Jigyasa Jyotika/International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA)
Can biodiesel help cut emissions in the
Indian transport sector?
Diesel is a major fuel source in India, with 71 percent of
the oil consumed in 2005 being diesel and 29 percent
gasoline. Given that India’s fuel consumption of 12
million tonnes per annum in the transport sector alone is
expected to double by 2030, India and other developing
countries are urgently seeking cheap and environmentally friendly
alternatives to meet future energy demand.
A recent study by IIASA’s Forestry Program, published
in the journal Applied Energy, demonstrates that biodiesel,
which produces significantly fewer emissions than regular
diesel, can be produced cost-effectively in India from the plant
Jatropha Curcas, a drought- and pest-resistant perennial that
grows in tropical wastelands and produces seeds for up to
50 years. Jatropha could potentially produce 150,000 tonnes
of cheap and renewable diesel for Indian vehicles per year.
Importantly, Jatropha does not compete with food crops for land;
instead, it potentially offers opportunities to poorer Indian
farmers to use wasteland to increase their income. By-products
of biodiesel production, for example, oil cakes and glycerol,
can also be used in the fertilizer and cosmetic industries, respectively.
Jatropha seeds have a 37 percent oil content that needs
minimal refining before use. As Jatropha biodiesel is very similar
to diesel itself, little modification to current engines is required.
Vehicles can run on pure biodiesel or any bio/mineral diesel mix.
Compared to mineral diesel, pure biodiesel cuts emissions of
black carbon or “soot” by 60 percent, carbon monoxide and
hydrocarbons by 50 percent, and greenhouse gases by 80 percent.
Sulfur dioxide emissions are nil, given the vegetable origin of
Jatropha; however, the combustion characteristics of the engine
used could increase or decrease nitrous oxide emissions by up to
10 percent.
With LuleƄ University of Technology in Sweden, IIASA
modeled 40 million hectares of Indian wasteland across 24 states
to determine the number and locations of potential biodiesel
production plants that would be optimal for fuel production.
The analysis revealed that biomass cost was the most important
factor affecting overall biodiesel production cost, followed by
investment and transportation. One result of the emissions analysis
was that poor Jatropha plant yield at any location could result in
raw materials needing to be transported to the production plant,
increasing financial costs and emission levels. While overall findings
show that, based on the costs of production and the emissions
released, an appropriate number and specific locations of biodiesel
plants can be determined, further research is required on the
economies of scale involved.
The use of Jatropha for biodiesel production, while significant,
is limited to tropical countries. Previous FOR research has shown
that methanol derived from poplar trees can be a viable biofuel
alternative to gasoline in Austria, while ongoing research is
looking at the potential for using a variety of other plant types
(such as maize or canola) as biofuel production sources in other
non-tropical regions.
Sunday, February 19, 2012
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