Biodiesel by pakistani researchers of NUST

Biodiesel by pakistani researchers of NUST

Read More

Commercialization of biodiesel in Pakistan

Commercialization of biodiesel in Pakistan

Source: Pakistan Science Club  

 

By Faizan Wazir and Asia Noshin

WITH THE exception of hydroelectricity and nuclear energy, the majority of the worlds energy needs are supplied through petrochemical sources, coal and natural gas. All of these sources are finite and at certain usage rate will be consumed by the end of the next century. The depletion of the world petroleum reserves and increased environmental concerns has stimulated recent interest in alternative sources for petroleum based fuels. Biodiesel has arisen as a potential candidate for the diesel substitute due to the similarities it has with petroleum based diesel.
Biodiesel defined as “a substitute for, or an additive to Diesel fuel that is derived from the oils and fats of plants and animals” or monoalkyl esters of long chain fatty acids derived from a renewable lipid feedstock, such as vegetable oil or animal fat, is becoming popular in developing countries as well as developed ones.
The European Union has set an objective to secure a market share for motor biofuels of 20% of the total motor fuel consumption by 2020. Fossil diesel blended with 20% biodiesel produced from soybean oil is available in the US market. Developing renewable energy is a national strategy of Pakistan, which does not have plentiful fossil oil deposits. Pakistan as a big developing country with rapid economic growth needs more energy than before. The oil sector is looking for indigenous sources to reduce its dependence on imported crude oil and there can be no better source than ethanol and Biodiesel.
The major hurdle in commercialization of this renewable motor fuel in countries like Pakistan is high cost of oil, reagents and equipments, non availability of good quality raw material and lack of expertise in this field.
Pakistan has wide resources of both edible and non edible oil yielding plants. Among edible oil yielding plants cotton, canola, sun flower, sesame, linseed, safflower and soybean are important while among non edible oil plants castor seed, jatropa, jojoba, different species of acacia, pongammia pinata and many halophytes are common. Although, Pakistan already face shortage of edible oil, but by making proper arrangements and bioengineering of the crops yielding non edible oil, will help in the production of biodiesel on large scale with in the country.
Experiments shown that biodiesel derived from non edible oil seeds can be used in the designs of diesel vehicles. It will also result in the utilization of waste land, drought proofing and energy security for the country. The commercialization of biodiesel in our country will lead to employment generation especially in rural areas and thus will help in reduction of poverty. Moreover, the availability of this fuel will open a new market for oil and fats in country so that both local and foreign investors will be attracted to make investment in this new field. Thus, it will also help in establishment of country economy.
Pakistan at present imports crude oil worth billions of dollars every year to fulfill the demand from consumers like factories and vehicles. By commercialization this renewable fuel; Pakistan dependency on foreign countries for petroleum import will be reduced. Moreover, the main advantage of renewable fuel is of its environment friendliness and all the exhaust gasses emitted are photosynthetic and will not affect the green house.
For commercialization of biodiesel, Government of Pakistan has to take some serious steps. The most important of which is the good advertisement of this beneficial fuel throughout the country. Government should facilitate the people which are interested in this field. It is important that government should advise the oil and gas sector to make blend of 20% biodiesel with petro diesel. Thus, on one hand pollution rate will be reduced and on the other hand our dependency on petroleum import will be decreased which is the need of hour.
Pakistan has vast areas which are not cultivable including sea shores, desserts, saline and waterlogged soils. It has been found that these areas are quite fertile for many xerophytes and halophytes which yield non edible oil and can contribute to commercial biodiesel production.
Research in the fields of biodiesel is in progress throughout the world and also on small scale in Pakistan. Although Pakistan is much backward in this field, yet in some institutes and universities small scale research is in progress. The main aim of research in this field is the development of suitable and cost effective materials and methods, improving the standard of existing raw materials in order to reduce cost benefit ratio. If our government takes serious steps and facilitates the research institutes, one can easily figure out that the day is not far away when our vehicles will run on this renewable and environment friendly fuel.

Read More

Jatropha Bio Diesel

Jatropha Bio Diesel

Source: Pakistan Science Club

JATROPHA CURCAS is an oil bearing tree that can be cultivated in semi-arid regions on marginal soils; it is suited for the rehabilitation of waste lands. The Jatropha tree yields a non-edible oil which can be used to fuel vehicles, diesel generators, lamps or cooking stoves without a transesterification into biodiesel, enhancing local economic development. The Jatropha oil is a substitute for fossil fuels and eligible for carbon offset schemes. The Jatropha seeds do not have to be processed immediately (unlike palm) which allows to integrate smallholder farmers in remote regions. Jatropha can be cultivated as a hedge around fields or on unused land and offers smallholders an opportunity to create additional revenues, beyond subsistence farming.

Jatropha is cultivated in many countries and its oil is used produce bio-diesel to combat the increasing prices of petroleum. The Jatropha trees take 4 to 5 years to mature fully. At that time, if Jatropha Plantation is rain fed, these plants can yield 0.35 to 0.375 gallon of oil per tree or 375 gallons per hectare or 150 gallons per acre. If it is irrigated (3 to 5 litres per plant every 15 days) it can be double this amount. Water footprint of 1 litre of Jatropha oil is 1,400 litres.

