Bio-diesel: fuel of the future
Bio- fuel is popularly known as bio diesel
In Andhra Pradesh the first bio- fuelled buses have hit the road. The bus corporations use 20% bio fuel obtained from the Kanuga plant and the reaming 80%the buses ply with in the two joint cities of Secundered and Hyderabad. The board of polluting control has certified that this green bus to be less 20% polluting than the other buses.
Every year, India spends a massive amount of Rupees 82,000 crores on fuel imports. Since 1999, scientist Udupi Srinivasa Rao, working in the Indian institute of science, Bangalore, has been trying to extract oil from the Kanuga (Pongamia Pinnetta) plant on a commercial scale. Thus, Kanuga plant yield a bio –fuel that may help us cut down the consumption of fossil fuels. Two generators are working in Adilabad on the oil extracted from this plant. Electricity is being produced from these generators and supplied to ten villages around Uttnur.
Women belonging to the DWCRA group in this district. They have started extracting oil from kanuga seeds and selling the oil. The rate was 0.50 $ per liter.
Bio –diesel is the fuel of the future. Depending is the fuel of the nature. Depending on the method of production, ethanol and methanol too0 can be classified as bio –diesels. Other trees and plants that can yield bio- diesel are neem and jatropa.
We can extract ethanol from the molasses of sugar cane from sugar factories. Cultivation of plants and trees of the non-fodder category such as jatropa, and Kanuga, are being encouraged in our state.
The leaves of the Kanuga tree can be used as a natural fertilizer too. Ten years from the time it is planted, every Kanuga tree yields 160 kilometers of seeds every year. The tree lives for a hundreds years. Such eco-friendly discoveries and inventions give us hope and encouragement to meet the challenges of the present and those of the future.
Saving fuel in vehicles
1) If vehicle is driven at a speed ranging between 45 and 55 kilometer per hour, fuel can be saved. If the engine is tuned well, we can save 6% of the fuel.
2) Speed should be adjusted according to the road conditions. Judge from a distance where to stop. Applying brake and changing gears often leads to wastage of fuel. Continuously keeping a foot on the clutch results in fuel wastage too. Air in the tyres should be checked regularly. Use recommended grade oils. Decide on the route before you take off. Things needed on the journey should be planned well in advance. If we use the right gear, we can save 20% of the fuel. The air filter should be cleaned often to increase the engine efficiency.
3) Use trains, buses and other public transport more often and cut own on the use of private vehicles like cars and scooters.
4) Even in small towns, there is a large scale increase in the number of fuel driven vehicles increasing pollution every where. However, the fuel-free clean vehicle, cycle, has to be promoted.
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