Biodiesel is a cleaner burning alternative fuel produced from renewable vegetable oil resources such as soy beans, palm and waste vegetable oil (cooking oil) or any other source of organic oil (animal fat). Biodiesel is suitable for modern, high performance diesel engines. Biodiesel contains no petroleum product but can be blended with petroleum diesel to create a biodiesel blend. This type of fuel is gaining popularity not only due to its environmental advantages but also because of how easy it is to use as it can be used in current compression-ignition (diesel) engines with little or no modifications. Biodiesel is not only easy to use; it is biodegradable, nontoxic and free of sulfur and aromatics. Replacing conventional diesel with biodiesel in engines results in considerable reduction of unburned hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide, and particulate matter. Moreover, with flash point over 260˚F (127 ˚C), biodiesel is safer to handle and to store than petroleum based diesel fuel, which has a flashpoint of around 125˚F (52˚C). Biodiesel is defined as the mono-alkyl esters of fatty acids derived from vegetable oils or animal fats. In more general terms, biodiesel is the product you get when a vegetable oil or animal fat is chemically reacted with an alcohol to produce a new compound that is known as a fatty acid alkyl ester. A catalyst such as sodium or potassium hydroxide is required. Glycerol (glycerin) is produced as a byproduct. The process is known as transesterification.
Soybean oil and methanol are the most popular feedstock in the United States. Soybeans are a major U.S. crop and government subsidies/reduced taxes are available to make the fuel economically attractive to consumers who need or want to use a non-petroleum based fuel. In Europe, most biodiesel is made from
rapeseed (Brassica napus) oil and methanol and it is known as rapeseed methyl esters (RME).
Biodiesel has some clear advantages over SVO: it works in any diesel, without any conversion or modifications to the engine or the fuel system -- just put it in and go. It also has better cold-weather properties than SVO (but not as good as petro-diesel). Unlike SVO, it's backed by many long-term tests in many countries, including millions of miles on the road. It has as well many advantages over petro-diesel.
See the US National Biodiesel Board's complete evaluation of biodiesel emissions and potential health effects at http://www.biodiesel.org/pdf_files/fuelfactsheets/emissions.pdf
Biodiesel can be made following various but similar processes. A simple process is to use vegetable oil, methanol and sodium hydroxide. Again in general terms vegetable and animal fats and oils are triglycerides, containing glycerine. The biodiesel process turns the oils and fats into esters, separating out the glycerine. The glycerine sinks to the bottom and the biodiesel floats on top and can be syphoned off. The process is called transesterification, which substitutes alcohol for the glycerine in a chemical reaction, using a catalyst. The result is usually a 90% biodiesel and 10% glycerine.
In Short -
The main “ingredient” to produce biodiesel is organic oil either vegetable or animal (fat). Vegetable fats and oils are substances derived from plants that are composed of triglycerides. Nominally, oils are liquid at room temperature, and fats are solid. Although many different parts of plants may yield oil, in actual commercial practice oil is extracted primarily from the seeds of oilseed plants. There are many types of commercial and wild plants that can produce oil (oil plant) depending on the specific region. Jatropha curcus, castor, pongamia pinnata (Indian beech tree), rapeseed, sunflower, palm tree, etc… Jatropha curcus have been the choice in many countries while Indonesia and Malaysia prefers mainly palm trees. The genus Jatropha belongs to genus Joannesieae of Crotonoideae in the Euphorbiaceae family and contains approximately 170 known species. According to Correll and Correll (1982) and Heller (1994), curcas is the common name for physic nut in Malabar, India.
The physic nut is a drought-resistant species which is widely spread by the Portuguese in colonial times and is currently cultivated throughout the tropics as a living fence. Many parts of the plants are used in traditional medicine. The seeds, however, are toxic to humans and many animals. Considerable amounts of physic nut seeds were produced on Cape Verde during the first half of this century, and this constituted an important contribution to the country’s economy. Seeds were exported to Lisbon and Marseille for oil extraction and soap production. Today’s global production is, however, negligible.
It grows on well-drained soils with good aeration and is well adapted to marginal soils with low nutrient content. In heavy soils, root formation is reduced. Physic nut is a highly adaptable species, but its strength as a crop comes from its ability to grow on poor, dry sites.
Jatropha Curcas is Predominately a Bio Diesel crop, as well as having pharmaceutical and industrial values.
Planning Commission of India has nominated it as ideal plant for biodiesel and the Government of India has selected the plant for National Program compared to others, due to following reasons:
http://repository01.lib.tufts.edu:8080/fedora/get/tufts:UA015.012.077.00007/bdef:TuftsPDF/getPDF
Some of the biggest challenges the world is facing today are climate change and energy insecurity. The situation of a warming planet, further exacerbated by the use of fossil fuels, and the fluctuating prices of fuel have led us to search for alternative sources of fuel. The production of biofuels raised hopes around the world as a solution to mitigate climate change and ensure energy security. The debate on whether biofuels fulfill such promises is both active and evolving; with links being drawn between the global food crisis of 2008 and biofuel production, the discourse has taken a different turn. The global food crisis is said to have pushed back developing countries further towards poverty. While advanced economies are investing heavily in biofuel production, international research institutes are still ringing words of caution. This has left many, particularly in developing countries, unsure about pursuing biofuels as an alternative source of energy.
