POTENTIAL OF BIODISEL IN THE NORTH EAST INDIA

Presented by: DR. PROBIR KUMAR BOSE Professor, Department of Mechanical

EngineeringJadavpur University, Kolkata-700032December 17, 2004

► WHAT ARE BIOFULES?

● Renewable fuels from bio sources include-Ethanol, Biodiesel, Bio-Hydrogen,
Biogases, Methanol.
►WHY BIOFULES?
●Sustainability●Pollutionthreat●Reduction of green house gas emissions ●Regional(Rural)
development ● Social structure & Agriculture ● Security of supply.
►FIRST USE OF PEANUT OIL IN 1895 BY DR RUDOLF DIESEL→ ‘‘The use of vegetable
oils for engine fuels may seem insignificant today. But such oils may become in course of time as
important as petroleum and the coal tar products of the present time .’’ 1912 (1855-1913)
■WORLD EXPERIENCE ON BIODISEL
► BIODIESEL IN EUROPE
●Biodiesel has been produced on an industrial scale in EU since 1992 largely in response to
positive signals from the EU institutions.
●In 2001, it is estimated that some twenty plants produced around one million tones, mainly in
Austria, Belgium, France, Germany ,Italy and Sweden.
►TOTAL BIODIESEL PRODUCTION IN 2000

COUNTRY PRODUCTION (MT)

FRANCE 328,000
GERMANY 246,000
ITALY 78,000
AUSTRIA 27,000
BELGIUM 20,000
TOTAL 700,600
The German biodiesel sector saw the biggest production increase of the five countries in
2000. Its growth rate was 31% with total production of 246,000 mt compared with 171,000mt in
1999.
► EU TARGETS FOR BIOFUEL
BIOFULES YEAR MARKET
BIODIESEL 2003 2.3 MMT
BIODIESEL 2010 8.3 MMT
BIODIESEL 2000 504 M$
BIODIESEL 2007 2.4 B$
ETHANOL 2003 8.3 MMT
ETHANOL 2010 9.7 MMT
Biodiesel growth: 25%/year, Germany/Austria-no tax, UK20% Lower tax,
other countries 0-10% of diesel Tax.
► BIODIESEL PRODUCTION
►WHAT US PEOPLE PAY FOR IN A IN A GALON OF DIESEL DEC, 2002)

Retail Price: $ 1.29/gallon

Retail Price: Rs.26.00/L

Taxes : 38%
Distribution and Marketing : 11%
Refining : 7%
Crude oil : 45%

1
► NON-EDIBLE OIL POTENTIAL OF INDIA- NATIONAL OIL SEEDS AND
VEGETABLE OIL DEVELOPMENT (NOVOD) BOARD, INDIA.

OIL BOTANICAL NAME OIL POTENTIAL

(TONNES)
Neem Azadirachta indica 100,000
Karanja Pongamia pinnata 55,000
Kusum Schliechera oleosa 25,000
Ratanjot Jatrophacircus 15,000
Pilu Salvadora oleoides 17,000
Tumba Citrulluscollocynthis 17,000
Sal Shorea robusta 21,000
Mahua Madhuca indica 180,000
Mango Mangifera indica 45,000
Phulware Cheura 3000
Kokum Garcinia indica 500
Simarouba Simaruba glauca ---
Jojoba Simmondsia chineaca ---
Chullu Prunus armeniaca 110
Rice bran Oryza sativa 474,000
Nahar Mesua ferrea L. 1 lakh quintal

► WHY BIODIESEL IMPORTANT FOR RAILWAYS?