National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST) has taken up this project keeping in view the current energy crisis in Pakistan. Some of the best brains in the world are working at NUST on Jatropha project. NUST has initiated this break through project which is spearheaded by their commercialization wing, Science & Technology Ventures (S T Ventures).

For this a model farm of 20 acres has been setup at NUST H-12 campus. An MoU has been signed with the Engineering Centre, Risalpur, Pakistan Army for Jatropha cultivation at Risalpur Cantonment and subsequent consultancy for conversion to biodiesel and replicate the same model in all the cantonments. STV is also working with ASF to create awareness amongst farmers to take up Jatropha farming.

Three of NUST schools; School of Chemical and Material Engineering (SCME), School Of Material and Manufacturing (SMME) and NUST College of Virology and Immunology (NCVI) are part of pioneering research on the same subject. They have experts who are able to establish Jatropha nurseries to help with Jatropha farming and also facilitate the conversion processes and techniques. Within 2 years they would be able to manufacture on industrial scale an indigenous continuous production Jatropha conversion plant.

As this hardy crop can be grown on a wide range of land types, it can make a significant impact on employment in rural areas of developing countries where planting takes place, a benefit which fits well with NUST’s aspiration to pursue R & D projects which have a positive impact on the society at large.

The importance of Jatropha plant increased during 2007-08 when high prices of petroleum were increased manifold and developing countries started its cultivation to maintain the pace of their economic progress. Its cultivation is successful in arid areas and Sindh, Balochistan and many areas of NWFP and Punjab are an ideal place for this purpose.

Currently the oil from Jatropha curcas seeds is used as bio-diesel in Philippines and Brazil, where it grows naturally. Likewise, Jatropha oil is being promoted as an easily grown bio-fuel crop in hundreds of projects in India and other developing countries.

Jatropha oil is significantly cheaper than crude oil. Now we look at production of seeds and oil. From the experience in various countries, a plant density of 1,100 per hectare (spacing of 3 X 3 meters) has been found to be optimal, although in rain fed areas on poor soils a lower plant density of 1,666 has been felt to be more desirable. In such plantations Jatropha gives about 2 kgs of seed per tree. In relatively poor desert soils, the yields have been reported to be 1 kg per plant. The seed production in plantations varies between 2.5 tons / hectare and 5 tons / hectare, depending upon whether the soils are poor or average. Some people claim that you can get 12 tons per hectare. This is not possible as 2 meters tall Jatropha plant can not bear more than 1 kg of seeds per season initially. This level of production may be possible from a 10 year old Jatropha plant.

If planted in hedges, the reported productivity of Jatropha is from 0.8 kg. to 1.0 kg. of seed per meter of live fence. Assuming a square plot, a fence around it will have a length of 400 sq. meters and a production of 0.4 MT of seed. A hedge along one hectare will be equal to 0.1 hectare of block plantation. The seed production is around 3.5 tons / hectare / annum.

Oil content varies from 28% to 30% and 94% extraction, one hectare of plantation will give 1.6 MT of oil if the soil is average and 0.75 MT if the soil is lateritic. One hectare of plantation on average soil will on an average give 1.6 Metric Tons of oil. Plantation per hectare on poorer soils will give 0.9 MT of oil.

Read More

JATROPHA , Pilot Research Studies,

JATROPHA (Pilot Research Studies)

Source:http://www.dost.gov.pk/jatropha.php?ID=100

 

