Biodiesel Expansion- A Need Of Hour
Bio diesel manufacturing is increasing by leaps and bounds. The production has increased from 3 million to 145 million in USA alone within a span of 5 years only. More or less same is the case with other countries also. Let's study various aspects related to biodiesel expansion here.
Bio diesel is produced by soy bean oil but due to lack of adequate quantity of soy bean other vegetable oils are also used in the bio diesel manufacturing. Jatropha curcus is also used in the manufacturing of bio diesel. The specialty of this plant is that it can be grown in draught areas also. The oil seed of this plant is used in the diesel production. The other parts of this plant such as bark, leaf are used in pharmaceutical and other industries. That is why the expansion in the green fuel manufacturing is growing in less developed and developing countries also.
The causes of the expansion of this alternative fuel across the globe are many. The first and foremost reason is that it is cost effective. In comparison to the ordinary diesel bio diesel is cheap and so it can make bio diesel producing countries self dependent to some extent. Secondly, bio diesel can be effectively used in all vehicles and there is no need to do any modification in these vehicles. Thirdly, bio diesel is produced from agricultural wastes and vegetable oils in most of the countries and so it is promoting cash crop agriculture also. Fourthly, bio diesel is environment friendly and does contribute to the global warming and green house effect.
In comparison to the ordinary diesel, bio diesel produces less pollution and therefore contributes in minimizing the severity of the global warming. In Europe bio diesel is manufactured from rape seed oil but there every possibilities that it cab be produced from mustard oil, palm oil, corn oil and cotton seed oil also. If it becomes possible the expansion in the production of this energy fuel will expand far and wide. This is because all or at least one of these oils is produced in each and every country and so they would prefer to produce bio fuel from whichever seed oil they produce. It is estimated that the volume of the production of bio diesel will increase 100 times by the end of the year 2050. It seems to be true as several bio diesel manufacturing plants are being established in the US and other European countries. This bio diesel expansion has created a need for more research so that the cost of production could be minimized to its lowest. Presently seeds have to be purchased at high prices as farmers are raising the prices frequently. However the environment concerns and the cost effectiveness have resulted in a boom in the bio diesel production, certainly a welcome initiative for the future.
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