. The study envisages use of Neem or Pongamia non-edible oilseeds for production of bio-diesel as well as power. Southern Online Biotechnologies Limited, which is setting up a bio-diesel project in Andhra Pradesh, has signed memorandum of understanding with several government bodies and non-governmental organisations, for procuring raw material like Pongamia Pinnata (Karanja or Kanuga) and Jatropha seed.
The oil extracted from this seed is used to produce bio-diesel. The company is setting up the bio-diesel project at an estimated cost of Indian Rupees 150 million at Choutuppal in Andhra Pradesh, with technology from a German company named Lurgi. The plant capacity is 30 tons per day or 90,000 tons per annum. It would require around 100 tons of seeds per day. The annual requirement of seeds is around 32,000 tons. As the current availability of seeds in the state is less than 4,000 tons, company will use other raw materials like acid oils, distilled fatty acids, animal fatty acids and non-edible vegetable oils like neem, rice bran, etc.
Jain Irrigation System Ltd. , has plans to set up a Indian Rupees 480 million large-scale commercial bio-diesel plant, with a capacity of 150,000 tons per day in Chattisgarh by 2008. R&D work is being done at a 3. 0 tons per day biodiesel pilot plant at Jalgaon, built at a cost of Indian Rupees 5. 0 million. This will be followed by another biodiesel plant with a capacity of 10 tons per day at Jalgaon. The current concern in the biodiesel industry is finding adequate farmland to make sure the industry receives a regular supply of feedstock. Nova Bio Fuels Pvt. Ltd. is setting up a Indian Rupees 200 million, biodiesel plant with a capacity of 30 tons per day in Panipat in 2006. Their plant would also supply glycerine to local pharma companies. Natural Bioenergy Limited is setting up an integrated biodiesel facility in Andhra Pradesh. The 300 tons per day biodiesel plant will come up in the port town of Kakinada at an estimated cost of Indian Rupees 1. 4 billion and would be a 100 percent export-oriented unit. An modern biodiesel plant (cost: Indian Rupees 9. 0 million) is coming up in Ganapathipalayam village, about 20 km away from Pollachi.
KTK German Bio Energies India, commenced commercial production of biofuel in January 2006. The plant will use rubber seeds for extraction of biodiesel. Biodiesel extracted from Pomgamia pinatta (Karanja) seeds was commercially launched in Pune in January 2006. The fuel has been produced and marketed by Pune-based Mint Biofuels, Though the plant initially had a capacity of 100 litres per day, it was scaled up to 400 litres per day. The company will set up a Indian Rupees 300 million plant at Chiplun, which will have a capacity of producing 5,000 tons of fuel per year.
Plans are afoot to increase the capacity of the plant to 100,000 tons within a period of four years. Mint Biofuels is using karanja (Pongamia pinnata) as the feedstock based on its high yield per acre. They have found karanja starts yielding from the 4th or 5th year after plantation and yields more than 10 kg per tree from the 10th year onwards. The Wealth of India report on this plant says that the yield varies between 9-90 kg per tree, but trees giving more than 90 kg are found in natural habitat. Mint Biofuels are using rigorous selection procedures for selecting planting material.
Since karanja is a tree growing to a height of 20-25 feet (even if it is unattended) it requires minimal aftercare and irrigation after it has established. Vijayawada based Sagar Jatropha Oil Extractions Private Limited is setting up an Indian Rupees 100 million jatropha oil extraction unit at Gannavaram. The company has also experienced success with contract farming of the jatropha plant in the state. Jatropha oil is mixed with diesel to produce biodiesel. British Petroleum on Feb. 2, 2006, declared that it will fund a $9. 4 million project in India to see if biodiesel can be produced from a non-edible oil bearing crop.
The project by The Energy and Resources Institute in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh will study the feasibility of producing biodiesel from the crop Jatropha Curcas. The 10-year project will cultivate around 8,000 hectares of wasteland with the crop and install equipment needed for seed crushing, oil extraction and processing, to produce 9 million liters of biodiesel per year. The project will also include an environmental and social impact assessment. TERI will run the project’s daily operations. Alcohol: There is hope for petrol users dreading the prospect of paying more.
With the government’s decision to go ahead with the ethanol blended petrol, the cost of petrol may actually go down in the coming months, even if the government decides, as looks likely, to hike petrol prices. Last year, India’s central government directed 10 states and a few Union territories to go green by blending ethanol (the fuel mix being 95% petrol, 5% ethanol) with petrol. With the central government having finalised tenders for procuring ethanol, north Indian states will get the green fuel faster than others. At 5% cars do not require any design changes.
Rising crude prices: The rising crude oil prices will lead to higher usage of vegetable oils and fats as alternative fuel. Demand for bio-fuels will invariably increase, it is expected that the demand for bio-fuel from vegetable oils and fats will shoot up to 3 million tons a day. | Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam President of India| PRESIDENT PLANTS JATROPHA SAPLING IN RASHTRAPATI BHAVAN The President of India, Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam has planted Jatropha saplings in Rashtrapati Bhavan. To begin with 800 plants are being planted for educational purposes to promote the use of herbal plants for extracting oil from which biodiesel can be produced.
