NEW DELHI : In one of the biggest initiatives for bio-fuel production in the country, Indian Railways is poised to set up four bio-diesel plants costing about Rs 120 crore.

While two bio-diesel esterification plants are going to be commissioned at Raipur and Chennai during the next two years, the other two units will be set up subsequently, a senior railway ministry official said.

Each plant, estimated to cost around Rs 30 crore, will produce 30 tons bio-diesel per day, which means more than 9,000 tons a year, the official said.

Produced from waste oil, fatty acid and non-edible vegetable oil, bio-diesel will be blended with the HSD oil for running locomotives.

KOLKATA : The Biotechnology Board in West Bengal has taken an initiative to produce bio-diesel from seeds of jatropha plants. The board has decided to set up a park dedicated to jatropha plantation at Salt Lake.

The park will come up in Salt Lake. This site has been selected because land in this area will be freely available from the state department of planning and development. The park, besides growing jatropha trees, will also house a pilot processing plant for extraction of crude jatropha oil and later for its conversion into bio-diesel.

The board has roped in the West Bengal Technical University (WBTU) and the mechanical engineering department of Jadavpur University as technology partners. The latter has been asked to develop expeller machinery for the processing plant. WBTU has agreed to provide an initial fund of Rs 2.36 lakh.

"The fund will be utilised for jatropha cultivation, which is likely to start from October. Officials said the board is expecting further financial assistance from the departments of planning & development and science & technology," said Prabir K Bose, a faculty member of the mechanical engineering department of Jadavpur University, and chief consultant of the project.

The park will serve as a model of a cultivable bio-park. Unemployed youth will be trained for processing bio-diesel through the pilot plant. Since it takes three-four years to get seeds from jatropha saplings, it has been decided that vegetable oil will be produced during the gestation period by purchasing seeds from outside, said Mr Bose.

At present, experiments are on at various levels to produce bio-diesel from jatropha seeds for lighting stoves, lamps, running pump sets for irrigation and locomotives.

Jatropha cultivation and production of biodiesel are already underway on the railway land at Kharagpur in the state. The project has been taken up by the South Eastern Railway. The division has planted about four lakh jatropha trees in over 200 hectares.

West Bengal pollution board has asked all telecom towers to use at least 30% biodiesel in their generators.
Kolkata: Producers of biodiesel, banned from selling the fuel as a transport fuel, are looking to enter long-term supply arrangements with telecom tower operators, who use diesel gensets for power backup purposes.
India has more than 20 biodiesel producers with a combined capacity of 1 million tonnes a year, said Sandeep Chaturvedi, president of the Biodiesel Association of India.

They have invested a total of about Rs1,200 crore on building capacity and brought 700,000 ha under cultivation of jatropha, a key feedstock for biofuels.

But production for the year ended 31 March was only about 80,000 tonnes, sold almost entirely to commercial establishments that use gensets.

The fall followed a petroleum ministry directive in March 2009 asking state governments to ensure that biodiesel is not sold as transport fuel directly to consumers. Many firms suspended or scaled down production due to the ban.
Biodiesel is considered a clean alternative to fuels such as petrol and diesel as it biodegrades fast, results in lower emissions and is made of renewable resources such as vegetable oil, animal fat or jatropha.

Producers received a boost earlier this year when the West Bengal Pollution Control Board, or WBPCB, directed all telecom towers in the state to use at least 30% biodiesel in their generators from March.

But the directive has been put on hold for four months as producers cannot guarantee regular supplies, said Biswajit Mukherjee, spokesperson for WBPCB.

“Also, some gensets may need some modification to use biodiesel,” Mukherjee said.

Emami Biotech Ltd, a subsidiary of consumer goods company Emami Ltd, has started trial supplies to one telecom operator in West Bengal and is in talks with two more, said Swapan Kumar Mondal, a director at the firm. “In 15 days, we expect to start supplying to more telecom tower companies.”

