India is sixth in world in energy demand, accounting for 3.5% of world’s commercial energy consumption.

Consumption is expected to rise to an annual 5.6% rate and by 65% until 2011. Domestic supply can presently satisfy 22% of demand & dependence on crude oil imports is increasing

There is a growing demand gap between production and consumption

Bio diesels are manufactured from vegetable oils.

                        CROP                                     COUNTRY

                        1)Sunflower                              Europe

                        &

                        Rape seed

                        2)Soyabean                              USA

                        3)Palm oil                                 Thailand, Malaysia

                        4)Frying oil                               Ireland

                        &

                        Animal fat

                        5)Jatropha                                India, parts of Africa, Central America

In India, it is estimated that cost of Biodiesel produced by trans-esterification of oil obtained from Jatropha Curcas oil-seeds shall be approximately same as that of petroleum diesel. The cost of Biodiesel varies between Rs. 15.00 & 17.00 per liter. Assumptions are that the seed contains 35% oil, oil extraction will be 91-92%, 1.05 Kg of oil will be required to produce 1.0 ltr.

POLICY:

• Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas is committed to take forward National Common Minimum Programme (NCMP) of the government of India. Ministry is committed to meet social objectives of NCMP and enhance energy security. The alternate sources for energy security are biofuels. 5% ethanol blended petrol programme to suppose agriculture & rural sector. Now, there is increased awareness of biofuels made from vegetable oils & animal fats

• Jatropha oil used in rural areas for lightening lamps, running pumpsets & others. The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) specification BIS 1460 for High Speed Diesel (HSD) covers specifications relevant for 5% bio diesel blended diesel (B5) also. BIS has already come out with the specification for pure bio diesel (B 100), vide PCD3 (2242) C- dated 26-7-2004 which is an Indian adaptation of the American Standard ASTMD 675%.

• Independent R&D efforts established that bio diesel blended in diesel upto a blend of 20% requires no modification in engine specification. Hence, oil marketing companies has no technical difficulty in blending bio diesel in diesel & marketing such fuel provided bio diesel is available at a price where oil companies do not incur losses.

• Total involvement of Panchayat Raj Institutions needs to be recognized to ensure its success. Community land used for community purpose under supervision of PRI, notably the Gram Sabha, identification of beneficiaries for taking up Jatropha cultivation by the identified poor under the poverty alleviation programmes.

• With effect from 1-1-2006, public sector oil marketing companies shall purchase through its select purchase centres, bio diesel (B100) which meet the fuel quality standard prescribed in BIS. The oil marketing companies make available comprehensive industry guideline “Operations Quality & Safety Manual on Bio diesel- HSD B100 & HSD B05 max”.

• Bio diesel manufactures interested in supplying bio diesel to public sector oil marketing companies approach State level co-ordinator after assessment of production capacity & credibility of the prospective supplier by joint evaluation samples tested should meet prescribed BIS specification, the supplier shall be registered as authorized supplier.

• All expenses related to testing the bio diesel for acceptance for the consignment shall be borne by the oil marketing companies. Every consignment shall be tested for following

·        Density @15 degree celcius

·        Kinematic viscosity @ 40 degree celcius

·        Flash point

·        Copper corrosion

·        Acid value

PRI’s in consultation with National Oil seeds & vegetable oils development Board, the ministry of bio technology & National Botanical Research Programme for making available good quality seed & tissue culture for oil bearing trees including Jatropha. PRI’s with Petroleum Conservation & Research Association (PCRA) & State government will create more awareness among people through workshops, seminars, kisan melas and others. Progress of the implementation of the bio diesel purchase policy by the oil marketing companies will be monitored by the Petroleum Policy & Analysis Cell (PPAC) will report the progress to the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas on a regular basis.

MODIFIED POLICY:

The Government of India, may announce a modified biofuel policy in Feb 2008. A group of ministers (GoM), headed by agriculture minister Sharad Pawar, has arrived at a consensus on the policy and has proposed some changes on its earlier draft.The changes would be incorporated to dispell any doubts in the minds of farmers and other stake holders about the new initiative, an officials involved in the development said. The ministry for new and renewable energy has suggested setting up of a national biofuel development board and formulation of the national biofuel policy for the promotion of biofuel as an alternate source of energy.

The new policy also proposes minimum support prices (MSPs) for farmers engaged in the production of bio-fuel crops like jatropha, karanjaseeds and oil-bearing materials. The rural development ministry, meanwhile, had demanded a gross budgetary support of Rs 1,340 crore to support jatropha cultivation in 400,000 hectare of wasteland over a period of five years.
The new and renewable ministry claims that the government could save foreign exchange worth Rs 20,000 crore once the policy on biofuels is adopted. The policy envisages replacement of 10% of the petroleum products requirement of the country with biofuels by 2012.

CULTIVATION PRACTISES:

INTRODUCTION

Jatropha curcas is multi purpose non edible oil yielding perennial shrub originated in tropical America and West Asia. It is commonly known as pysic nut or purging nut. Jatropha curcas belongs to the family Euphorbiaceae and has the tendency to produce latex and hence animals do not browse the plant. This is a hardy and drought tolerant crop can be raised in marginal lands with lesser input. The crop can be maintained for 30years economically.

