Indian Biodiesel Scenario - Opportunities & Challenges

1. Indian Biodiesel Scenario -Opportunities & Challenges by Jai Uppal, ConsultantB.Sc. Chem. Engg., M.S.E. (Michigan, USA)F.I.E.. L.M.I.I.Ch.E., L.M.I.M.A.(Advisor -Renewable Energy)(Winrock International India) jaiuppal @ yahoo.com (M)+919811171121 Petrofed – April 13, 2006

2. Drivers of growth • Biodiesel Drivers - EU (Germany) • Rural Employment and use of land – post WTO scenario • Energy Security • EU – mandated use of Biofuels • Tax exemption on Biofuels to compete with petro-products • General Public opinion in favour of Renewables

3. Indian Biodiesel Program • Name of Biodiesel started making appearance at Indian Seminars in 2000 • ‘Report of the Committee on Development of Biofuel’ – Planning Commission, GOI • Emphasized on Biodiesel • Recommended Stage I ‘Demonstration Project’ use Jatropha curcas on 400,000 ha (0.5 Mill T BD) Nation-wide investment $ 300 mill • Recommended Stage II – 11 mill ha (13 mill T biodiesel) for 20% blend.

4. Indian Biodiesel Program • Large number of small inefficient plants set up more as pilot plants • Shortage of feedstocks. • However, in 2005-06 estimated 125,000 ha of Jatropha planted • Demonstration project started with initial grant of $11mill for nursery raising rest expected this year • First 10,000 TPA plant expected production by Q3 • 100,000 TPA plant construction started • Another 100,000 TPA DMT plant proposed to be modified • Research on Jatropha being taken up 34 Agri univ & R&D centers

5. Challenges • Vision and Policy • Constraint on availability of feedstock • Import of feedstock (CPO) not encouraged as can be (mis)used in edible oil • Indian farmer protected by high tariff of nearly 80% • How to balance production of feedstock and oil extraction and Biodiesel? • Jatropha cultivation not well documented or researched – high yield varieties to be created, package of practices to be finalized for each agro-climatic zone. • Comparison with other non-edible oil seeds to be done

6. Indian Biodiesel Potential • 10 to12 mill Ha of degraded lands can provide Biodiesel for 20% blend (12 mill Tonnes per year). • Biodiesel with a potential consumption of 15000 million litres can have a retailturnover of more than Rs 450, 000 million per year. • It can provide huge rural employment potential of 40 to 50 million families and transform the rural economy • Remote village electrification and power for agriculture application – Energy grown & used by village. • Max benefit to rural economy

7. CDM Benefits to Indian Economy • Afforestation/Reforestation – carbon sequestration - 12 mill ha – 120 mill tonnes CO2 • Earning potential @ $5/T - $ 600 mill • Per tonne of Biodiesel used the potential reduction of CO2 is estimated to be between 2.5 tonnes (USA) to 3.0 tonnes of CO2 per tonne per tonne used depending on soya and Jatropha • For 10 mill tonnes Biodiesel production by 2012, potential reduction of CO2 of about 251,000 tonnes • Earning potential for India by the year 2012 in carbon trading (CERs) - US$ 125 million

8. Indian Program Feedstocks Non–Edible: - • Jatropha curcas • Karanj (Pongamia pinnata) • Castor • Sal • Mahua • Simarouba • Recycled/waste oil/fat

9. Options of Feedstocks for India • India a net importer of edible oil and imports increasing. The price of edible oil very high in India – Rs 40 per litre • Productivity low • Edible oil not an option except used/RVO • Non-edible oil • Karanj Oil – Present price of oil about Rs 27- 30 per litre in South India – where oil is used (Karnataka State Roadways – blend of 2%)

10. Jatropha curcas • Ratan Jyot, chanrdajyot, physic nut • Fruiting – 2 to 4 years – major advantage • Maturity – 5 to 10 years – major advantage • Life – 50 years – productive life 35 years • Small – plants per ha – 1100 to 2500 • Yield in reasonable conditions – 3 to 5 TPHa • Oil content – 30 to 45% • Oil yield – 1 to 2 tonnes per ha • Soft shell easy to decorticate manually • Good Boundary plantation TBO • Alien species

11. Jatropha curcas Advantages: - • Short duration of the fruiting and maturity • Hardy plant – not browsed by animals • High oil content • Excellent fence and boundary plantation • Chosen for ‘Demonstration Project’ because of early fruiting and hardy nature • Disadvantage – very little scientific data on high yielding variety, agriculture practices – R&D required

12. Indian Land Resource availability • Productive (irrigated) land to avoided –wastelands/degraded lands good option • Wasteland availability – 60 mill ha (old) • Latest Wasteland Atlas of India 2005 – 55 mill ha • Forest land – 69 mill ha – 31 mill ha degraded –scrub forests 11 mill ha • Non-forest land – 5 types – 22 mill ha

13. Category of Wasteland as in Wastelands Atlas/Ownership Total Area in India Mill. Ha Gullied/Ravinous-Shallow, Mainly Community, Govt. 1.03 Land With Scrub/Community (Government / Panchayats) 15.05 Land without Scrub. 3.74 Saline/Alkaline-Slight / Mainly private 0.41 Shifting Cultivation – abandoned /Community 1.22 Degraded Forest –Scrub /Government 10.84 Total 32.29 Indian Wasteland Availability

14. Other types of land not utilized • Other types of land: • Railway, canal , roadside, • Ponds, household, passages, • Boundary of farm fields • Agro-forestry land • Fallow land

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