IOC plans to produce biodiesel
Flagship refiner-marketer IndianOil Corporation has initiated steps to begin commercial production of biodiesel.
The state-owned company has sought about 30,000 hectares of land from the Madhya Pradesh government for jatropha plantation. Jatropha seed has been identified as the main source of making biodiesel and the company is talking to other states such as Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan for land to start plantations.
`We have expressed our interest in getting land for jatropha plantation. We are waiting for the state's response and also waiting for government policy on biodiesel,` said B M Bansal, the man in charge of finding new businesses for IndianOil and spearheading the green fuel initiative.
Biodiesel is made by blending oil extracted from seeds like jatropha with diesel refined from crude oil. An internal note prepared by IndianOil Corporation reckons an annual demand of two million tonnes of biodiesel, with a 5% blending ratio. It says this can eventually go up to 10% without making any modification in the engine. This indicates an annual consumption potential of four million tonnes.
The note says popularising the use of biodiesel will increase energy security, protect the environment, create jobs for rural folk and develop wastelands. IndianOil has completed field trials with the fuel. The trial with Haryana Roadways showed a 10-15% reduction in emission from the 40-odd buses that used biodiesel.
Trials have also been completed successfully with Tata Motors and Indian Railways which ran locos hauling high-speed Shatabdi and Jan Shatabdi trains to check the biofuel's performance regarding power, consumption and pick-up etc.
The biodiesel plan may, however, come unstuck due to the government's policy on procurement price. The government has set a procurement price of Rs 26.50 for each litre of biodiesel, whereas each litre made out of imported crude palm oil costs Rs 35-40.
Besides, the nature of jatropha plants allow oil extraction from seeds only after three years. That's why despite efforts by several state governments and corporates other than IndianOil, biodiesel will have to wait for sometime before it can rule our roads.
IndianOil is trying to use this time to put in place an integrated plan for the entire value chain of biodiesel — from plantation to blending and marketing. Its R&D Centre has optimised the process of synthesising oil from jatropha seeds to conform to standard fuel specifications.
It has also set up a biodiesel quality lab at the centre.
Source: timesofindia.com