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Project
Proposal: Biodiesel
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Full description of problem/need |
| In rural India, much
of the population depends on diesel
to run tractors, jeeps, buses and other
vehicles. Petrol is only used in motorbikes.
There are also a lot of power cuts in
the area and so diesel is used in generators
to produce electricity. So there is
a need for a sustainable source of diesel
fuel to be developed so that it can
be used in diesel engines, cleanly and
safely.
A biodiesel plant could be set up
to provide biodiesel at a low cost
to the local area, running off locally
produced crops, such as the common
'weed' Jatropha. This production plant
should be able to run on locally produced
biomass and/or waste. The aim is to
design a plant that would continuously
produce biodiesel throughout the year.
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| How will the local community use the
proposed solution? |
| The community would
use the proposed solution to construct
and maintain a biodiesel generator.
This generator would be used by a farmer
who would grow a biodiesel feed crop.
The farmer that first develops such
a generator could then offer the generator
other farmers' crops. Then local biodiesel
generators servicing a local community
would be created. During summer 2005
the given plantation owner contact is
eager to set up such a generator on
his farm.
The biodiesel would then be effectively
used for transportation and/or a back
up for electricity. This would mean
that it could be used in many engines
and generators with near or complete
combustion. As of summer 2005, biodiesel
that has been created is of a crude
form and when combusted a lot of soot
is produced, indicating inadequate
combustion. A crucial part of this
project would be to distil the crude
biodiesel to a sufficient level, so
that it can be efficiently used in
engines.
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| Estimate of the economic
benefit anticipated and plans for training
of the local community? What are the
major impacts on such a project? |
| A biodiesel generator
would give the community an alternate
source of fuel and constant power and
it would provide jobs for a portion
of the community. Jobs would include
constructing the plant, maintaining
the plant and selling the biodiesel
to the local community. There would
also be indirect jobs provided by a
biodiesel generator. There could be
a demand for more biomass and more crops
would have to be grown, creating further
profits for farmers or more jobs in
the community. This would help to stabilise
the local economy, making money stay
in the area, as the community would
use local resources to create their
power. An ideal solution would be to
produce biodiesel at such a cheap price
that it could replace any reliance on
the unreliable Indian power grid.
A test case for a biodiesel plant
could be developed either at Vigyan
Ashram or at B.R.Nagarkar's farm,
which has a substantial biodiesel
crop plantation, as of summer 2005.
Both parties would be eager to pilot
a suitable solution and with clear
designs and simple instructions could
create and maintain a biodiesel plant.
Then the idea could be used by other
local entrepreneurs.
The biodiesel also should be available
at a lower cost than it is currently
(Rs. 36/litre). This would benefit
everyone in the community that uses
transport, which would be the vast
majority of people. The proposal would
especially benefit local businesses,
which use transport as an integral
part of their day-to-day work.
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| Full description of the local situation
(e.g. social, economic, geographical,
political) |
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Vigyan Ashram built a biodiesel generator.
However, the biodiesel it produced was
pure crude and they had no method of
esterification. It was tested on a tractor
engine, unrefined, and much of the oil
passed through the engine unused. Heating
the oil before combustion was tried
but had no effect.
Vigyan Ashram found that a Moha seed
was effective in producing biodiesel.
Unfortunately this took several years
to grow and would be far too inefficient
for the local community to use (see
below for more detail on seeds).
A proposed solution should have a
simple refining method and should
be able to use a more sustainable
crop as a fuel source which takes
only a season, as compared to years,
to mature. The plantation owner uses
a seed called Jatropha (amongst others,
see below) which is a common weed
across India, so is therefore cheap.
It can grow in one season but only
lasts for 45 years.
Jatropha plants at the biodiesel
plantation
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| Full description of relevant infrastructure
available locally and/or internationally |
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Plant names (in Marathi, unless stated)
Earndi
Jatropha (English name)
This plant produces crops continuously
once it begins producing seeds. Too
much rain causes discoloring of leaves.
It is a robust plant and can grow
in summer and winter conditions. It
is present almost everywhere in India
(and so it is perceived as a weed).
Lifespan: 45 years.
Selling Price of seeds: Rs. 50 /kg
of seeds.
The crops take 15 months to produce
seeds. One plant (tree) costs Rs.
20 from local nursery.
The plantation owner has 3 acres and
4000 plants.
The crops produce 5 - 25 kg of seeds
per year per plant.
150 ml/week minimum of water is required
per plant. The optimum amount is 500
ml/week per plant.
The plantation owner users 5000 l/
day from self-constructed dam.
Water system provides all-year watering.
 The
Jatropha Plant
Moha
Lifespan: 200 years
Takes seven years to produce seeds
- lost profit.
Requires further 2 years to grow in
a nursery.
Karnj
Lifespan: 70 years
Takes seven years to produce seeds
- lost profit.
Requires further 2 years to grow in
a nursery.
Unda
Jojoba
Items mentioned in the Inventory,
particularly
-Metals
-Cement
-Petrol barrels
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