Biofuel availability still a problem in India: Experts

Biofuel, which has attracted attention on the back of exorbitant rise in crude prices since the beginning of this decade, seems still incapable of making its way into the mainstream industrial use.

Industry experts have voiced their concerns over the poor availability of biofuel in the country. They said technology was there but availability of biofuel was scarce. "I am desperately trying to buy bio-diesel in India but I am unable to do so," said Klaus Fox, vice-president, industrial operations, Volvo India. He was speaking at the third global conference on Green Fuel in Mumbai on Thursday.

Indian Railways, which spends Rs 6,000 crore on diesel every year, is not an exception either. The railways started using 5 per cent blend of bio-diesel five years back in 2002 but fell short of requirement. "We could not find enough bio-diesel," said R Kuppan of Southern Railways. Later, Railway Board instructed to go for jatropha plantation.

At present, railways have around 75 lakh saplings of jatropha across the country. "We are producing 300 litres of bio-diesel every day in Chennai," added Kuppan. Bio-diesel has a better lubricating property.

According to R M Kothari, senior vice-president, Jain Irrigation Systems, besides availability, cost efficiency of biofuels is also an issue. "The average price of bio-fuel is around Rs 52 a litre," he said.

Industry experts expressed the views that bio-diesel technology was going to be very challenging in the coming years. They added that different kind of fuels required different components and stressed that biofuel should be of acceptable quality. Volvo has prepared its trucks for various types of biofuels, which include methanol, ethanol, mix of hydrogen and bio-gas, bio-gas and bio-diesel.

ACC, the largest cement manufacturer in the country, has plans to go for plantation of 5 million tonnes of jatropha across the country at its cement units. Cement being an intensive energy consuming business, biofuel could prove beneficial for the cement major.

Experts said 63.85 million hectares of waste land, which constitute more than one-fifth of the total geographical land, could be used for cultivation of energy crops.