INTRODUCTION
Jatropha Curcas is a drought-resistant perennial, growing well in marginal/poor soil. It is easy to establish, grows relatively quickly and lives, producing seeds for 50 years. Jatropha the wonder plant produces seeds with an oil content of 37%. The oil can be combusted as fuel without being refined. It burns with clear smoke-free flame, tested successfully as fuel for simple diesel engine. The by-products are press cake a good organic fertilizer, oil contains also insecticide. It is found to be growing in many parts of the country, rugged in nature and can survive with minimum inputs and easy to propagate. Medically it is used for diseases like cancer, piles, snakebite, paralysis, dropsy etc. Jatropha grows wild in many areas of the world and even thrives on infertile soil. A good crop can be obtained with little effort. Depending on soil quality and rainfall, oil can be extracted from the jatropha nuts after two to five years. The annual nut yield ranges from 0.5 to 12 tons. The kernels consist of oil to about 60 percent.
Family: Euphorbiaceae English or Common Name: physic nut, purging nut; Kanana randa. Botanical Name: jatropha Curcas and Jatropha Gossypifolia.L.
Biophysical limits
Altitude: 0-500 m, Mean annual temperature: 20-28C, Mean annual rainfall: 300-1000 mm or more. Soil type: Grows on well-drained soils with good aeration and is well adapted to marginal soils with low nutrient content. On heavy soils, root formation is reduced. Jatropha is a highly adaptable species, but its strength as a crop comes from its ability to grow on very poor and dry sites.
Distribution and habitat
It is still uncertain where the centre of origin is, but it is believed to be Mexico and Central America. It has been introduced to Africa and Asia and is now cultivated world-wide. This highly drought-resistant species is adapted to arid and semi-arid conditions. The current distribution shows that introduction has been most successful in the drier regions of the tropics with annual rainfall of 300-1000 mm. It occurs mainly at lower altitudes (0-500 m) in areas with average annual temperatures well above 20°C but can grow at higher altitudes and tolerates slight frost. It grows on well-drained soils with good aeration and is well adapted to marginal soils with low nutrient content.
Botanical Features
It is a small tree or shrub with smooth gray bark, which exudes whitish colored, watery, latex when cut. Normally, it grows between three and five meters in height, but can attain a height of up to eight or ten meters under favorable conditions.
Flowers
The petiole length ranges between 6-23 mm. The inflorescence is formed in the leaf axil. Flowers are formed terminally, individually, with female flowers usually slightly larger and occur in the hot seasons. In conditions where continuous growth occurs, an unbalance of pistillate or staminate flower production results in a higher number of female flowers.
Fruits
Fruits are produced in winter when the shrub is leafless, or it may produce several crops during the year if soil moisture is good and temperatures are sufficiently high. Each inflorescence yields a bunch of approximately 10 or more ovoid fruits. Three, bi-valved cocci are formed after the seeds mature and the fleshy exocarp dries.
Seeds
The seeds become mature when the capsule changes from green to yellow, after two to four months
Flowering and fruiting habit
The trees are deciduous, shedding the leaves in the dry season. Flowering occurs during the wet season and two flowering peaks are often seen. In permanently humid regions, flowering occurs throughout the year. The seeds mature about three months after flowering. Early growth is fast and with good rainfall conditions nursery plants may bear fruits after the first rainy season, direct sown plants after the second rainy season. The flowers are pollinated by insects especially honey bees.
Ecological Requirements
Jatropha curcas grows almost anywhere, even on gravelly, sandy and saline soils. It can thrive on the poorest stony soil. It can grow even in the crevices of rocks. The leaves shed during the winter months form mulch around the base of the plant. The organic matter from shed leaves enhance earth-worm activity in the soil around the root-zone of the plants, which improves the fertility of the soil. Regarding climate, Jatropha Curcas is found in the tropics and subtropics and likes heat, although it does well even in lower temperatures and can withstand a light frost. Its water requirement is extremely low and it can stand long periods of drought by shedding most of its leaves to reduce transpiration loss. Jatropha is also suitable for preventing soil erosion and shifting of sand dunes.
Preparation of Seeds
The ripe fruits are plucked from the trees and the seeds are sun dried. They are decorticated manually or by decorticator. To prepare the seeds for oil extraction, they should be solar heated for several hours or roasted for 10 minutes. The seeds should not be overheated. The process breaks down the cells containing the oil and eases the oil flow. The heat also liquefies the oil, which improves the extraction process. Oil can be extracted from the seeds by heat, solvents or by pressure. Extraction by heat is not used commercially for vegetable oils. The oil from Jatropha seeds can be extracted by three different methods. These are mechanical extraction using a screw press, solvent extraction and an intermittent extraction technique viz. soxhlet extraction.
Purification of Oil
The oil extracted as above can be purified by the following means:
Sedimentation
This is the easiest way to get clear oil, but it takes about a week until the sediment is reduced to 20 - 25 % of the raw oil volume.
Boiling with water
The purification process can be accelerated tremendously by boiling the oil with about 20 % of water. The boiling should continue until the water has completely evaporated (no bubbles of water vapors anymore). After a few hours the oil then becomes clear
Extraction by Pressing.
Raw oil extraction can be improved using better extraction techniques which can enhance the economics of biodiesel production. SOLVENT EXTRACTION IS RECOMMENDED FOR PLANTATION SIZE OF > 5000 HECTARES. Solvent extraction of jatropha seeds yields the maximum seed oil that is, 37% by weight of seed, or 99% of the total available oil. Normally hexane is utilized in the solvent-extraction process
BY- PRODUCTS
Together with the oil, by-products of the production are: The press-cake, that, thanks to its mineral contents of nitrogen (6%), phosphorous (2, 75%) and potassium (0.94%) similar to chicken manure, can be used as organic fertilizer. An application of 1 t of press cake is equivalent to 200 kg of mineral fertilizer (NPK 12:24:12). The residual, a substance obtained from the sedimentation of the oil during the purification process in the tank. These sediments mixed and boiled with caustic soda and water are commonly used for soap production.
STORAGE
During storage, oil is likely to react with atmospheric oxygen and other environmental factors, and this may lead to a change in oil quality, particularly increase in FFAs (free fatty acids). The quality of oil may get deteriorated during prolonged storage; generally oxidative and hydrolytic rancidity occurs due to enzymes, air, and moisture. Jatropha seeds and seed oil quality may get deteriorated on storage due to bacteria, moles, enzymatic degradation, oxidation, and hydrolysis. Therefore, it is important to understand the effect of storage conditions on quality of oil in order to optimize the economically viable storage conditions for storage of oil. Further, following parameters are important for vegetable oil to be used for bio-diesel production. Moisture content: The oil must be moisture-free for catalyst-based transesterification process because every molecule of water destroys a molecule of the catalyst, thus decreasing its concentration. Free fatty acids: The FFA content should be less than one per cent. It has been observed that the lesser the FFA in oil the better is the bio-diesel recovery. Higher FFA oil can also be used but the bio-diesel recovery will depend upon oil type and amount of sodium hydroxide used. Iodine value: The degree of unsaturated fats can be measured as IV (iodine value). High IV is preferred to lower the cloud point. However, an IV of more than 25 limits the use of oil as neat fuel due to its potential to polymerize.
Environmental Aspects of Jatropha
The first dilemma is related to the direct impact on agriculture of higher oil prices: increased costs for tractor fuel, agricultural chemicals, and transport of farm inputs and outputs. The second is an indirect consequence of high oil prices—the increased demand for biofuel, which is resulting in farmland being turned from food production to fuel production, making food more costly. The third dilemma consists of climate change and extreme weather events caused by fuelbased greenhouse gas emissions. Climate change is the greatest environmental crisis of our time; however, fossil fuel depletion complicates the situation enormously. Finally comes the degradation or loss of natural resources (principally, topsoil and fresh water supplies) as a result of high costs and unsustainable methods of production to satisfy the demand for cheap energy. Each of these problems is developing at a somewhat different pace regionally, and each is exacerbated by the continually expanding size of human population. As these dilemmas collide, the resulting overall food crises are likely to be profound and unprecedented in scope. The Jatropha has a direct impact on the CDM(Clean Development Mechnism) and can solve the problem up to great extent.
ECONOMICS :JATROPHA BIODIESEL OVERVIEW
The Biodiesel industry is still young and relatively small, so as it grows to a larger scale and when an infrastructure is developed, the costs of producing and marketing biodiesel may decline.  New cost-saving technologies will likely be developed to help producers use energy more efficiently, increase conversion yields and convert cheaper feedstocks into high-quality biodiesel.  However, in the longer term, the biggest challenge may be the ability of the feedstock supply to keep up with growing demand.  The supply of soybeans, rapeseeds and other feedstocks available for biodiesel production will be limited by competition from other uses and land constraints. As such the key to the future of Biodiesel is finding inexpensive feed stocks that can be grown by farmers on marginal agricultural land, and Jatropha is one of many plants that hold a great deal of promise. Jatropha proves to be a promising Bio Fuel plantation and could emerge as a major alternative to Diesel thus reducing our dependence on Oil imports and saving the precious Foreign Exchange besides providing the much needed Energy Security. Jatropha oil displacing conventional fossil fuel makes the project fully eligible as a CDM project, i.e. recipient of CO2 credits.
An integrated Jatropha Biodiesel Project has three stages:
The first stage of the production process of bio-diesel from the seeds of Jatropha is the plantation stage. Extraction stage of bio-diesel production The final stage of bio-diesel production is the transesterification stage in which raw oil is transesterified to bio-diesel The combination of three stages of bio-diesel production and the role of each player in these stages have to be objectively defined as they can affect the economics of bio-diesel production Therefore, we have carried out Economic analysis considering all above three stages as separate entities. The renewable fuel may lead developing countries in reducing emissions from deforestation, improving energy efficiency, and transforming urban transport. Such an approach can simultaneously support economic recovery and encourage growth in areas that mitigate the impact of climate change. The global crisis may well lead to a temporary reduction of pressure on biofuel production, but as the price of oil is likely to rise again, the biofuel issue will return to the top of the agenda. Bio fuel, "Diesel" from Jatropha and other non food tree crops has the ability to lift many people from poverty to financial independence, from despair to respect and unemployment to business owners.

