Diesel gets a green push

IIPM MANAGEMENT INSTITUTE

For the project pertaining to jatropha plantations, the government has made provisions of 98 million acres of arid land. Unlike other cash crops the leaves of the jatropha plants are unfit for animal consumption; therefore the yield is safe from animal grazing. Dr. Reena Singh (Area convenor & associate fellow), Centre of Mycorrhiza, TERI “As per our research, the Jatropha plantation requires at least one irrigation annually and bio-fertilizers like Mycorrhiza. The plantation should be sustainable however” The process of oil extraction is based on jatropha seed crushing in an oil expeller rendering oil. This oil in turn is then mixed with alcohol along with a catalyst with bio-diesel and glycerine as bi-products. Extracted bio-diesel can be mixed with normal diesel bringing about oil conservation and better combustibility which results in lower emission levels. Scientists believe that bio-diesels have sustainable Cetane (equivalent of Octane) levels and thus they can be used up to 30% under normal operating conditions without evident engine damage. Furthermore, being a ‘low care’ crop, jatropha requires very little maintenance. Once the plantation is secured, it is sustainable even without the usual hoopla of proper irrigation and fertile soil. It’s not without a reason that jatropha is known as the ‘shameless plant’! Companies like DaimlerChrysler, D1 Oils & IOCL are taking active interest in this new age technology. As a matter of policy though, the government is reportedly not very keen on large scale jatropha plantations as that may lead to a cash crop status for jatropha. Critics are with the view that in an event of increased dependence on the crop as a fuel alternative, farmers could be encouraged to produce less food crops.

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2007

An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist) Initiative

Rashmi Bansal Publisher of JAMMAG magazine caught red-handed, for details click on the following links.

• Hindustan Times Article - Publisher goes underground
• Rashmi Bansal (Editor of JAMMAG)
• Rashmi Bansal (Publisher of JAMMAG)