This is being done in collaboration with G. B. Pant Agricultural University, Pantnagar and National Botanical Research Institute, Lucknow. A demonstration of Agricultural implements being operated by biodiesel was also made before the President. President of India Dr. A P J Abdul Kalam always emphasizes the potential of plantations of Jatropha Curcas. Every State Government is taking steps to promote Jatropha Curcas and Pomgamia Pinatta. Chhattisgarh: The government has planted 80 million saplings of jatropha in 2005, a source of biofuel, as the tate attempts to tap non-conventional energy sources. It has set a target of cultivating jatropha plantations in one million hectares in 2006, covering 20,000 hectares in the first phase. The government would work with NGOs for starting 350 jatropha nurseries, each spread over a maximum of 500 hectares, in 2005. The state of Andhra Pradesh has taken the lead in encouraging Jatropha Plantations. The state government has set up a separate department for bringing into productive use the 728,000 hectare cultivable wasteland available for cultivation of Jatropha plantation for production of bio-diesel.
The state government is drawing up a roadmap, which will see the involvement of oil majors like Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) and Reliance Industries, to make the state the biggest producer of bio-diesel. It is planning to bring between 4 and 5 million acres of land in seven to eight districts of the state under biodiesel plantations and ensure that micro-irrigation is used in a big way in these areas. This will change the ecology of the area. In Tamil Nadu underutilised lands could turn into fertile farms and farmers can be assured of a price for their produce.
There is a project to produce 100 per cent biodiesel from jatropha. D1-Mohan Bio Oils Limited (a joint venture of Mohan Breweries and Distilleries and U. K. based D1 Oils Plc) plans to bring one lakh hectares under jatropha cultivation in Tamil Nadu. Indian Overseas Bank signed an agreement with Coimbatore based Classic Jatropha Oil (India) Ltd for promoting cultivation of jatropha curcas in Tamil Nadu under contract farming. Classic Jatropha Oil, a subsidiary of Tirupur based major knitwear exporters, has been involved in developing the Jatropha cultivation for a long time.
India’s vehicular pollution is estimated to have increased eight times over the last two decades. This source alone is estimated to contribute about 70 per cent to the total air pollution. With 243. 3 million tons of carbon released from the consumption and combustion of fossil fuels in 1999, India ranked fifth in the world behind the U. S. , China, Russia and Japan. India’s contribution to world carbon emissions is expected to increase in the coming years due to the rapid pace of urbanisation, shift from non-commercial to commercial fuels, increased vehicular usage and continued use of older and more inefficient coal-fired power plants. The same jatropha plantation only 14 months later Tree Oils of India Ltd. | D1 Oil Plc. : A UK producer of green fuel, Newcastle-based D1 Oil Plc, has 10,000 hectares of the crop planted in India and its target of 267,000 hectares by the end of 2006 is on track. Labland Biotech have tied up with British oil company D1 Oils to produce jatropha and trade in it. The company will encourage hundreds of farmers to cultivate the crop under an arrangement with the company. A jatropha seed contains 31 to 37 per cent extractable oil.
A jatropha plantation over 100,000 hectares is expected to yield 250,000-300,000 tons of crude jatropha oil per annum. It is estimated that an initial 100,000-hectare jatropha farm will yield revenues of $100 million per annum. Reliance is also in talks with Maharashtra, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan Governments, to get access to land for contract farming. Godrej Agrovet Ltd is planning to invest over Indian Rupees 5. 0 billion, for jatropha and palm oil cultivation in the states of Gujarat and Mizoram. The company would cultivate jatropha or palm oil according to the nature of the waste land in these states.
According to industry sources, Godrej Agrovet would invest Indian Rupees 2. 5 billion for bio-fuel plant cultivation along with the palm oil processing and plant cultivation project in Gujarat while it would invest Indian Rupees 2. 5 billion for both jatropha and palm oil cultivation in Mizoram. Godrej would be cultivating both jatropha and palm oil in an area over 10,000 acres in Mizoram as per the fertility of the land. The company is also in the process of setting up mills in Walia (Gujarat) at an estimated cost of $ 10 million.
Emami Ltd, one of the leading toiletries outfit in the country, is planning to enter into the farming of jatropha, a source of biodiesel. The company might float a joint venture outfit with a leading European company in the field of bio-diesel for the new business. Emami group is now talking to some companies in United States, UK and Austria for technical collaboration for the extraction of oil from jatropha. The project will be first of its kind in the Eastern India. The company will start farming of jatropha in Suri in West Bengal and Balasore in Orissa.
Biodiesel will have a pronounced impact on edible oil prices : Prices of both palm and soy oils will firm up in the coming months, with demand for biodiesel alone grabbing at least six million tons of oils despite the slower growth of the economy. Crude Palm Oil futures have gone up from 1,300-1,500 ringgit to a new higher range of 1,400 to 1,600. As the period October to February advances, prices will creep towards the upper end of this range. Crude de-gummed soy oil would be in the range of $460-500 per ton free on board, while RBD palm olein will be in the $400-450 band and crude palm oil will be between $370-420 free on board.
Malaysia and Indonesia are the world’s largest producers and exporters of palm oil, while Brazil and Argentina are among the top soy oil producers. From mid-2006, the use of soy oil for biodiesel will have a pronounced impact on prices, and the total biodiesel capacity coming on stream by the end of 2006/07 will require 1. 6 million tons of soya oil. Edible oil imports by India, the world’s leading buyer, in 2005/06 could remain flat at around 5. 65 million tons, but imports of soy oil will go up at the expense of palm oil.