Read More

Biodiesel Production Plant

Introduction

 

source:http://dacct.com/articles/plant-design-projects/biodiesel-production-plant/

Biodiesel is the name of a clean burning fuel produced from domestic renewable resources. It can be used in compression ignition (diesel) engines with no major modifications. Biodiesel is simple to use, biodegradable, nontoxic, and essentially free of sulfur and aromatics. Chemically, biodiesel is mono-alkyl esters of long-chain fatty acids derived from lipid sources.

Importance of Biodiesel

Importance of biodiesel over fossil fuel is its cleaner Emissions, non-hazardous Toxicity & biodegradability. Also declining reserves of fossil fuels and its fluctuating prices is a major draw back of diesel.

Importance of Biodiesel in Pakistan

Biodiesel is important to Pakistan due to its merits over petroleum fuel. Pakistan consumes around 8 million tons of   diesel   & 7.2 million tons of furnace oil per year. It is environmental friedly and reduces dependence on imported oil. Also Sustainable, Renewable Resource grown domestically and save precious foreign exchange.

Sources of Biodiesel

It can be produce through numerous sources as from edible (sunflower, canola, soybean, and corn oil used vegetable cooking oil) and non edible oils (Algae oil, capoiba, jatropha oil, jojoba oil, pongame oil).

