by Shailaja Tripathi (The Hindu) Close on the heels of the experiment done by a SpiceJet flight using biofuel, we take a look at the scope and potential of this green fuel– … While CSIR-Indian Institute of Petroleum (CSIR-IIP) is using jatropha seed oil for its biofuel, other tree-borne oils — Nahor Oil from the North-east, Sapium Oil from the Himalayan region; waste cooking oil, mustard family non-edible rotation crops are also promising feed stocks.
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“Green Aviation biojet-fuels contribute around 80% reduction in the carbon footprint of the aviation industry and are a potential offset for CO2 emissions in the aviation industry. To meet the goals of ICAO’s (International Civil Aviation Organisation) CORSIA (Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation), and the demand for green fuels by international airlines, adequate availability and mechanisms for distribution of these fuels need to be made by Indian International Airports. This would make Indian airports a more attractive hub for international airlines, who have signed the global aviation biofuels CORSIA agreement,” says Anil K Sinha of CSIR-IIP, Dehradun, that prepared the 330 kg of biojet-fuel for the flight. A senior scientist, Sinha was one of the major forces behind the research that went into the development of biofuel at IIP.
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CSIR-IIP now wants to make this technology commercial and to use biofuel in actual flights, for which it is working towards scaling up and setting up a demonstration scale plant. “But the feedstock supply (non-edible vegetable oil and waste cooking oils) and its cost, put forth major economic challenges for this fuel,” says Sinha.
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Shell believes low-carbon biofuels, together with gains in energy efficiency, are among the quickest and most practical ways to reduce CO2 emissions from road transport in the next 20 years. According to Shell, the CO2 performance of current biofuels depends on how they are produced. Ethanol made from Brazilian sugar cane, for example, produces around 70% lower CO2 emissions from production to use, than petrol.
The company feels that hydrogen is likely to play a role in transport in decades to come, but continues to face challenges in achieving commercial scale.
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NS Balamukundan manufactures 500 mt of bio-diesel in Chennai and 6000 mt of bio-diesel in Vizag, per month. He says his bio-diesel generates a 35% lesser carbon footprint, and depending on the feedstock, the percentage can go even higher. “But it is not easy to do so. The foremost challenge is technology. Most plants in India and globally do not have the technology to process waste vegetable oils. Those based on edible oils are not cost competitive, and hence lead to poor capacity utilisation.”
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India is deficient in the production of fossil fuel, and has an advantage with biofuel because of its huge agricultural base. However, we still need a commercial set-up for it.
While the Government of India has a biofuel policy for the aviation sector, they haven’t come out with a biofuel policy for the rest. Unless we start using biofuel in other modes of transportation, doing it just for the aviation sector will be difficult. That way, the scale of production will go up, you will gain experience, and you can see how it behaves. READ MORE