There are at least 26,000 telecom towers in the state, each consuming about 20 litres of diesel a day, said Mondal.
Emami Biotech is also looking to supply biodiesel to towers in neighbouring Bihar, Jharkhand and Orissa.
The firm produces 500 tonnes of biodiesel a month, while it has capacity to produce up to 300 tonnes a day.
Emami uses the same production facility to refine vegetable oil to recover fixed costs, said Aditya V. Agarwal, a director at Emami Biotech.

Besides being environment-friendly, biodiesel could be a cheaper alternative for telecom tower operators as well.
“Even after considering cost of delivery, biodiesel could cost 50-75 paise (per litre) less than petrodiesel,” Mondal said. “And biodiesel should generate almost the same amount of energy as petrodiesel does.”

Quippo-Wireless Tata Tele Info Services Ltd, or Quippo-WTTIL, one of the biggest telecom tower operators, said it welcomed WBPCB’s directive on using biodiesel compulsorily, but wanted producers to guarantee regular supply.
“The use of biofuel...will have a positive impact on the environment and benefit companies with reduced energy charges,” a spokesperson for Quippo said in an email.

Chaturvedi said distributing biodiesel to the towers may not be easy.

“Because retail sale of biodiesel is prohibited, district authorities in many states have seized trucks carrying biodiesel even though the fuel was intended for sale to genset users only,” he said.

3. Biofuel policy gets Govt. approval :

The national biofuel policy, aimed at facilitating development of indigenous biomass feedstock for production of biofuels, has been cleared by the Cabinet. The draft of the policy was prepared by the ministry of new and renewable energy (MNRE), the coordinating ministry for biofuel development, last year.

Setting up of a National Biofuel Coordination Committee to provide policy guidance has also been approved. It is to be headed by the prime minister. A Biofuel Steering Committee chaired by the cabinet secretary will also be set up to oversee the implementation of the policy.

“The Indian approach to biofuels is based solely on non-food feedstock to be raised on degraded or waste lands that are not suitable for agriculture, thus avoiding a possible conflict of fuel versus food security,” a statement issued by MNRE read.

Promotion of biofuels could meet India’s energy needs in an environmentally-sustainable manner, while reducing its import dependence on fossil fuels.

The policy has proposed an indicative target of 20 per cent blending of biofuels — both biodiesel and bioethanol — by 2017. The government had already made 10 per cent ethanol blending with petrol effective from October last year.
The biofuel policy has also proposed financial incentives — including subsidies and grants — for second generation biofuels like cellulosic ethanol and algal biodiesel. “If it becomes necessary, a National Biofuel Fund could be considered,” it says.

The policy also mentions that a Minimum Support Price (MSP) for non-edible oilseeds would be announced with periodic revision to provide fair price to the growers. A Minimum Purchase Price (MPP) for purchase of bioethanol and biodiesel would also be announced with periodic revision.

n a bid to reduce the country’s huge oil import bill, the government after much deliberation on Thursday gave its nod to National Policy on Biofuels besides giving approval for setting up of National Bio-fuel Coordination Committee and Bio-Fuel Steering Committee. Under the approved policy, the country aims to raise blending of biofuels with petrol and diesel to 20% by 2017.

More than seven ministries and the Planning Commission have been debating about the biofuel policy for the last two years and a group of ministers (GoM) headed by agriculture minister Sharad Pawar had been anchoring the discussion prior to finalisation of the policy.

5. Advanced Biofuels - the Nation's Fleet and Military Vehicles

Based on 2008 DOD statistics, 56 percent of the department’s fuel budget was designated for the U.S. Air Force, since it retains the largest number of aircraft. On an annual basis, “mobility” type fuel, used in aircraft, ships, and vehicles, typically accounts for 75 percent of total DOD energy consumption.

In March 2010 President Obama announced energy policies which include continued development and use of advanced biofuels in the nation's fleet and military vehicles. This report examines how the military is using biofuel to reduce costs, curb emissions, and practice energy independence.

Biofuel is any fuel that is derived from biomass - recently living organisms or their metabolic byproducts. It is a renewable energy source, unlike other natural resources such as petroleum, coal, and nuclear fuels. Biodiesel is a cleaner-burning fuel made from renewable fats or vegetable oils that can help increase U.S. energy security by reducing dependence on foreign sources of oil.

