Bio-diesel — fuel of the future
|
DaimlerChrysler that has been developing concepts for future automobiles is now working on alternative fuels such as the fuel cell and the bio-diesel fuel.
|
THE NAME `Jatropha' may be funny to co-relate with automobiles now, but in times to come it is going to be on the lips of our children and probably the first name on our grand children's vocabulary. Jatropha plant has been researched over the last five years at the Hohenheim University in Germany and could be `the fuel of the future.'
India is home to a billion people, about a sixth of the world's population. The demand for mobility and automobiles in India has also been growing along with the economic progress. Passenger vehicle sales in India crossed the million mark last year and this has been spread over different classes of vehicles. The country faces problems in regard to the fuel requirement for increased transportation demand and now imports about 70 per cent of its petroleum requirement. Widely fluctuating world prices of oil have long been a destabilising element for the country's balance of payments. The petroleum import bill is now about $13 billion forming about 30 per cent of the national import bill and is expected to reach $15.7 billion by 2006-07. The current yearly consumption of diesel is about 40 million tonnes forming 40 per cent of the total petroleum product consumption. This is expected to reach 52.32 million tonnes by 2006-07 growing at about 5.6 per cent annually. 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 tonnes 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.
India also faces the problem of poverty and under-development. About 70 per cent of the population continues to earn its livelihood from agriculture. Improper land use and population pressure over several years has resulted in extensive degradation of agricultural land. Of the estimated 130 million hectares of wasteland in India about 33 million hectares are available for reclamation through tree plantation, according to Planning Commission figures. The answer to the above requirement is to search for an alternative to the natural resources of fossil fuel that could be produced by mankind and that too on waste lands or lands that cannot be cultivated.
DaimlerChrysler's
Indian project
Leading auto manufacturer DaimlerChrysler that has been developing concepts for future automobiles is now working on alternative fuels such as the fuel cell and the bio-diesel fuel. With the methanol-powered NECAR fuel cell vehicles, bio-methanol can also be blended with conventional gasoline to run conventional internal combustion engines to a certain extent without engine modifications.
The same holds true for the biodiesel from the Jatropha biomass. In the course of the project, it will establish two small plantations on eroded land in two climatic regions of India (sub-humid in Orissa and semi-arid in Gujarat). These Jatropha curcas oilseed tree plantations are expected to recover eroded soils and render them usable for agricultural purposes again, as well as to produce biooil that can be used for bio-diesel production.
The Hohenheim University — Institute for Animal Production in the Tropics and Subtropics, Germany — has extensive experience with Jatropha plantations in other parts of the world. The third partner is the Central Salt and Marine Chemicals Research Institute (CSMCRI), a Government owned industrial research institute in India with a mandate to reclaim wasteland in India. Jatropha curcas is an indigenous oilseed tree capable of thriving on wasteland.
Development of wasteland and production and use of bio-diesel are high-priority areas for the government and hence continuation of the activity after the project period is ensured. The Indian project partner, the CSMCRI, is one of the agencies given the mandate to reclaim wasteland through fuel plantations. The proposed project ideally fits into this context and could constitute a model for large-scale recovery of wasteland along with local development. The `Test-Phase' of the bio-diesel project in India involves running an unmodified C-Class Mercedes-Benz on bio-diesel for over 5,000 km.
This will also demonstrate the viability of bio diesel as a suitable alternative to conventional fuels, especially in the Indian context.
Through this trial run, DaimlerChrysler will conduct further tests for emission properties, power and drive systems compatibility. The test car powered by bio-diesel travelled from Pune, through Bangalore, Kochi, Coimbatore, Chennai and other key southern cities. It then came back to Pune and subsequently set out for the concluding phase of the test run. In this second phase, the first stop for the team was Mumbai, followed by Ahmedabad and Jaipur, and finally at Delhi. The route had been designed in such a manner that it offered a wide range of driving conditions. The road test is expected to offer valuable findings with respect to the characteristics of bio-diesel under demanding terrains and weather conditions.
Orissa and Gujarat are two States with contrasting climatic and socio-economic characteristics. Orissa is one of the backward States. In spite of its problems, it has been able to attract considerable industrial investment because of its rich mineral resources. High industrial activity has resulted in higher environmental pollution in the State. Orissa has about seven million hectares of wasteland under sub-humid climatic conditions. Gujarat, on the other hand, is among the most industrialised States, and attracts domestic and multinational investment into various sectors, mainly because of its favourable policy environment and a traditionally industrious population. The State has a literacy rate of about 70 per cent (62 per cent in rural areas). In spite of high industrialisation, about 72 per cent of the total population in rural areas continues to be engaged in agricultural activities.
The State has about ten million hectares of semi-arid wasteland and high industrial pollution. Jatropha species occur wildly in many parts of India and oil extracted from its seeds has been found suitable for conversion into bio-diesel. Jatropha can grow on poor degraded soils and is able to ensure reasonable production of seeds with very little input. It is not grazed by animals and is highly pest and disease resistant. The time taken for nut yield is between two and five years, based on soil and rainfall conditions. Yields vary from 0.5 to 12 tonnes annually, based on soil and rainfall conditions (Makkar and Becker, 1999). The seed kernels contain about 60 per cent oil that can be converted into bio-diesel by transesterification. Jatropha plantations yield over long periods of over 30 years.
Watch out for the fuel of the future.
Tutu Dhawan
Printer friendly
page
Send this article to Friends by
E-Mail
Business
