India’s Biodiesel Programme: Status, Prospects, and Shortcomings

Pohit, Sanjib; Biswas, Pradip Kumar

doi:10.1007/978-3-319-50219-9_11

Cited by 7 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 7 publications

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“…Following biodiesel production methods such as pyrolysis, the supercritical fluid method, and transesterification are commonly used for biodiesel production. Amongst these methods, transesterification is the most widely used [2,3].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Advances in Nanocatalysts Mediated Biodiesel Production: A Critical Appraisal

et al. 2020

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The excessive consumption of petroleum resources leads to global warming, fast depletion of petroleum reserves, as well as price instability of gasoline. Thus, there is a strong need for alternative renewable fuels to replace petroleum-derived fuels. The striking features of an alternative fuel include the low carbon footprints, renewability and affordability at manageable prices. Biodiesel, made from waste oils, animal fats, vegetal oils, is a totally renewable and non-toxic liquid fuel which has gained significant attraction in the world. Due to technological advancements in catalytic chemistry, biodiesel can be produced from a variety of feedstock employing a variety of catalysts and recovery technologies. Recently, several ground-breaking advancements have been made in nano-catalyst technology which showed the symmetrical correlation with cost competitive biodiesel production. Nanocatalysts have unique properties such as their selective reactivity, high activation energy and controlled rate of reaction, easy recovery and recyclability. Here, we present an overview of various feedstock used for biodiesel production, their composition and characteristics. The major focus of this review is to appraise the characterization of nanocatalysts, their effect on biodiesel production and methodologies of biodiesel production.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Advances in Nanocatalysts Mediated Biodiesel Production: A Critical Appraisal

et al. 2020

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“…(IEA, 2017;Tuli and Gupta, 2017). In absence of fiscal support, this creates downward pressure on oilseed prices in biofuel value chains (Kumar et al, 2012;Pohit and Biswas, 2017). With low seed prices, seed collection is mainly practiced by less-endowed households.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Adoption Constraints for Small-scale Agroforestry-based Biofuel Systems in India

Dalemans

Muys

Maertens

2019

Ecological Economics

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Small-scale agroforestry-based biofuel production has recently been proposed as a strategy for rural poverty alleviation, but few empirical evidence is available on farmer adoption of such novel systems. This study describes adoption of oilseed tree mixtures on smallholdings in Hassan district, South India, and examines the impact of a biofuel extension program and farmer characteristics on adoption. Cross-sectional survey data and regression analyses addressing various forms of selection bias, are used. The findings reveal that tree cultivation is much more prevalent than oilseed collection, and that various activities of the biofuel extension program only stimulate the former. Low seed prices and high opportunity costs of labour are major factors impeding households to collect seeds from planted or wild oilseed species. The paper concludes that the program succeeds as an agroforestry program but not as a biofuel program. Similar challenges pertain to small-scale agroforestry systems as to jatropha-based plantation systems, although the former are a Low-Risk High-Diversity approach to build feedstock for the future.

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“…Moreover, this study does not consider the effects of distribution and retail, fiscal and marketing policies, and differences in energetic values. Including these factors would generally reduce biodiesel competitiveness even more (Kumar, Chaube, & Jain, ; Lokesh et al, ; Pohit & Biswas, ). Petrodiesel price volatility implies that price increases might be more likely for biodiesel than for oil, but also that marketing risks are higher, especially in these perennial systems (Tuli & Gupta, ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A framework for profitability evaluation of agroforestry‐based biofuel value chains: An application to pongamia in India

2019

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Biofuel production from oilseed trees in small‐scale agroforestry systems is considered as a strategy for energy security, rural development and ecosystem services provision in low‐income countries. However, the economic potential of these systems remains unclear, as profitability studies commonly ignore key methodological issues such as quantitative uncertainty analysis, full accounting for opportunity costs, and inclusion of all value chain actors. This study addresses these methodological shortcomings and develops a framework for quantifying the long‐term financial performance of agroforestry‐based biofuel value chains. The framework is applied to a case in South India, to calculate profitability of pongamia (Millettia pinnata) cultivation and processing. The results show that pongamia cultivation has limited financial potential, and is only profitable in small‐scale settings, in the middle to long term and for a subset of farmers. If biodiesel is envisaged as the end product, the value chain requires substantial fiscal and marketing support to be economically viable. For current prices, financial performance is much higher if the seed oil is marketed instead of processed to biodiesel. Increased mechanization, increased yields and optimized agroforestry set‐ups might improve financial outcomes and reduce risks for both farmers and processors. These findings are case‐specific, while the developed framework opens the door to comprehensive investigation of the financial performance of other oilseed tree species and in other regions.

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India’s Biodiesel Programme: Status, Prospects, and Shortcomings

Cited by 7 publications

References 7 publications

Advances in Nanocatalysts Mediated Biodiesel Production: A Critical Appraisal

Advances in Nanocatalysts Mediated Biodiesel Production: A Critical Appraisal

Adoption Constraints for Small-scale Agroforestry-based Biofuel Systems in India

A framework for profitability evaluation of agroforestry‐based biofuel value chains: An application to pongamia in India

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