● Indian Rail has very large available land. ● Biodiesel will help Railways to ▪Improve upon
emission norms ▪ Reduce diesel cost ▪ Contribute to Environment protection.
► WHAT IS BIODIESEL?
Biodiesel - is vegetable oil processed to resemble diesel fuel. Technically Biodiesel is
vegetable oil methyl ester. It is produced by removing glycerol molecule from vegetable oil and by
introducing methyl group to the acid part i.e. made by chemically combining any natural oil or fat
with an alcohol. Most of the oils, edible& non-edible are suitable. Selection of feed stock based on
availability, price and policy.
► IMPORTANCE OF BIODIESEL
●Environment friendly ●Clean burning ● High Cetane value ● High Lubricity ● Comparable
BTU content ● Renewable fuel ● No major engine modification ● Readily mixes with diesel ●
Ready to use in diesel engines ● Increase in engine life ● Biodegradable and non toxic ● Easy to
handle and store
► FORIGN INVESTMENT ON PLANTATION OF BIODOESEL
● Daimler offers help for Biodiesel. ● The Maker with a German Development Bank will provide
620,000 EURO′s for two pilot projects for biodiesel in the country ● The project aims for produce
biodiesel from the oil seed Jatropha Curcus. ●Two plantation of Jatropha Curcas would be set up.
● A 20 acre plot in Sub humid Orissa.● A10 acre plot in semi-arid, Gujarat.
► POTENTIAL AND CONCEPT OF BIODIESEL IN NORTH EAST INDIA
Against the backdrop, prudent steps by the North East Region′ s people may make them the
enviable world leaders in matters of biodiesel in the days to come.
● Bio-diesel from nahar seeds has immense scope in NE Region. This tree is known as Nageswar
in Hindi. Diameter of stem at the base is just about one foot only and height about 40 feet. Nahar
timber is also one of the hardest and heaviest, known as
Indian Ironwood. The seeds of the tree contain about 75% of pale yellow-coloured oil
which is non-ediable.It is estimated that more than a lakh quintals of nahar seeds are produced
annually in the State of Assam alone .Nahar trees can be planted on the wasteland, roadside and in
the forests. Also a blend of 5% of nahar seed oil with 95% of petroleum diesel works very
efficiently even for a long period.
● Bio-diesel from Jatropha seeds has the same scoope.These plants can grow on poor degraded
soils and are able to ensure a reasonable production, not grazed by animals and is highly pest and
2
disease resistant. Nut yield between 2 and 6 years , based on soil and rainfall conditions. Yield vary
from 0,5 to 12 T/ yr. based on soil and rainfall
conditions. Production of about 5 tones per hectares can be expected under optimum
conditions. Seed contains 55-60% of oil. 0.75 to 2 tones of biodiesel could be expected per hectare
per year from the 5th year onwards.
►RESEARCH WORK CARRIED OUT IN NORTH EAST
Prof. Konwer with Prof. Baruah developed a process of conversion of nahar seed oil to petroleum
like crude oil in AAU, Jorhat. Oil extracted from the seeds of the plant was by form to be similar to
mineral crude oil.
►CURRENT LABORATORY FLOW SHEET
MeOH+ NaOH→ FEED TANK→ REACTOR→ SETTLING TANK→ BIODIESEL +
GLYCEROL, UNREACTED Na OH, Me OH

3
?► EXPERIMENTAL PROCESS

OIL Me OH KOH
↓ ↓____________________↓
↓____________ ____________↓
↓ ↓
TRANSESTRIFICATION
↓
← STANDING SEPERATION →
↓ ↓
UPPER LOWER
↓ ↓
Evaporation of Me OH Evaporation of Me OH
↓ ↓
Washing Glycerine
↓
Biodiesel

► EXPERIMENTAL SET-UP ON A LABORATORY SCALE

► BASIC CHEMICAL REACTION AND PRODUCTION

CH2COOR′ CH2OH RCOOR′

│ Catalyst │ │
CHCOOR′ 3ROH ────→ CHOH RCOOR′
│ │ │
CH2COOR′ CH2OH RCOOR′

60 Kg 6.78Kg 0.60Kg 6.5Kg 58 Kg

Oil Alcohol Na OH Glycerin Biodiesel

► STANDARD FOR BIODIESEL

FUEL DIN 51606 US ASTM

PROPERTIES UNIT SPECIFICATION SPRCIFICATION
Flash point °C 100 min. 100 min.
Density at 15°C Kg/m3 0.875-0.890g 0.860-0.890
Cm¯3 at 20°C

Water and
Sediment Vol.% - 0.050 max.
Carbon Residue Wt. % 0.30 max. 0.05 max

Sulfated Ash Wt.% - 0.02 max.

Viscosity at 40°C cSt. 3.5-5.0 1.9-6.5

Kinematic Viscosity
@ 40°C m 2 /sec - (3.5-5.0)* 10¯6
Sulfer Wt.% 0.01max. 0.05 max

Cetane - 49 min. 40 min.

Cloud Point °C - 3°C

4
 Copper Point - 1 max. 3B max.

Total Acid Mg
Number KOH/g 0.50max. 0.80 max

Free Glycerine Wt.% 0.02 max. 0.02 max.

Total Glycerin Wt. % 0.25 max. 0.24 max.