Jatropha curcas

It is often referred to as ‘jatropha’. It is a plant that produces seeds with high oil content. The seeds are toxic and in principle non edible. World wide jatropha got many considerations as a biodiesel’s raw material.
Uses of Jatropha other than production of biodiesel are making of candles and soap, in cosmetics industry, paraffin substitute or extender. Also it is used as medication purpose as well as its waste can be used as fertilizers oil can be used to make fertilizers.

Production of Biodiesel

Preparation of oil

Oil is a basic need to produce biodiesel. So the oil from the jatropha is extracted and after treatment is used for biodiesel production.
The fruits first harvested from the fields and treated to produce oil. It is first feed up  into the dehuller where seeds are separated out from fruit hulls, dried & stored. Now the oil is extracted from the seeds by means of Mechanical methods. Mechanical methods include Expression/Expeller press. The oil receives from the expeller goes for purification. The impurities present in jatropha oil consist of both dissolved and suspended particles that are not part of the structure of the oil. Solid  particles,  FFAs  and  phosphor  need  to  be  removed  before  the  oil  is  ready  to  use  in engines. Pro oxidant metals like copper and iron will speed up oxidation. Filtration, sedimentation, degumming and neutralizations are the processes which are done to finally prepare the oil for the production of bodiesel

Methods for the Production of Biodiesel
1.    Base catalyzed transesterification of the oil
2.    Enzyme catalyzed system.
3.    Direct acid catalyzed transesterification of the oil.
Last 2 methods are not used industrially because it has slow reaction rate, and high methanol consumption and gives 90% conversion whereas the enzyme-catalyzed system requires a much longer reaction time.
In Base catalyzed transestrification of oil, methanol is used as reactant and sodium hydroxide is used as catalyst. In this type of transestrification, a low methanol to oil ratio i.e. is 6:1.The reaction is carried out at 6 to 8 hours and reaction take 69 hours to be completed o obtain 98 % conversion to methyl esters.
It is low temperature and pressure, yields conversion (98%), direct conversion to biodiesel with no intermediate compounds & no exotic materials of construction are needed.

Blends of Biodiesel

The biodiesel is mixed and blended with ethanol and also with standard diesel fuel. Use of biodiesel blends can improve the thermal tolerance of the fuel by decreasing the pour point. Therefore, blending may be considered at the biodiesel manufacturing site prior to storage.

Transportation and Storage

It includes material compatibility for transportation and storage. Transportation and handling of biodiesel is a key factor

Biogas production plant

Biogas originates from bacteria in the process of bio-degradation of organic material under
anaerobic conditions. It is a mixture CO2 (carbon dioxide) CH4 (methane) and other gases such as hydrogen gas and hydrogen sulfide (H2S).
The raw materials for the production of biogas are water Press cake of Jatropha seed Hull of Jatropha seed.
The Three steps of Biogas production are hydrolysis, acidification & methane formation:

Waste water treatment

During production of bio-diesel, the waste streams contain un- reacted oil, FFA, soaps, phosphoric acid and sodium hydroxide along with plenty of water. In addition to water that we want to recycle, wastewater contains pathogens (disease organisms), nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus, solids, chemicals from cleaners and disinfectants and even hazardous substances. So water treatment is done for safety and environmental purpose.

Project feasibility

The over all plant of biodiesel shows great feasibility. The material & energy balance as well as cost estimation of the whole plant shows that in the incoming years the universe would be of biofuels.
As the production of biofuels are up to maximum extebt and it is never ending because of its raw material availability.

Students Who Designed This Project:

Batch 2007-2010
Saad Ali Khan
Owais Ahmed Siddiqui
Syed Jahanzeb Ahmed
Umair Ahmed
Zawwar Ahmed

Read More

How is Bio Diesel made?

How is Bio Diesel made?

source:http://www.neduet.edu.pk/environmental/Bio_Diesel_Online/index.htm

Bio Diesel is made through a chemical process called transesterification whereby the glycerin is separated from the fat or vegetable oil. The process leaves behind two products -- methyl esters (the chemical name for bio diesel) and glycerin (a valuable byproduct usually sold to be used in soaps and other products).

The main raw materials used for producing bio diesel are vegetable oils and animal fats.  Traditionally, edible oil was being used resulting in price hikes of essential food commodities.  Now, the impetus is towards the harnessing of plants that can yield non-edible vegetable oil for bio diesel production.  The additional benefits of such plants are that they can be reared on marginal land (this is very beneficial for a country such as Pakistan, which has about 65% of its landmass barren and uncultivated due to salinity and other harsh conditions).  The main plants that can be grown on such rough soil include jatropha curcas, castor bean, pongamia pinnata and others (including halophytes).  Photos of these plants are shown below along with their seeds from which non-edible vegetable oil could be obtained.

                  

           Jatropha Plant                                           Castor Plant

 

     

             Pongame Plant                                      Jatropha seeds

 

      

                Castor Seeds                                      Pongame Seeds

 

Main features of Jatropha Curcas and Castor bean plants are;

• Non-edible oil can be extracted.
• They can grow in waste lands and can consume less water.
• In cultivation, seed collection, oil extraction and bio diesel production large scale employment can be generated.
• The by products during bio diesel production i.e. Glycerin and seed cake (Oil extracted from them) can be used in soap, pharmaceutical and fertilizer industries.

