Ibrahim Hafeezur Rehman

Emphasis on promotion of biofuels can be useful for solving rural energy problems.

At the current rate of use the crude oil reserves of the world are predicted to deplete in about 40 years. Therefore, it has become necessary to find and devise methods of processing a renewable raw material for conversion into transportation fuel. Some countries are manufacturing ethanol from sugarcane or cereal grains and blending it with petrol to reduce crude oil imports. This entails diverting agriculturally productive land for the production of fuel. An alternative is to use inedible

DH News Service, Bangalore:

Minister for Medical Education Ramachandre Gowda underlined the need to develop alternative sustainable forms of energy that would be able to fulfil the requirement of the large population.

Vibha Sharma

In the endevour to reduce dependence on fossil fuels and cut carbon emissions to achieve a clean environment, humble algae appears to be taking a lead over the more-talked-about biodiesel source jatropha.

Experts say that algae farming in less than 1 per cent of India's total land can make the country self-sufficient in liquid fuel. Algae yield from one acre of wasteland can be 10 times more than jatropha and by a conservative estimate over 10,000 litres of oil can be produced from one acre of waste/degraded land, they add.

The national policy on biofuels that is expected to be announced soon has the potential to change India's fortunes either way.The government should be cautious about the land-use while allotting wasteland to companies interested in the cultivation of biofuel crops, says Sushmi Dey

Judith Lewis

IT seemed, at the time, like such a good thing for the planet: In the winter of 2005, I turned in my red, gashungry Jeep Wrangler for a near-new, diesel-burning Volkswagen Beetle.
Inspired by a number of pioneering friends, I would fill my little green slug bug with a nontoxic, sweetsmelling fuel made from vegetable matter called biodiesel.

Unlike cars that run on straight, unprocessed vegetable oil, my BioBug required no mechanical conversion.

One reason for the increase in world food prices is that of food consumption, especially in developing countries. Another is the demand for cereals and food crops to produce biofuels. Which is the more dominant factor that can explain this surge?

New reports have rung alarm bells over the net benefits of biofuels, particularly those produced in the Northern hemisphere from feedstocks that could also serve as food and are grown on agricultural land. Trade-related concerns are also becoming more prominent.

Shastry V. Mallady

MADURAI: A bio-diesel plant, with a capacity to produce 1,000 litres a day, has been sanctioned for the State by the Department of Science and Technology, New Delhi. Southern Railway is likely to buy the product from the plant.

The Tamil Nadu State Council for Science and Technology took the initiative and got clearance for the Rs.75-lakh plant at a meeting held in New Delhi last week, said S. Vincent, Member Secretary of the council. Steps are being taken to educate farmers on the benefits of

Sujay Mehdudia Owing to political instability at the Centre NEW DELHI: With international crude oil prices touching a whopping $147 a barrel, the search for alternative sources has intensified. However, the political uncertainty over the India-U.S. nuclear deal has delayed the announcement of a bio-fuel policy, outlining incentives for those undertaking such activity. Although Minister of State for New and Renewable Energy Vilas Muttemwar declared last month that the government would come out with a new bio-fuel policy by July second week, this now looks a distant dream.

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