BIODESEL
1. Non Availability of Oil:
• In India Edible oils are in short supply, and country has to import upto 40% of its requirements (It is now partly offset by Bumper Crop of Soy). Hence prices of edible oils are higher than that of Petroleum Diesel. Due to this, these are not viable and use of non-edible oils was suggested for BioDiesel manufacture.
• Even though the consumption of Edible oils in India is high, the availability of used cooking oil is very small as it is used till the end.
• Indian Culture uses vegetable oil lamps for lighting in homes and in temples (like candles in other cultures). When prices of edible oil shot up, some people turned to a bit cheaper non-edible oils. The requirement of this sector is more than 15 million tons (BioKerosine). Since seeds can be collected and crushed in a small scale in far flung villages, the use of non-edible oils for lamps is picking up very fast. This is the best way of use for millions of Rural Indians. This is depriving BioDiesel industry its supply of oil.
• All over the world Edible oils are used for manufacture of BioDiesel. These are Rape seed in Europe, Soy in Americas and Palm in South East Asia. Rape seed and soy are used for its deoiled meal as cattle feed and oil is not that important. Hence these were in excess, and had to be disposed off at lower prices. Hence initially it was a viable raw material for BioDiesel manufacture and a lot of manufacturing units came up based on these oils. Now excess oil is committed, and fresh sources need to be developed.
• Collection of non-edible oil seeds is a manual operation, and for large BioDiesel plant it is a logistical nightmare. In a day, a person can collect upto 80 kilograms of seeds, which can produce 20 to 23 liters of oil. The collection is done for 3 months, once or twice a year. For a 100 tons per day (8 million gallons per year) plant, you need 15,000 people to collect it. Collecting and organizing such a large manpower is a challenge.
• The price of Seeds of Jatropha is currently very high because most of it is used for plantation purposes. At this price, the manufacturing cost of BioDiesel is 3 times the pump price of Petroleum Diesel."
• Most of the edible oils used currently are Stable (do not get rancid). These do not decompose much on storage. Hence these are prefered for Trans-Esterification Process. Non-Edible oils are not that stable, and need a lot of pre-treatment adding to the cost of manufacture of BioDiesel. If these are used as lamp oil, even oils with 50% free fatty acids can be used.
• The use of lamp oil is increasing rapidly in India, as there is no electrical power supply for 10 to 14 hours a day in rural areas. Soon people will face shortage of these oils for lighting purposes.
• Cottage soap industry can use vegetable oils with high free fatty acid contents. Since prices of edible oils have doubled, many soap manufacturers in unorganized sector are using these oils as these are a bit cheaper.
• There are billions of other trees (Karanj, Mahua, Neem), all over India, with oil bearing seeds. Traditionally Karanj (Pongamia Pinatta) is planted along the highways. Petrol Pump owners along the highways, should be encouraged to collect the Karanj seeds. Neem (Azadirachta Indica) is planted everywhere for purification of air. Mahua (Madhuca Indica) and Sal ( Shorea robusta) grows wildly in Forests. Collection and processing mechanism for these seeds is not yet developed. Hence a most of these seeds lie on the ground (and ultimately get converted into BioFertilizer).
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