98
8.3.2.2 Biodiesel From Nonedible Oilseeds
According to the national policy on biofuels, plant-based nonedible oilseeds were
expected to supply biodiesel along with bioethanol together to meet the national
target of 20%. It was envisaged that around 400 different types of nonedible oilseeds are available in India which could produce the necessary amount of biodiesel.
However, biodiesel in India has been virtually a nonstarter. Jatropha is one of the
major feedstocks for biodiesel production in India, but unfortunately it has performed poorly. The reasons for this include the following technical problems and
policy deficiencies:
• There is a lack of infrastructure for seed collection and oil extraction. In the
absence of infrastructure and available oilseeds, it will be difficult to persuade
entrepreneurs to invest in transesterification plants. Collection of nonedible oil
seeds is a manual operation, and for a large biodiesel plant, it is a logistical nightmare. In 1 day, a person can collect up to 80 kg of seeds, which can produce
20–23 l of oil. The collection is done for 3 months, once or twice a year. For a
plant with a capacity of 100 tons per day (8 million gallons per year), 15,000
people are necessary to collect the seeds. Organizing such a large part-time labor
force is a major challenge.
• The Jatropha plant takes 24–30 months to flower and produce seeds. To promote
widespread Jatropha farming, the livelihood of the farmers in the intervening
period, without an income from the Jatropha crop, must be secured. At the time
of this research there was no way to achieve this in the market except for privately funded projects. In particular, this is a problem for landless farmers and
laborers who do not qualify for any interim payments since they do not own the
land.
• There have been some uncertainties about how much inputs (irrigation, fertilizers) are needed to realize commercially viable yields on land unfit for food production. Several different types of climatic zones exist across India, so knowledge
generated in one area is often not appropriate for other areas. Thus, knowledge
transfer of Jatropha cultivation methods and their economics is yet another challenge (Wani and Chander 2012).
• There was no minimum support price or guaranteed purchasing for the Jatropha
seeds. This was a problem since these kinds of supports were provided to many
other commodities in India, putting biodiesel at a relative disadvantage. As a
result, the price of Jatropha seeds was very high because most of them are used
for plantation purposes rather than oil extraction. At this price, the manufacturing
cost of biodiesel was three times the pump price of conventional diesel.
• Even though the consumption of edible oils in India was high, the availability of
used cooking oil was very small, since it is typically reused until it disappears.
Thus, there is no possibility to use waste cooking oil to produce biofuel in India.
• The use of lamp oil has been increasing rapidly in India, as there is no electrical
power supply for 10–14 h a day in most rural areas. When the price of edible oils
increases, people turn to the cheaper nonedible oils. The requirement of this
M. Elder et al.
8.3.2.2 Biodiesel From Nonedible Oilseeds
According to the national policy on biofuels, plant-based nonedible oilseeds were
expected to supply biodiesel along with bioethanol together to meet the national
target of 20%. It was envisaged that around 400 different types of nonedible oilseeds are available in India which could produce the necessary amount of biodiesel.
However, biodiesel in India has been virtually a nonstarter. Jatropha is one of the
major feedstocks for biodiesel production in India, but unfortunately it has performed poorly. The reasons for this include the following technical problems and
policy deficiencies:
• There is a lack of infrastructure for seed collection and oil extraction. In the
absence of infrastructure and available oilseeds, it will be difficult to persuade
entrepreneurs to invest in transesterification plants. Collection of nonedible oil
seeds is a manual operation, and for a large biodiesel plant, it is a logistical nightmare. In 1 day, a person can collect up to 80 kg of seeds, which can produce
20–23 l of oil. The collection is done for 3 months, once or twice a year. For a
plant with a capacity of 100 tons per day (8 million gallons per year), 15,000
people are necessary to collect the seeds. Organizing such a large part-time labor
force is a major challenge.
• The Jatropha plant takes 24–30 months to flower and produce seeds. To promote
widespread Jatropha farming, the livelihood of the farmers in the intervening
period, without an income from the Jatropha crop, must be secured. At the time
of this research there was no way to achieve this in the market except for privately funded projects. In particular, this is a problem for landless farmers and
laborers who do not qualify for any interim payments since they do not own the
land.
• There have been some uncertainties about how much inputs (irrigation, fertilizers) are needed to realize commercially viable yields on land unfit for food production. Several different types of climatic zones exist across India, so knowledge
generated in one area is often not appropriate for other areas. Thus, knowledge
transfer of Jatropha cultivation methods and their economics is yet another challenge (Wani and Chander 2012).
• There was no minimum support price or guaranteed purchasing for the Jatropha
seeds. This was a problem since these kinds of supports were provided to many
other commodities in India, putting biodiesel at a relative disadvantage. As a
result, the price of Jatropha seeds was very high because most of them are used
for plantation purposes rather than oil extraction. At this price, the manufacturing
cost of biodiesel was three times the pump price of conventional diesel.
• Even though the consumption of edible oils in India was high, the availability of
used cooking oil was very small, since it is typically reused until it disappears.
Thus, there is no possibility to use waste cooking oil to produce biofuel in India.
• The use of lamp oil has been increasing rapidly in India, as there is no electrical
power supply for 10–14 h a day in most rural areas. When the price of edible oils
increases, people turn to the cheaper nonedible oils. The requirement of this
M. Elder et al.