Cold Filter Summer max. 0

Plugging point °C - Winter max. <−15

► SOME IMPORTANT PARAMETERS OF RAW AND TRANSESTRIFIED

JATROPHA OIL
PARAMETER JATROPHA OIL JATROPHA OIL E DIN 51606
TRANSESTRIFIED STANDARD
DENSITY
(g cm¯3 at 20°C) 0.920 0.879 0.875-0.890
Flash Point (°C) 236 236 >110

Cetane No.
(ISO 5165). 23-41 51 >49
Viscosity
mm2 at 30°C 52 4.84 3.5-5 (40°C)
Neutralization
number 0.92 0.24 <0.50
Total glycerin(%) - 0.088 0.250
Free glycerin (%) - 0.015 0.02
Phosphorus (ppm) 290
(17 in degummed oil) 17.5 <10
Sulphated Ash (%) - 0.014 <0.03
Methanol (%) - 0.06 <0.3

► BIODIESEL-WHY LOWER EMISSIONS?

● Biodiesel has high cetane ● In built Oxygen content ● Burns fully
● Has no sulphur ● No Aromatics ● Complete CO2 cycle

► EMISSIONS REDUCTIONS
B20 emissions reductions compared to petroleum diesel

Carbon monoxide 20%

Unburned hydrocarbons 30%
Particulate matter 22%
Sulphates 20%
NPAH 50%
Mutagenicity 20%

► ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS (Emissions by combustion engine -100B)

EMISSION REDUCTION (%)

CO 67
HC 30
PM 68
SOOT 50
PAH 85
CO2 100
NOx +/-2--6
S 80-100

►PETRO- DIESEL CO2 CYCLE (13 pounds of fossil CO2 released per gallon burned)
► BIODIESEL CO2 CYCLE ( No fossil co2 released ; No global warming )
5
► BUS POWERED ALTERNATIVE FUELS
● WIDE ACCEPTANCE
▪ By diesel vehicle industry - Audi, BMW, Case, Claas, Deutz, Iseki, John Deere,
Kubota, Massey-Ferguson, Nissan, Puegot, Renault,
Same, Seat, Skoda, Steyr, Valmet, Volkswagen, Volvo
▪ By the fuel trade; e.g. ELF, Texaco, Shell, Total
▪ By the end user- bus companies, taxi fleets, forestry enterprises, railroad, boat owners
▪ A total of 128 production sites(capacity 500-120,000tons/annum)

● LUBRICITY- MAJOR BENEFIT

▪ Long term engine wear extensively studied in Europe & US
▪ EXXON STUDY→B20 provide significant, quantifiable improvement in wear film
forming ability- 93%Film (B20);32%Film (Diesel)
▪ EPA rule (Jan. 2001) to bring down sulfur content in diesel from 500 ppm to 15 ppm
by 2006
▪ Lubricity test have shown that up to 2% of biodiesel is enough to make any distillate
fuel fully lubricious.

● FUEL CONSUMPTION
▪ Biodiesel contains ~ 10% oxygen
▪ Brake-specific fuel consumption figures:
Petro diesel 0.43 lb/HP-hr
B20 0.44 lb/HP-hr
B100 0.50 lb/HP-hr

►BIODIESEL IS REALITY NOW

▪ Large number of surveys done ▪Variety of feed stocks tested ▪ Transestrificatiion

developed on commercial scale ▪Biodiesel specs. By ASTM & others ▪ About 40
million mile testing ▪ Approved by auto OEM′s ▪ Tax structure in place in several
countries ▪ Future projections firmed up ▪ Legalisations in place in many
countries

▪ INDIA HAS TROPICAL ADVANTAGE ▪ ENORMOUS WASTE LANDS & CHEEP FARM
LABOUR ▪ BIODIESEL CAN BE SUCCESS STORY

► US RAIL ROAD BIOSIESEL

▪ Sierra Railroad in California, oldest company ▪ First to use biodiesel as fuel

▪ 1500 locos to be converted ▪ Ned 30 million gallon of biofuels/year ▪ 3.5 lac
acres of land farm ▪3000 additional jobs ▪ Shall meet EPA norms for 2006

►RAIL ROAD TEST PROGRAM ON BIODIESEL (1999)

▪4000 HP (2984KW) gas turbine powered passenger locomotive ▪ Several biofuels

tested ( REE, SME etc.) ▪ Turbine maintenance cost compared ▪ Energy content,
compatibilities, emission, cost compared to diesel ▪ Emission data studies ▪Cost /
Km/Unit energy (power) calculated ▪ Biodiesel holds future in railroad applications
▪ Remarkable reduction in emission