The cost of 1000 Jatropha saplings (for one acre land) in Pakistan is around Rs.5000/= (Five Thousand Rupees).  One job is created for each acre of Jatropha plantation.  The maximum yield of Jatropha is around 1892 Litres/hectare and for Castor bean is around 1413 litres/hectare.  The field can be cultivated with Jatropha or castor plants on marginal land, because Pakistan is having 100 Million acres of barren land.  The approximate Jatropha oil yield is 12 tons of seeds/hectare/year (35% oil/seed, can be extracted) and Ricinus communis (castor bean) oil yield is around 8 tons of seeds/hectare/year (35% oil/seed).   The Jatropha cultivation has the potential to generate an income of Rs.25000/= (Twenty Five Thousand Rupees) per hectare per month.  Pongamia pinnata can also be grown on marginal land having good oil yield and the climatic conditions of Pakistan are favorable to them.

Read More

National Biodiesel Program

National Biodiesel Program

source: http://www.aedb.org/bioprogram.htm

 

Realizing the importance of Biodiesel, AEDB outlined National Biodiesel Programme and decided to assist & facilitate the stakeholders involved for this purpose. AEDB formulated Policy Recommendations for use of Biodiesel as an alternative fuel which are primarily aimed at reducing the country’s fuel import bill. The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Federal Cabinet has approved the Policy Recommendations for use of Biodiesel as an Alternative Fuel in its meeting held on 15th February 2008 Click here to download the Policy Recommendations.

Biodiesel Advisory Committee.

Alternative Energy Development Board (AEDB) has been declared as the apex agency by the Federal Government to coordinate and facilitate the National Biodiesel Programme. In continuation to the efforts for the realization of National Biodiesel Programme, AEDB coordinated with the relevant stakeholders and formed an advisory committee to steer the National Biodiesel Programme.

Biodiesel Advisory Committee comprises the following stakeholders:

1. Alternative Energy Development Board (Chair)
2. Representative from Ministry of Food & Agriculture (Member)
3. Representative from Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Resources (Member)
4. Representative from Pakistan Agricultural Research Council (Member)
5. Representative from Pakistan State Oil Company Ltd. (Member)

SRO 474 (I)/2008.

After the approval of Policy Recommendations for the use of Biodiesel as an alternative fuel, SRO 474 (I)/2008 for the exemption of taxes and duties on Biodiesel related equipment, machinery and other specific items was issued by Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) Click here to download the SRO.

Pakistan State Oil Company Ltd.

AEDB has successfully engaged Pakistan State Oil (PSO) for furthering the National Biodiesel Programme. PSO has established Alternate Energy Department at their Head Office in Karachi. PSO has established a Jatropha Nursery and a Jatropha Model Farm at 22 acres land available at Pipri Marshalling Yard (PMY), Karachi.AEDB also provided a Biodiesel production plant to PSO for the optimization of Biodiesel processing techniques. PSO has processed and tested different Biodiesel blends on its fleet vehicles and generators.

Seminar on National Biodiesel Programme.

AEDB organized a Seminar on “National Biodiesel Programme: Identification of Barriers” on 10th July 2009 at Islamabad. The Seminar was aimed to gather the public and private sector stakeholders in order to identify the barriers that need to be successfully addressed to propagate the National Biodiesel Programme on a commercial scale. These include feedstock options, regulations for certification of seeds opted for Biodiesel production, selection of appropriate land for energy plantations, buyback arrangements and pricing mechanism for Biodiesel & its various blends with mineral diesel. The recommendations of the Seminar will assist in consolidating the Policy & Regulatory Framework for Biodiesel currently being formulated by AEDB.

By organizing this Seminar, AEDB has made an attempt to highlight and discuss the important issues which need to be seriously considered by the Policymakers to ascertain that the National Biodiesel Programme becomes a success story.

Feasibility Study for Setting up Biodiesel Production Facility.

The Federal Government has assigned AEDB the target of gradual introduction of Biodiesel fuel blends with Petroleum diesel so as to achieve a minimum share of 5% by volume of the total diesel consumption in the country by the year 2015 and 10% by 2025. For this purpose, AEDB got approved a PC-II for undertaking a Feasibility Study to set up 10,000 Tons per Annum Biodiesel Production Facility. Funding for undertaking the feasibility study is being awaited.

Pakistan’s first ever Commercial Biodiesel Refinery.

Pakistan’s first ever commercial Biodiesel production facility has been setup in Karachi by M/s Eco-Friendly Fuels Private Ltd. This Biodiesel refinery has a capacity of producing 18,000 Tons of Biodiesel per annum.

