IIT Kharagpur Scientists Introduce New Technology to Manufacture Biofuel

Scientists at IIT Kharagpur has come up with a new technology of manufacturing Biofuel known as Soil-to-soil cheaper, quicker and pollution-free. The technology is in the process of being patented.

Introduce New Technology to Manufacture Biofuel
  • This plant contains up to 50 percent hemicelluloses which can be used as an economic and abundant source of Biofuel.
  • Biofuels are fuels derived from biomass indirectly.
  • Biofuel includes solid biomass, liquid fuels and various biogases and along with this it also signifies Biodiesel, Bio alcohol and bio-gasoline.

Key facts

  • New technology introduced by IIT Kharagpur use natural resources to extract gaseous and liquid biofuel and then converts the wastes into bio fertilizer.
  • Currently 2gm of bioethanol can be manufactured from different ligno-cellulosic components which are available naturally but this method requires chemical treatment and in result it pollutes the environment.
  • Whereas in this new technology, enzymes will used at the place of chemical treatment which degrade the lignin thereby and as a result the process of manufacturing becomes totally pollution free.
  • Lignins are complex organic polymer which is gained from the cell walls of plants.
  • Remaining biomass can be used as organic fertilizer in this process.
  • Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Department of Science and Technology and the Ministry of Human Resource Development are financers of this project.
  • Corn, sugarcane plants, the waste part of paddy straw, bamboo, banana plant, pineapple and cotton plants, kans grass (kassh phool) , castor plant and etc have been used by scientists to produce biofuel.
  • The National Policy on Biofuels had set the target to combine 20% of biofuel with petrol till 2017.
  • As an expectation biofuel business will reach up to ₹ 50,000 corer in India by 2022 and this new green technology will be come up as great step for pollution free environment.

Process of manufacturing of biofuel is done in stages and they are:

1. Filtering:

  • Waste vegetable oil is filtered to remove all the food particles by warming liquid and then filtered with the use of coffee filter.

2. Removing of water:

  • The water will be removed by boiling liquid at 100 degree C for some time, water removal will be important to make the reaction faster

3. Titration:

  • Determine required amount of lye. This is the most important stage of biofuel manufacturing.

4. Preparation of sodium methoxide:

  • Methanol (generally 20) percent and sodium hydroxide are mixed to make sodium methoxide.

5. Heating and mixing:

  • Then rest of it is heated up to 120 to 130 degree F carefully to prevent splatter of the liquid then it is mixed well.

6. Settling and separation:

  • Then mixer were put on rest till it cool down then biofuel will be came up at the top and glycerine would be found at the bottom because of it is heavy. Then pure biofuel is collected carefully.
Image shows the Process of Pure Biofuel

Examrace Team at Jul 31, 2017