(The Hindu) FUELLING CLEANER MACHINES: Nursery of Jatropha which is used to extract Biodiesel. Photo: M. Srinath
The Department of Science and Technology, Government of India, has sanctioned Rs. 13.33 lakh to the Department of Botany, PSGR Krishnammal College for Women here, to undertake research on biodiesel production in a cost-effective method from karanja oil and jatropha oil using microbial enzyme as catalyst.
According to press note from N. Yesodha Devi, principal of the college, conversion of animal fat or vegetable oil into biodiesel by chemical process requires higher temperature and the processing of raw materials which contain impurities.
Besides, chemical processing is costly and complicated. Therefore, enzymatic methods are preferred.
The current project, with R.S. Meerabai, Associate Professor of the Department of Botany of the college as the Principal Investigator, proposes to identify lipase producing microbes, optimize the process parameters for high lipase production and application of such lipases for transesterification of jatropha and karanja oil for biodiesel production.
This appears to be a superior method of producing biodiesel using microbial enzyme as catalyst, also sounds safer because of lower temperatures, any of our scientists wish to comment on the fact that a women’s college is showing us how to do it right? What can we learn from India? Support biodiesel as a nation and you will cut back the waste of paying for foreign oil.
Just in case you thought it was safe to stop thinking about biofuels, here comes another study. This time into ethical aspect of using the fuel. Can a new generation of biofuels ensure we don’t increase greenhouse gas emissions and take food from the poor to fuel our cars? The UK Nuffield Council on Bioethics (NCB) launched a consultation calling for anyone and everyone’s views on biofuels – right from ethanol to futuristic synthetic hydrocarbons created from algae.
Any better than fossil fuels? The story of biofuels is well-told among environmentalists. Hailed as a sustainable way to produce liquid fuels for transport, their promise quickly began to fade as the inadvertent effects of growing crops began to spoil claims made by manufacturers. First generation biofuels are made from food crops including sugarcane, soy or wheat. In some cases, however, the net greenhouse gas emissions from these (once transportation and processing were taken into account) were no significant improvement than burning the fossil fuels they replaced.
This is the other side of the coin, what some people do not like about crop-generated biofuel. But biodiesel from waste grease doesn’t seem to upset anyone, in fact, it is the perfect example of responsible recycling.
Photo from: http://www.ibtimes.co.in/articles/20090530/indian-oil-corp-net-profit-falls-58percent-warns-oil-prices-may-rise-govt-curbs-relaxed.htm
A gas station operated by Indian Oil Corporation is seen in New Delhi. India's largest oil refiner and marketing company Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) has reported a 58 percent decline in net profit for the year ended March 31, 2009. (IBTimes India Photo)
New government policy on biofuels may consider financial incentives.
Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), the country’s biggest oil marketing company, is looking to acquire 50,000 hectares of wasteland in Uttar Pradesh for plantation of non-edible oilseeds, such as jatropha and karanjia, that are used for biodiesel production.
“We are in talks with the state government to acquire wasteland in the Lalitpur area near Jhansi. Plantation on this land will be done partly by IOC and partly through contract farming,” said B M Bansal, director (business development) at IOC.
The company has already acquired 30,000 hectares in Chhattisgarh and another 2,000 hectares in Madhya Pradesh. “We have planted 1,000 hectares so far and aim to plant 10,000 hectares this year. Seeds from the plantations will start coming after three to four years,” he added. IOC has also entered into an MoU with Indian Railways for plantation of jatropha on railway land.
The Union Cabinet last month approved a national policy on biofuels that aims to implement 20 per cent blending of biodiesel with diesel and ethanol with petrol (the current rule is 5 per cent) by 2017. The new policy may consider financial incentives such as subsidies and grants for biofuel production. The policy also envisages setting up of a National Biofuel Fund and a National Biofuel Coordination Committee headed by the prime minister.
In India, biodiesel is just another type of oil, it looks like the gas stations will be growing their own, to some extent. I can hardly imagine what 50K acres could grow, but we will soon find out.
Eleven states plan to adopt California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS), according to California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, reports China View. The announcement was made nearly a year to date after the 11 states revealed plans to develop a regional “Low Carbon Fuel Standard” to reduce the carbon content in fuels used in vehicles and buildings.
The states of Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Vermont have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to work toward adopting a regional Low Carbon Fuel Standard modeled after California’s standard, reports China View.
The memorandum of understanding indicates that the states pledge to develop a Low Carbon Fuel Standard that would reduce greenhouse gas emissions from transportation fuels, and possibly heating fuels, reports the Providence Business News. It also sets a date for a proposed program framework to be completed by early 2011, according to the article.
California cars are all tricked out with the maximum in air quality devices, so it looks like fast cars are going to be hard to find. My next car is going to be a diesel for sure, because I want to try some B100 biodiesel. I want to smell the french fries.