Jatropha Cultivation in Pakistan. Experimental cultivation of Biodiesel feedstock on scientific basis has also been started. The cultivation has now risen from around 2 acres in 2005 to more than 700 acres in 2010. This surge in Jatropha cultivation is mainly based on aggressive campaign undertaken by AEDB. A number of institutions imported Jatropha seeds for germination from variety of sources and countries. They have been growing such nurseries at various sites in Sindh, Punjab and Balochistan

Read More

The New Role of Microbes in Bio-Fuel Production

The New Role of Microbes in Bio-Fuel Production

Source:PSC Blog

abdul / March 28, 2011 / No Comment

Currently biofuel is produced from plants as well as microbes. The oils, carbohydrates or fats generated by the microbes or plants are refined to produce biofuel. This is a green and renewable energy that helps in conserving fossil-fuel usage. But a new research has led to a new discovery of getting the microbes to produce fuel from the proteins instead of utilizing the protein for its own growth. The research is being done at the premises of University of California in Los Angeles.

microbes-biofuel

Focus
The focus of the experiment was to induce the microbes under the study to produce a specific kind of proteins rather than what they otherwise might be inclined to produce. This special protein can be refined in to biofuel. The task is to make the microbes produce only this kind of protein rather than utilizing it for their own growth and growth related activities as they otherwise do.
Different from prior practice
This kind of biofuel production is different from the traditional behavior of microbes where they use the protein only for growth. This is like tricking the microbes to deviate from that and produce fats or material that can be converted to biofuel. In the words of UCLA postdoctoral student and lead researcher, Yi-xin Huo -”We have to completely redirect the protein utilization system, which is one of the most highly-regulated systems in the cell.”
First attempt at protein utilization
This has been claimed as the first ever attempt to use the proteins as a source for generating energy. Until now the biofuel-producing algae has not made use of the protein like a carbon supply for biofuel. It was only used for growth. But now the scientists have tampered with usual nitrogen metabolism process and induced biorefining process and altered the metabolizing of nitrogen at the cellular level.
A fringe benefit
By this process, they are letting the cells to retain the nitrogen and take out just the ammonia. Once done with the biofuel production, the residue is a better kind of fertilizer thanks to the low nitrogen levels. This in turn will lessen any greenhouse emissions that happen during the fertilizer production. The new process will reprocess the nitrogen back and will help in maintaining a nitrogen neutral state and less harmful emissions during fertilizer production.
Future plans
The Nature Biotechnology Sunday issue has published the team’s findings. The team hopes that their findings will rewrite biofuel production by inundating the field with protein eating microbes which will generate fats and substances that can be converted into biofuel. The microbes will feed on proteins that are not fit for animal consumption and keep producing special proteins for biofuel conversion and later can become a better type if fertilizer with less nitrogen and nil harmful greenhouse emissions.

Read More

Viewing Biofuel Prospects in Pakistan

SDPI Research and News Bulletin

Vol. 14, No. 3 July—September 2007

Source:www.sdpi.org/help/research_and_news_bulletin/.../bulletin.doc

Viewing Biofuel (Ethanol) Prospects in Pakistan Through a Sustainable Development Prism

Shaheen Rafi Khan

shaheen@sdpi.org

The Climate Change 2007 Fourth Assessment Report (FAR) has muffled the sceptics. The current findings replace speculation with scientific certainty -- in fact, the reality has overtaken modelled forecasts. Planet Earth is heating up faster than predicted, with extreme events in their several manifestations spiralling out of control. Glacier retreat, polar ice meltdowns, rises in sea levels, tropical cyclones, storms and hurricanes have triggered natural and human calamities on an unprecedented scale. There is a corresponding urgency to address both the causes of climate change (mitigation) and its effects (adaptation). 

Renewable energy in general, and biofuels in particular, have begun to look like an increasingly viable mitigation option. The “bio” in biofuels refers to crop and wood-based raw materials such as molasses, rice husks, corn and wood waste, which are processed into fuel. For developed countries, biofuels offer prospects for meeting their emission reduction commitments under the Kyoto Protocol. For developing countries, biofuels present a means to both reduce energy import bills as well as earn precious foreign exchange. However, reconfiguring the fuel economy to renewable sources is not without risks. Global environmental benefits can also generate adverse local environmental impacts. Similarly, multinational corporations giving price incentives to farmers, to switch from growing food crops to biofuel crops, can threaten food security.

The rapid uptake of biofuels reflects the ease with which they can replace or be blended with fossil fuels, such as petrol and diesel. The technology is simple, cost effective and environmentally friendly. The blended fuels provide a higher octane content, improving vehicle efficiency while reducing carbon emissions.  Developing countries also enjoy a cost advantage; they experience year around growing seasons, can access cheap farm labor, and use crop by-products to fertilize fields and fire up distilleries. For instance, Brazil is able to sell ethanol at the equivalent of US$ 25 a barrel, compared to US $50 and US $70 for the US and Europe, respectively.    

Not surprisingly, many countries have adopted biofuels as a way to reduce their oil bills and/or to earn foreign exchange. Thailand is building over a dozen ethanol plants using sugar cane and rice husks as fuel sources. China has constructed the world's largest fuel ethanol facility at Jilin. Beijing is reportedly planning to import Brazilian ethanol as well. Japan has already gone that route; it signed its first 15 million-litre deal with Brazil in May 2006 preparatory to replacing up to 3 percent of Japan's gasoline.

