Biodiesel extracted from sea algae set to propel vehicles

Mar 30, 2012

Rajkot: Extract of the slimy green algae found in abundance across India's 7,517 km coastline is all set to fuel vehicles.

On Friday, the country will witness the first test run of vehicle running on B100 marine microalgal biodiesel in New Delhi. The 200 km test run will be flagged off by Union minister for earth sciences Vilasrao Deshmukh in the presence of scientists belonging to a consortium of nine laboratories led by Bhavnagar-based Central Salt and Marine Chemicals Research Institute (CSMCRI).

Unlike other biodiesels, which are a mixture of conventional diesel, the B100 biodiesel is 100 per cent extract from the microalgae. Last year, scientists achieved an important milestone in cleaner fuels when a regular diesel vehicle (TAVERA) running on B20 biodiesel prepared from marine microalgae was successfully test-driven.

At present, the cost of the microalgal biodiesel comes out to be Rs 175 per litre. However, scientists are optimistic that the prices could come down to as much as Rs 75 per litre if more advanced extraction technologies are used and more algae are discovered. "Our next step would be to develop more advanced technology for extraction of fuels of microalgae," a top official of CSIR in New Delhi told TOI.

"This would be the first such experiment in the country to run a vehicle on pure marine microalgae biodiesel. This biodiesel, once commercialized and made cheaper, is sure to be the answer to the costly petroleum fuel," the official said, requesting anonymity.

This B100 biodiesel was successfully developed by scientists in a salt farm in Bhavnagar. It was developed under an ambitious project 'New Millennium India Technology Leadership Initiative' (NMITLI) to bring out a viable and scalable process of biofuel from microalgae, initiated in April 2010 by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and the ministry of earth sciences (MoES).

At present, there is large-scale production of first generation biofuels (bioethanol) from food crops such as, sugarcane, sugar beet, corn, sorghum and wheat, utilizing vast area of fertile cultivable farmland and large quantity of potable water which competes with food production. It has also triggered "food versus fuel" controversy. The second-generation biofuels derived from non-food sources such as jatropha, karanja and microalgae are better options for addressing the energy security and environmental concerns. Among the second generation biofuels, micro-algal biofuels appear to be most promising alternative.