►BIODIESEL AND ECONOMY

▪ An increase of $1 per barrel of crude oil prices adds $425 million to our oil import
bill ▪ Oil import constitutes a major part of our trade deficit and has an enormous
impact on our economy and creation of new jobs ▪ The US dept of Enegy
estimates that each $billion of trade deficit costs the US 27,000 jobs ▪ Developing
a strong market for biodiesel would have tremendous economic benefits ▪
Investment in biodiesel technology may ensure that we have transportation fuel
options and we will not be so vulnerable
6
 ► THE INDIAN SCENE

▪ Annual growth rate ~6% compared to world average of 2% ▪ Oil pool deficit
& subsidies Rs 16,000 crores , Rs 18,440 crores ( 1996-1997) ▪ Current per capita
usage of petroleum is absymmaly low (0.1 ton /year) against 4.0 in Germany or 1.5 tons
in Malaysia ▪ Even Malaysia’s figure would be beyond our paying capacity ▪ Our
domestic production would meet only 33% of demand at the end of 10th plan and only
27% by 2010-11 ▪ INVESTMENT IN BIOFULES MAKE STONG ECONOMIC
SENESE

► CAN BIODIESEL WORK IN INDIA ?

▪ India with just 2.4% of global area supports more than 16% of the human population
and 17% of the cattle population ▪ India is one of the largest importers of edible oil
▪ Where do we find the oil for biodiesel ? ▪ A sustainable source of vegetable oil is
to be found before we can think of biodiesel

► JATROPHA / NAHAR MAY BE THE ANSWER ?

● According to the Economic Survey (1995-96), Govt. of India, of the cultivable land
area about 100-150 million hectares are classified as waste or degraded land

● Jatropha (Jatropha curcas, Ratanjyot,wild caster) thrives on any type of soil

▪Needs minimum inputs or management ▪ has no insect, pests& not browsed by

cattle or sheep ▪ Can survive long periods of drought ▪ Propagation is easy
▪ Yield from the 3rd year onwards and continues for 25-30 years ▪ 25% oil frpm
Seeds by expelling; 30% by solvent extraction ▪ The meal after extraction an
Excellent organic manure (38% protein, N:P:K ratio -2.7:1.2:1)

► JATRPPHA PLANTATION ( Study by Agro-Forestry Federation – Maharastra,1991)

● Jatropha is a hardy plant.● Well adopted to arid, semi arid conditions. ● Low fertility and moisture
demand. ● Grow on stony, shallow or even calcareous soil. ● Propagated through seed or cutting. ●
Tolerate to scanty to heavy rainfall.

►JATROPHA PLANTATION
● 5-6 Kg seeds / hectare≈ 2500 plants / hectare
● EXPECTED YIELDS
Year after planting Expected yield per ha. Kg. Expected yield per ha. Kg.
(rain fed crop) (irrigated crop)
1st --- 250
2nd 250 1000
3rd 1000 2500
4th 2000 5000
th
5 3000 8000
6th & onwards 4000 12000

►ECONOMIC SURVEY ON BIO-DIESEL

(According to an economic survey conducted by Govt. of India)
▪The cultivable land area of about 175 million hectares has been classified as waste or degraded land,
which is suitable for cultivation of some of the plants like Jatropha curcas etc.
▪ If 100 million hectares of this waste land is brought under cultivation, 150 million tons of seeds can
be produced yielding up to 37.5 million tons of oil which is almost an equivalent amount of the diesel
being consumed in the country at present.
▪Even if one person is employed per hectare of land, 100 million additional jobs will be
created for cultivation alone and in addition ,there will be jobs in the 2000 extraction
units of 250 tons capacity, for crushing the seeds.
7
►EFFECT ON RURAL ECONOMY

●Seed price -Rs. 4/Kg. ● Seed yield 3000Kg / hectare ● 5 hectare plantation /family
● Rs 60,000. / year income.

● Additionally: ▪Waste lands converted to productive national assets.▪ Creation of jobs

in downstream processing. ▪ Gainful employment in rural sector. ▪ Contribution to
national energy pool

►INDIAN INITIATIVE ON BIODIESEL

● Indian Govt. has taken a serious note of Biodiesel

● Planning Commission has set up commitees on;
▪ Product development ▪ Engine studies ▪ Legal regulations ▪ Plantations
▪ Specifications ▪ Marketing ▪ Environmental issues