7.0 Prospective feedstock in India

Oil can be extracted from a variety of plants and oilseeds. Under Indian condition only such plant sources can be considered for biodiesel production which are not edible oil in appreciable quantity and which can be grown on large-scale on wastelands. Moreover, some plants and seeds in India have tremendous medicinal value, considering these plants for biodiesel production may not be a viable and wise option. Considering all the above options, probable biodiesel yielding trees in India are:

• Jatropha curcas or Ratanjot
• Pongamia pinnata or Karanj
• Calophyllum inophyllum or Nagchampa
• Hevea brasiliensis or Rubber seeds
• Calotropis gigantia or Ark
• Euphorbia tirucalli or Sher; and
• Boswellia ovalifololata.

Of all the above prospective plant candidates as biodiesel yielding sources, Jatropha curcas stands at the top and sufficient information on this plant is already available. One hectare Jatropha plantation with 4400 plants per hectare under rain fed conditions can yield about 1500 literes of oil. It is estimated that about 3 million hectares plantation is required to produce oil for 10% replacement of petrodiesel. The residue oil cake after extraction of oil from Jatropha can be used as organic fertilizers. It is also estimated that one acre of Jatropha plantation could produce oil sufficient to meet the energy requirement of a family of 5 members and the oil cake left out when used as fertilizer could cater to one acre. The fact that Jatropha can be grown in any wastelands with less irrigation gives it a distinct advantage for consideration as the prime biodiesel feedstock in Indian conditions.

India has great potential for production of bio-fuels like bio-ethanol and biodiesel from non-edible oil seeds. From about 100 varieties of oil seeds, only 10-12 varieties have been tapped so far. The annual estimated potential is about 20 million tones per annum. Wild crops cultivated in the westland also form a source of biodiesel production in India and according to the Economic Survey of Government of India, out of the cultivated land area, about 175 million hectares are classified as waste and degraded land. Thus, given a demand-based market, India can easily tap its potential and produce biodiesel in a large scale. Table-11 depicts the annual production of non-edible oil seeds in India. Production trends of vegetable oils in India (both edible and nonedible oils) from 1990 to 2000 are given in Table-12.

During 1995, CPCB had interactions with one of the biodiesel expert company of USA called Twin Rivers Technologies for examining the efficacy of biodiesel blends in reducing emissions from diesel vehicles. The task of conducting the tests was lined up with IOC (R&D) and sample of biodiesel was imported from USA for the tests. However, this initiative did not materialize at the end.

In recent years trials on automobiles using biodiesel have been conducted by institutes like IOC (R&D), SIAM, IIT, Delhi, ICAR etc. IOC (R&D) has already set up a biodiesel production facility of 60 kg/day at Faridabad. Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. has a pilot plant utilizing Karanj for biodiesel in Mumbai. This plant has carried out successful trails on tractors using this fuel. Parameters such as power, torque, fuel consumption, emissions, etc. have been found quite satisfactory on tractors operating on this biodiesel. Field trials for about 30000 kms have also been carried out on the tractors. Production of biodiesel unlike petrodiesel, is relatively a less cumbersome process and therefore large scale production can be undertaken with a short lead time.

On 18^th July 2002, the Planning Commission, Government of India constituted a Committee on "Development of Bio-fuels". This committee under the chairmanship of Dr. D.N. Tewari (Member, Planning Commission) has members from various ministries and organizations including CPCB. The " Committee on development of biofuels" will discuss and recommend the followings:

1. The current level of use of bio-fuels and their prospects for commercial utilization.
2. The various aspects connected with blending of biofuels with mineral oils.
3. The storage, handling and distribution aspects.
4. The commercial scale development of bio-fuels based on costs & benefits.
5. Development of specifications and quality standards for bio-fuels.
6. Identification of prospective plant sources for bio-ethanol, biodiesel and hydrocarbons and determine their R&D needs.
7. To frame a plan for development of plantations, development of demo scale and large-scale plantation and strategies for collection of seeds.
8. Suggest strategies for marketing.
9. Suggest measures for effective coordination between ministries and institutions engaged in R&D of bio-fuels.
10. Suggest strategies and approaches for mobilizing financial resources.
11. Any other aspect that the Committee may consider important.

This main Committee has further constituted seven sub-Committees to recommend for several aspects of biofuels. The seven sub-committees are:

1. Committee on Products/blending aspects of bio-fuels.
2. Committee on engine development & modifications.
3. Committee on standards & quality aspects of bio-fuels.
4. Committee on Legal Regulations on bio-fuels.
5. Committee on role of NGOs, Financial Institutions, etc.
6. Committee on Institutional Arrangement for bio-fuels.
7. Committee on Environmental issues pertaining to bio-fuels.

The Committee on " Environmental effects pertaining to use of biofuels" is headed by Prof. D.K. Biswas, Chairman, CPCB. This committee has also co-opted various experts from different organizations. The Terms of Reference (TOR) of this committee are as follows:

1. Study the effect of using bio-fuels on environment and human health; and
2. Study the various measures that can be undertaken to control emissions or its adverse toxic behavior, if any.

Table-11: Annual Production of Non-edible Oil Seeds in India

Source: Interim Report of " Auto Fuel Policy".

Table-12: Production Trends of Edible & Nonedible oils in India

Source: agricoop.nic.in

7.3 Recommandations

Biodiesel has distinct advantage as an automotive fuel. Initial cost may be higher but feedstock diversity and multi-feedstock production technologies will play a critical role in reductions in production cost and making the fuel economically viable. The following points may be considered before introducing the fuel in India:

1. Pilot projects and R&D work on biodiesel needs to be encouraged and supported to establish techno-economic viability of large-scale production.
2. Specifications for biodiesel should be established along with test methods and should be independent of any specific feedstock.
3. Biodiesel may be introduced as a diesel fuel extender or blends (B5, B20) and not as a sole diesel engine fuel (B100).
4. The process and production stage for biodiesel may become very decentralized and uncontrolled down the line. It may be produced by various local units in small scale using different feedstocks, different technologies and different practice of housekeeping thereby increasing the chance of getting tampered and adulterated. Therefore, proper planning, streamlining, quality control logistics and institutional arrangements need to be worked out before introduction of the fuel.
5. Government may consider providing support to the activities related to collection of seeds, production of oil from non-edible sources, production of bio-fuels and its utilization for cleaner environment.
6. Legal framework should be there to enforce regulations on bio-fuels.
7. Energy education on biodiesel programme and storing information and database for wider information dissemination among the public at large should be taken up at a larger scale.