10 August, 2009
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan is highly dependent on imported fuels, however, sustainable production of bio-diesel presents an opportunity to reduce reliance on imported oil, save foreign reserves, reduce poverty and unemployment.
Among others the Zarid Taraqiati Bank Limited (ZTBL) increased lending for cultivation of bio-diesel crops like Castor, Jatropha, Salicornia, Sukhchayn and Algae as raw material.
The bio-fuel initiative of the government would stimulate rural development in areas with acute poverty and enhance access to renewable commercial energy, experts told Daily Times here on Friday. Pakistan was an agriculture-based economy; therefore, production of bio-diesel by would strengthen agricultural sector and empower the farmers. Keeping in view the ongoing severe energy crises, the country could attain energy security through domestic cultivation and processing of bio-fuel crops.
An attempt should be made to project the future of bio-diesel through Jatropha seeds and simultaneous efforts to cultivate other bio-diesel prod producing seeds to bring its cost as low as possible. Jatropha and Castor were such examples of plants that could be grown to yield oil as raw material for production of bio-diesel.
The experts said Jatropha could grow on marginal land and so would not compete with sustenance crop for land. It could bear harsh climatic conditions and had long life (about 40 to 50 years) for bearing inedible oil seeds. The yield of oil was significantly higher than other bio-fuel crops. These was specific properties of Jatropha were making it the most popular bio-fuel raw material around the world, especially in Asia.
Jatropha plants grow quite fast and a well maintained plant could grow up to 6-10 feet in one year. The plant starts producing seeds in the first year; these were plucked and kept for germinating new nurseries.
Average yield of seed was around 1 kg per plant. However, the yield per plant increases every year and reaches up to 8-10 kgs after five years, they claimed. Sometime with good maintenance and care, few plants may give two crops in a year.
In the private sector quite a number of institutions imported Jatropha seeds for germination from variety of sources and countries. They have been growing such nurseries at various site countries in Sindh, Punjab and Balochistan. The experts said these nurseries had become the basis for number of Jatropha farms in Sindh and Balochistan. Plants had age between several weeks to more than 18 months as could be seen by their height and dense growth.
The experts claimed that more than 80 percent of commercial trucks and city busses run on diesel in USA. About historical background, the experts said transesterification of vegetable oil was conducted as early as 1893 by E. Duffayand J. Patric.Rudolf Diesel prime model, a single 10 ft(10m) cylinder with a fly wheel and its box run on its own power for the first time in Germany on August 10,1893. August 10 has been declared as International Biodiesel Day.
Though bio-fuels were undoubtedly one of the most controversial issues in the energy and food security sectors, they offer alternates in fuel and diversification in livelihoods for rural communities, especially in the coastal areas where much of the land has become degraded due to sea-intrusion and salinization of the soil. This was especially true in the coastal areas on Sindh (Thatta and Badin) where WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature) is working with poor coastal communities and where much once fertile lands was now out of production.
Last month, the government inaugurated first commercial sale of ethanol mixed petrol of the country, the price of this bio fuel was Rs 2.40 per litre less than the price of regular petrol. Officials said that 10 percent ethanol would be mixed in the petrol preliminarily, adding in first phase, the ethanol-mixed petrol would be provided from PSO petrol pumps in Islamabad/Rawalpindi and later on, its sale would be commenced across the country.
The officials expected annual saving of $96 million from the sale of bio petrol in the country and in the first phase 20 pumps would be selling E-10 by August 14 this year.
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan is highly dependent on imported fuels, however, sustainable production of bio-diesel presents an opportunity to reduce reliance on imported oil, save foreign reserves, reduce poverty and unemployment.Among others the Zarid Taraqiati Bank Limited (ZTBL) increased lending for cultivation of bio-diesel crops like Castor, Jatropha, Salicornia, Sukhchayn and Algae as raw material.
The bio-fuel initiative of the government would stimulate rural development in areas with acute poverty and enhance access to renewable commercial energy, experts told Daily Times here on Friday. Pakistan was an agriculture-based economy; therefore, production of bio-diesel by would strengthen agricultural sector and empower the farmers. Keeping in view the ongoing severe energy crises, the country could attain energy security through domestic cultivation and processing of bio-fuel crops.
An attempt should be made to project the future of bio-diesel through Jatropha seeds and simultaneous efforts to cultivate other bio-diesel prod producing seeds to bring its cost as low as possible. Jatropha and Castor were such examples of plants that could be grown to yield oil as raw material for production of bio-diesel.
The experts said Jatropha could grow on marginal land and so would not compete with sustenance crop for land. It could bear harsh climatic conditions and had long life (about 40 to 50 years) for bearing inedible oil seeds. The yield of oil was significantly higher than other bio-fuel crops. These was specific properties of Jatropha were making it the most popular bio-fuel raw material around the world, especially in Asia.
Jatropha plants grow quite fast and a well maintained plant could grow up to 6-10 feet in one year. The plant starts producing seeds in the first year; these were plucked and kept for germinating new nurseries.
Average yield of seed was around 1 kg per plant. However, the yield per plant increases every year and reaches up to 8-10 kgs after five years, they claimed. Sometime with good maintenance and care, few plants may give two crops in a year.
In the private sector quite a number of institutions imported Jatropha seeds for germination from variety of sources and countries. They have been growing such nurseries at various site countries in Sindh, Punjab and Balochistan. The experts said these nurseries had become the basis for number of Jatropha farms in Sindh and Balochistan. Plants had age between several weeks to more than 18 months as could be seen by their height and dense growth.
The experts claimed that more than 80 percent of commercial trucks and city busses run on diesel in USA. About historical background, the experts said transesterification of vegetable oil was conducted as early as 1893 by E. Duffayand J. Patric.Rudolf Diesel prime model, a single 10 ft(10m) cylinder with a fly wheel and its box run on its own power for the first time in Germany on August 10,1893. August 10 has been declared as International Biodiesel Day.
Though bio-fuels were undoubtedly one of the most controversial issues in the energy and food security sectors, they offer alternates in fuel and diversification in livelihoods for rural communities, especially in the coastal areas where much of the land has become degraded due to sea-intrusion and salinization of the soil. This was especially true in the coastal areas on Sindh (Thatta and Badin) where WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature) is working with poor coastal communities and where much once fertile lands was now out of production.
Last month, the government inaugurated first commercial sale of ethanol mixed petrol of the country, the price of this bio fuel was Rs 2.40 per litre less than the price of regular petrol. Officials said that 10 percent ethanol would be mixed in the petrol preliminarily, adding in first phase, the ethanol-mixed petrol would be provided from PSO petrol pumps in Islamabad/Rawalpindi and later on, its sale would be commenced across the country.
The officials expected annual saving of $96 million from the sale of bio petrol in the country and in the first phase 20 pumps would be selling E-10 by August 14 this year.
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