jatropha vegetable oil, biodiesel scenario In India

As India is deficient in edible oils, non-edible oil is the main choice for producing biodiesel. According to Indian government policy and Indian technology effects. Some development works have been carried out with regards to the production of transesterfied non edible oil and its use in biodiesel by units such as Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, Tamilnadu Agriculture University Coimbatore and Kumaraguru College of Technology in association with Pan horti consultants. Coimbatore. Generally a Blend of 5% to 20% is used in India (B5 to B20). Indian Oil Corporation has taken up Research and development work to establish the parameters of the production of tranesterified Jatropha Vegetable oil and use of bio diesel in its R&D center at Faridabad. Research is carried out in Kumaraguru College of Technology for marginally altering the engine parameters to suit the Indian Jatropha seeds and to minimize the cost of transesterification.

Bio Diesel Experiments

Initially 5% of the bio diesel was blended with High-speed diesel and later increased to 20%. The railway and Indian oil corporation has successfully used 10% blended biodiesel fuel in train running between Amritsar and New Delhi in the month of Feb 2003. At Kumaraguru College of Technology an auto rickshaw was run on pure biodiesel (B100) prepared from Jatropha oil.

Conclusion

As a substitute for fast depleting fossil fuel. Bio diesel had come to stay. In future, it should also serve to reduce and maintain the price of automobile fuel. The under exploited and un exploited vegetable oils are good sources of biofuel. Our country is endowed with many such plants. Research is being carried out now to convert vegetable oils into biodiesel through biotechnological processes using biodiesel. With a concentrated and coordinated effort. Wide use of bio diesel in our country is going to be a reality in the days to come.

A national mission on Bio-Diesel has already been proposed by the committee comprising six micro missions covering all aspects of plantation, procurement of seed, extraction of oil, trans-esterification, blending & trade, and research and development. Diesel forms nearly 40% of the energy consumed in the form of hydrocarbon fuels, and its demand is estimated at 40 million tons.

Therefore blending becomes the important National Issue which apart from giving the dividends , it saves the country's exchequer. India has vast stretches of degraded land, mostly in areas with adverse agro- climatic conditions, where species of Jatropha , Mahua etc can be grown easily.

Even 30 million hectares planted for bio- diesel can completely replace the current use of biofuels. The production of Bio fuels will also boost the rural economy which will bring more enthusiasm in more than one billion lives in the area