President Obama announced that the Pentagon is pursuing the support of development of homegrown energy sources to protect national security. He calls for a goal of using 50% more alternative fuels in all Navy planes, vehicles and ships in the next 10 years. Federal mandate requires the Marines to reduce energy consumption by 30 percent by 2015.

The greatest barrier to large-scale commercialization of biofuels is their relatively high cost of production. Because they are used primarily to replace gasoline or diesel, world petroleum product prices drive commercial viability of biofuels to a large extent.

The Navy’s 2020 goal across land and sea operations is to cut fossil fuel usage by half, largely through the use of biofuels. By 2012 the Department of the Navy will demonstrate its new fossil-fuel independent Green Strike Group, using hybrid electric-diesel systems, nuclear power, and biofuels powering both fleet and aircraft.

This report outlines U.S. Military efforts to bring biofuels into widespread use into all areas of its operations and branches. Learn which feedstock is regarded as the most promising and sustainable for producing biofuels. And discover what measures the military is taking to develop and support these sources.

6. IOC wants 50,000 acres for biofuel cultivation in UP

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.
The government will also announce a minimum support price for such oil seeds. A minimum purchase price (MPP) for purchase of bioethanol and biodiesel would also be announced with periodic revision.

The current rule on 5 per cent ethanol blending with petrol is still not successful. Ethanol is being produced by sugar mills from molasses, a byproduct of sugar.

The research and development division of IOC has perfected a process to produce biodiesel from various non-edible oils, especially from jatropha and karanjia. The biodiesel produced has been tested for its properties and meets the stringent international standards. Extensive field trials have been conducted by IOC using five and 10 per cent biodiesel blends in collaboration with Indian Railways and Haryana Roadways. A reduction of 10-15 per cent in smoke density has been observed with the use of biodiesel blends.

Biofuels are derived from renewable bio-mass resources and help promote sustainable development. Beside supplementing conventional energy sources in meeting the rapidly increasing requirements for transportation fuels associated with high economic growth, as well as in meeting the energy needs of India’s vast rural population.

7. Railways develop engines powered by biodiesel

The Indian Railways’ Research Design and Standard Organization (RDSO) has successfully developed and tested biodiesel-based locomotive engines, in its bid to scout for renewable and environment friendly fuels. Lucknow-based RDSO is the railway’s sole research and development facility in the country, whose executive director (engine development) Shishir Dutta was in the city to attend an energy conclave at the Indian Institute of Technology-Kanpur (IIT-K).

Dutta said the railways operated around 8,000 engines everyday for various transportation purposes, of which almost 4,500 were run on diesel. “We have been working on the idea of developing engines capable of running on alternative fuels since past five years and have finally gained success after a positive trial run last September,” he said.

The development is being viewed as a milestone as it would enable the consumption of large amount of biodiesel being manufactured by various companies in the country, which can easily serve as an eco-friendly alternative to the fossil fuels, which apart from being polluting, are fast getting depleted and are also expensive.

“The government has been serious regarding the issues of global warming and the step is an initiative towards cutting the carbon emissions in the country,” explained Dutta.

He also said the biofuel would be amalgamated with the presently used fossil fuels in a gradually phased manner over a period of three years, after witnessing the long term effects of the switchover.

“In the first phase we will mix up to 10 per cent and graduate to 20 per cent in second phase and reach the maximum limit of 50 per cent amalgamation after three phases. The present engines will be altered to run on the substitute fuel, so as to save the costs of manufacturing new units,” Dutta elaborated.

One locomotive generally needs around Rs 5 crore investment for its manufacture, while the altering expenses will be marginal, running just into few lakhs rupees. The initiative, however, is currently not expected to bring about any cost reduction as the prices and production cost of bio-diesel is almost similar to the conventional fuels.
The railways are also running another project to promote the cultivation of bio-diesel plants, jathropa on lakhs of hectares of land lying along its tracks across the country. Bio-diesel can now also be generated from neem and waste vegetable oils, according to the latest research findings