4. Biodiesel is a renewable, biodegradable fuel
manufactured domestically from vegetable oils, animal
fats, or recycled restaurant grease. Biodiesel meets both
the biomass-based diesel and overall advanced biofuel
requirement of the Renewable Fuel . Renewable diesel,
also called “green diesel,” is distinct from biodiesel.
Biodiesel is a liquid fuel often referred to as B100 or neat
biodiesel in its pure, unblended form. Like petroleum
diesel, biodiesel is used to fuel compression-ignition
engines.
Biodiesel
5. Why should we choose biodiesel?
We chose bio diesel because it is the future as the prices of petrol and diesel are
increasing the demand of bio fuel will increase in future. When biodiesel
displaces petroleum, it significantly reduces life-cycle of greenhouse gas
emissions. Testing till date shows, that biodiesel is fully compatible with the
emission control catalysts and filtersa that dramatically reduce nitrogen oxides
(NOx) and particulate matter (PM) emissions from new diesel engines. Biodiesel,
even in very low concentrations, improves fuel lubricity and increases the Cetane
number of the fuel. Diesel engines depend on the lubricity of the fuel to keep
moving parts, especially fuel pumps and injectors, from wearing prematurely. An
active research area is the impact of biodiesel and its blends on human health.
Finally, one of the biggest benefits to using biodiesel is that it is easy to use.
7. Algae
Algae are organisms that grow in aquatic
environments and use light and carbon dioxide
(CO2) to create biomass. There are two
classifications of algae: macro algae and
microalgae. Macro algae, which are measured in
inches, are the large, multi-cellular algae often
seen growing in ponds. These larger algae can
grow in a variety of ways. The largest
multicellular algae are called seaweed; an
example is the giant kelp plant, which can be
more than 100 feet long. Microalgae, on the
other hand, are measured in micrometres and
are tiny, unicellular algae that normally grow in
suspension within a body of water.
8. Production of biodiesel
Using algae: Algal oil is converted into biodiesel through a transesterification process.
Oil extracted from the algae is mixed with alcohol and an acid or a base to produce the
fatty acid methyl esters that makes up the biodiesel. Expeller/Press, solvent extraction
with hexane, and supercritical fluid extraction are well-known methods to extract oil
from algae. A press/expeller extracts 70-75% of the oils out of algae. Using chemicals
like Hexane (which are relatively inexpensive) can also be used to extract algal oils.
Supercritical fluid extraction is more efficient than solvent separation methods.
9. Algae used in production
The algae used in biodiesel production are usually aquatic
unicellular green algae (chlorophyceae).
Chlorella: chlorella is a single-celled green algae belonging to
the class of chlorophyceae. It is a primary algae because it
grows autotrophically. It is spherical in shape, about 2 to 10 μm
in diameter, and does not have a flagella. Chlorella has green
photosynthetic pigments, chlorophyll-a and chlorophyll-b, in its
chloroplast. Using photosynthesis, it multiplies rapidly
requiring only carbon dioxide, water, sunlight, and a small
amount of minerals to reproduce. Chlorella is believed to be
capable in serving as a potential food and energy source
because of its photosynthetic efficiency to reach 8%
comparable to other highly efficient crops such as sugar cane.
10. Production of biodiesel
Using Jatropha seeds : The plant that is generally cultivated for the
purpose of extracting jatropha oil is jatropha curcas. The seeds are the
primary source from which the oil is extracted. Owing to the toxicity of
jatropha seeds, they are not used by humans. The major goal of jatropha
cultivation, therefore, is performed for the sake of extracting jatropha
oil. There are number of varieties of jatropha. Best among these are
jatropha curcas. Jatropha oil is an important product from the plant for
meeting the cooking and lighting needs of the rural population, boiler
fuel for industrial purpose or as a viable substitute for diesel. About one-
third of the energy in the fruit of jatropha can be extracted a soil that
has a similar energy value to diesel fuel. Jatropha oil can be used
directly in diesel engines added to diesel fuel as an extender or
transesterified to a bio-diesel fuel.
11. Production in India
Using Jatropha:
Traditional Methods: Methods by which the oil is extracted from
the seeds by hand using simple implements are still practiced
in rural and less developed areas.
Modern Methods: Methods like ultra-sonication have been
discovered to be effective in increasing the percentage of
Jatropha oil that can be extracted using chemical methods like
aqueous enzymatic treatment. The optimum yield for such
methods has been discovered to be around 74%.
12. Production process
Transesterification: is the process of
chemically reacting a fat or oil with an alcohol
in a presence of a catalyst. Alcohol used is
usually methanol or ethanol catalyst is usually
sodium hydroxide or potassium hydroxide. The
main product of transesterification is biodiesel
and the co-product is glycerin.
Separation: after transesterification, the
biodiesel phase is separated from the glycerin
phase; both undergo purification. The chemical
properties of jatropha oil are given below.
14. About Labland:
Labland has been working on Jatropha, one of the most
prominent non- edible oil yielding plants, for Biodiesel
production since 2003. Over the past 20 years Labland
has developed several high seed yielding and high oil
producing Jatropha varieties through intensive research
and development.
TELEPHONE SURVEY (PRIMARY DATA)
Labland Group of Companies Mysuru, Karnataka
15. Labland’s biodiesel activity:
• Labland’s Jatropha varieties have proven to yield about 45 %
oil compared to the varieties which are known to yield up to
30 %
• Labland has also developed various field technologies for
obtaining maximum yield
• Labland has developed improved technologies for
conversion of Jatropha seed-oil into Biodiesel
• Per acre: 1,000 plants
• Seed yield: About 3-4 Kgs/tree/year
• Oil content: About 40%
• Yield life: About 35 years
• Biodiesel yield: About 1.2 tonnes to 1.5 tonnes/acre/year
22. Sustainable future
Rapid increases of energy consumption and human dependency on
fossil fuels have led to the accumulation of greenhouse gases and
consequently, climate change. As such, major efforts have been
taken to develop, test, and adopt clean renewable fuel alternatives.
Production of bioethanol and biodiesel from crops is well
developed, while other feedstock resources and processes have
also shown high potential to provide efficient and cost-effective
alternatives.
23. Some of the activities undertaken for technological
development in the biofuel sector are as follows:
Department of Biotechnology is promoting innovation
Research, Development and Demonstration in Biofuel areas
through various Schemes like the Centre of Excellence,
extramural projects, fellowship schemes, and international
cooperation.
Department of Biotechnology is supporting projects to ease
the utilization of biofuels by making them cost effective.
24.
25.
26. Conclusion
In the current investigation, it has confirmed that Jatropha
oil may be used as resource to obtain biodiesel. The
experimental result shows that alkaline catalyzed
transesterification is a promising area of research for the
production of biodiesel in large scale. Because biodiesel
from oil crops, waste cooking oil and animal fat cannot
fulfill a small fraction of the existing demand for transport
fuels, microalgae appear to be the only source of renewable
biodiesel that is capable of meeting the global demand for
transport fuels.