The genus Jatropha has 476 species and distributed throughout the world. Among them, 12 species are recorded in India. The species Jatropha curcas is a promising one with economic seed yield and oil recovery. The oil from Jatropha curcas can be used as bio diesel blend up to 20%. However, the refined oil is a qualified neat bio diesel.

CLIMATE

Jatropha grows well under subtropical and tropical climates. It can tolerate extremes of temperature but not the frost.

SOIL

It is grown in wide range of soils. For economic returns, a soil with moderate fertility is preferred.

VARIETY

No variety has so far been evolved in Jatropha curcas through out the world. However,high yielding types collected and evaluated at Tamil Nadu Agricultural University and types from African Countries (Madagascar,Zimbabwe and Cape Verde) are ideal for cultivation.

PROPOGATION

Jatropha is normally propagated through seeds. Well developed plumpy seeds are selected for sowing in the raised nursery beds. Before sowing, seeds are soaked in cow dung solution for 12 hours and kept under the wet gunny bags for 12 hours. Germinated seeds are sown in poly bags 10×20 cm size filled with red soil, sand and organic in the ratio of 1:1:1 respectively.

PLANTING

In one acre, 1000 plants can be planted at a spacing of 2m x 2m. Pits of 30x 30 x30 cm may be dug and filled with soil and organic (500 gm FYM + 100g neem cake+100g super) before planting. For better establishment of seedlings, monsoon seasons may be preferred for planting (June-July, October-November). Seedling drenched with cow dung and urine

Solution (5:1) @ 200 ml / plant found to perform better.

MANURES AND FERTILIZERS

From second year onwards fertilizers are applied. For one acre 20:120:60 kg of NPK respectively applied during September-October respectively. From 4 year onwards, 150g super phosphate is recommended.

IRRIGATION

Irrigation is a must immediately after planting. Life irrigation should be given on third day after planting. The irrigation at fortnight interval is compulsory to ensure year round production of flowers and harvest of seeds.

AFTER CULTIVATION

Weeding may be attended to as and when needed. For early flowering, GA @ 100 ppm may be sprayed. It also helps better pod development and yield.

INTER CROPPING

Being a perennial crop, inter crops can be raised in between the rows for the first two years. Crops like tomato, bitter gourd, pumpkin, ash gourd, cucumber, and black gram can be grown profitably.

CANOPY MANAGEMENT

The terminal twig is going to be pinched to induce secondary branches. Likewise the secondary and tertiary branches are to be pinched or pruned at the end of first year to induce minimum of twenty five branches at the end of second year. Once in ten years the plant may be cut leaving one meter height from ground level for rejuvenation. The growth is quick and the plant will start yielding.

YIELD

Seedlings produce flowers 9 months after sowing. However plants established through cuttings, produce flowers from 6 month onwards. Where ever Jatropha is cultivated under irrigated condition, flowering is through out the year. Economic yield starts from 3 year end. It is estimated as 3000kg seeds/acre @ 3kg seeds/plant. Seeds are dried under sunlight for four days until the moisture is brought to 6-10%before oil extraction.

Market Overview :

Biodiesel is being used in a number of Developed countries, who depend on Developing countries for supply. Due to this, Jatropha / Castor Plantation is suddenly in Limelight. It is the widely talked about plant in the world today. 50% of the land which can be brought under Jatropha / Castor cultivation is in India. Biodiesel has huge market all over the world. With supplies becoming challenging from Middle East, energy security has become very important to sustain the economy. Biodiesel is manufactured from Vegetable oils. Sunflower, rape seed etc. is the raw material used in Europe whereas soy bean is used in USA. Thailand uses palm oil, Ireland uses frying oil and animal fats. Tropical countries like India, parts of Africa and Central America uses Jatropha / Castor. Europe has dominated the biodiesel industry to date with 90% of global production, but escalating demand is outpacing supply. The mandatory usage will create a demand of at least 9.2 million tons of biodiesel per year by 2010. However, current refining capacity is only 2.2 million tons per year. Asia currently consumes over 2 billion tons of oil per year, and demand is expected to double by 2025. Transport fuel will make up a significant portion of this growth. Alternative fuels could meet growing energy needs as well as reducing greenhouse gas emissions and cutting local pollution.

Jatropha / Castor oil required for blending of Biodiesel In India*

REFERENCES:

http://www.jatrophabiofuel.com/Bio-Diesel%20in%20India%20Scenario.htm

http://petroleum.nic.in/Bio-Diesel.pdf

http://www.svlele.com/jatropha_invest.htm

www.tnau.ac.in

MSc(ICT-ARD)

CONTACT INFORMATION

Email ID:               200713013@daiict.ac.in, dr.anil16@gmail.com

Mobile No:             (+91)9904903370

EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND
Veterinary Doctor . Currently pursuing MSc. in Information And communication Technology In agriculture And Rural Development (ICT-ARD) from DA-IICT Gandhinagar, Gujarat, India