Yet this emerging global market in biofuels is not clear of the political thicket. Developed-country farm lobbies lend momentum to biofuels market development, but they also demand protectionist barriers. "Everyone pretends [their enthusiasm] is for the environment, but it's all about agricultural subsidies," biofuels expert Christian Delahouliere warns. To encourage biofuels, the EU pays farmers 45 euros for each hectare of "energy crops" they grow. That provides them a powerful incentive to produce, effectively barring cheap foreign bioethanol from entering their market. When Pakistan gained special access to EU markets in 2002 and began shipping bioethanol, local farm lobbies persuaded Brussels to change course and re-establish tariffs. The United States also imposes a 50-cent-a-gallon import duty on Brazilian ethanol. In addition, almost every country has its own biofuel standard, with different specifications that may be manipulated to hinder market access.

In this article, we evaluate the biofuel prospects in Pakistan in a sustainable development context. The specific biofuel is ethanol extracted from molasses, a by-product of sugar. The potential for producing biofuels from corn, rice husks and wood waste exists but has not been tapped yet. We also examine the external and internal policy constraints which have prevented domestic ethanol production from taking off.

Production trends in Pakistan

The sugar industry in Pakistan is the second largest after textiles. Currently, 76 sugar mills produce at or below capacity.  From a production level of 2.89 million tons in 1991-92, production reached 4 million tons in 2003-04. Yet the production potential is not realized because sugarcane yields remains well below the global average. Also, despite sugar prices doubling since 1992, Pakistan continues to remain globally uncompetitive. The emerging markets in industrial alcohol and fuel ethanol offer prospects of making sugarcane production economically viable.

About 80-85 percent of the total sugarcane production goes towards the production of sugar. The remaining 15-20 percent is converted into gur, a local variant of sugar, which is largely produced and consumed in the North West Frontier Province (NWFP). Cane crushing produces sugar and molasses as a by-product. The molasses-to-bioethanol conversion process is conducted in distilleries. Currently, 21 distilleries produce industrial alcohol in the country.

The majority of the distilleries are a part of the sugar mills and are situated on-site, making the production cycle an integrated one. The mills receive the cane, crush for sugar, store the molasses in storage tanks on-site, and then pass it on to the distilleries for industrial alcohol production. Industrial alcohol can be converted into fuel alcohol in a simple process by using molecular sieve technology, which requires a capital expenditure of about USD 1.5 million and can be completed in 5 to 6 months.  As many as 8 distilleries have installed the sieve technology to process industrial ethanol into fuel ethanol.

Read More

Common Algae for Biofuel Butanol Production

Common Algae for Biofuel Butanol Production

There have been various methods tried for reducing fossil fuel dependency and containing carbon footprints for a healthier and more eco-friendly future. Corn-produced ethanol has been used for mixing with gasoline but there have been side effects like corrosion from ethanol. Also huge tracts of precious farmlands need to be diverted for corn production. But now new research has thrown up results that show common algae can be used for biofuel production. 

New Research

There has been research going on in University of Arkansas by a group of chemical engineers and research students of Honours College led by Asst. Professor & Project Leader, Jamie Hestekin. The focus is on converting the common algae into renewable fuel which can be used in automobiles with combustible type engines. The research is done on algae which survive on nitrogen, phosphorous, sunlight and carbon dioxide; and from which, organic acids and subsequently biofuel is produced.
Growing algae on ‘raceways’
Long trench-like troughs – about two-foot wide and variable lengths are used for cultivating the algae. On a base of screens or carpet – actually any base works – they let normal river water to run in the troughs. The nitrogen and phosphorous in the water helps a lush growth of algae in sunlight which further receives carbon dioxide delivered in high doses via hollow long fibers. The algae can be harvested every 5-8 days and they keep growing afresh after harvest.
Butanol production made easy
Scraping the algae, drying it, carbohydrates are extracted which are converted to natural sugars. Then via fermentation process, sugars are converted into butyric, lactic and acetic acids. Again butyric acid is converted by fermentation into butanol. This process was made speedier by a special technique called electrodeionization – a process developed by a team member. This makes the entire fuel conversion process faster and less costly.
Utilizing existent ‘dead-zone’ cleaning
Water authorities in municipalities and state departments have been trying to clean up what is commonly called as ‘dead zones’ – water laden with overload of nitrogen and phosphorous which kill the aquatic flora and fauna, and fish etc. They purify and oxygenate the existent water-ways by removing the excess fertilizer run-off nitrogen and phosphorus. And common algae cultivation can be done side by side with the above cleaning process as is done in Rockaway Wastewater Treatment Plant in Queens where the research team and New York City Department of Environmental Protection are working in tandem.
Advantages of the new process
The new conversion process is less expensive and definitely more efficient. Apart from the fact that butanol is far superior to ethanol in efficiency, this process helps the water become less polluted and healthier. The algae use the extra nitrogen and phosphorous in the existent water and make it safer for marine flora and fauna. As Hestekin puts it succinctly, “the coolest thing about this process is that we’re actually making rivers and lakes healthier by growing and harvesting the raw material.”

Source: http://www.alternative-energy-news.info/common-algae-biofuel-butanol-production/

 

Read More