Hence, it is important to examine trade-offs associated with biofuels before making any recommendations on biofuels. Biofuels can potentially contribute to mitigating climate change, increasing employment opportunities, providing access to energy, and improving indoor pollution associated with firewood use, thereby improving population health in rural areas. At the same time, food security and water security may be negatively affected by biofuel production. The trade-offs among environment, energy access, employment creation, health, food security, and water security present complex and challenging questions.
Adding to this complexity is the fact that biofuels are not the sole cause of the global food crisis. The rising food prices were also a result of 1) reduction of production capacity in developing countries, 2) population and income growth in emerging economies and associated dietary changes, 3) the surge in oil prices in 2008, which drove up prices of fertilizers and fuels, and 4) unfavorable weather in key producing countries, among others (ADB, 2008; Timmer, 2008).
The fact is without access to energy, production capacity in developing countries is bound to remain stagnant, if not fall even further, as the availability of agricultural land is not increasing. Secondly, population growth in emerging economies will put further pressure on energy security and energy demand will increase. Thirdly, as oil prices rise, food prices will rise. Fourthly, the current pace of emissions could multiply destructive climate events, negatively affecting crop yields and thus increasing food prices further.
Hence, if energy security, environment, and employment generation are sacrificed at the cost of saving food security, we may not be helping food security in the long run. The trade-offs are also country-specific. For a country that has a large segment of its population living in extreme poverty, food security remains one of the top priorities. However, if that country is also seriously energy insecure, especially vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, and has stagnant agricultural productivity, then the question of trade-offs becomes even more difficult to answer. This is the case of Nepal, a developing country in South Asia, a region particularly vulnerable to climate change.
The solution to the problem of energy scarcity is to become more efficient in our use of energy. The efficiency in energy use can be achieved in advanced economies through mass transit systems and energy-efficient appliances. In developing countries, the need still remains in providing affordable, reliable, and accessible energy through diverse sources. It is critical for developing countries to diversify their fuel options such as kerosene, biogas, solar, and electricity for household sector and liquid biofuels such as ethanol and biodiesel in the transport sector. Biofuels can play an important role in supplying energy in rural sector without negatively affecting food security and the environment. The key is to distinguish between large-scale biofuel production that diverts water, labor, land, and food crops like maize and sugarcane away from food to fuel and small to medium-scale local biofuel production for local energy needs using non-food crops, marginalized land, and underutilized labor.
Given the lack of roads in rural areas, biofuel production carried out in small-scale in rural areas may be a better option than large-scale production. Jatropha oil expellers are simple, affordable, and portable, making it suitable to meet the energy needs of a small rural community. Where national electric lines cannot reach due to the difficult mountain terrain and lack of proper infrastructures, local biofuel production may provide some hope in reaching these communities.
Biofuels should not be taken as a solution to energy insecurity and global warming; it is that given proper policy space and coordinated policies biofuel production may contribute to meeting some of these challenges. In Nepal, the Alternative Energy Promotion Center under the Ministry of Environment, Science and Technology (MoEST) is responsible for biofuel policies. The recommendations are directed towards them:
1. Formation of a Biodiesel Board
Given the lack of coordination among the different government bodies regarding biofuel policies, a Biodiesel Board should be formed. Instead of closed-door policy formulation, AEPC should promote transparency and public debate by publishing its reports and policy drafts.
2. Pro- Food Security Approach
Assigning Wasteland for Growing Energy Crops
AEPC should work with the Ministry of Agriculture in identifying wasteland for biofuel production and seek support from district- and village level government entities in collecting information regarding land use. Army and police barracks can be involved as well, as they have manpower, technical expertise, and land needed for biofuel programs.
A Community-based Biofuel Production
Community members should be included in planning and implementation of biofuel projects. Also, district and village-level government entities should be involved in the monitoring and evaluation process.
Growing Non-edible Energy Crops
The scope of crop use should be limited to non-food crops until more research is done in the food versus fuel debate. AEPC should propose banning the use of food crops for biofuel production to the Ministry of Agriculture.
3. Private Investments
The scope of land use and crop use policy should be limited to wasteland and non-edible crops. Large-scale production proposals should go through the Biodiesel Board. If the Board cannot act in such a capacity immediately, the government should place restriction on private investments until such an evaluation mechanism can be created.
4. Investing in Research and Development
Some biofuel production experiments had been conducted by scientists at RECAST in the early 1980s but very little has happened since then. AEPC should partner with universities at home and abroad and building public-private partnerships that would allow shared investments.
5. Awareness Programs and Trainings
Many even in the biofuel sector are unaware of successes and failures of biofuel programs in Nepal and around the world. By compiling project updates and creating either newsletters or putting it on the AEPC website, knowledge can be shared and best practices learned.