Bio-diesel refinery to be set up in Bangalore by 2007
      Monday, May 9, 2005 - The Hindu.

DI Oils, U.K., a global leader in bio-diesel supply, will set up a refinery for jatropha-derived bio-diesel in Bangalore by mid 2007.

Addressing presspersons here on Sunday at the launch of a contract-farming programme for jatropha curcas in Mysore, the Managing Director of D 1 Oils, Mark Quinn, said the company anticipated the area under jatropha cultivation in the Stale to reach 5,000 hectares in the next one year.

"Once the target is reached, we will set in motion the process of establishing a refinery in Bangalore," he added.

The refinery, which will have an installed capacity of 8 million tonnes a year will be commissioned during the second quarter of 2007.

The company has set in motion the process of establishing a refinery in Chennai, he said. D 1 Oils, which is a leading brand of bio-diesel in several European countries, proposes to bring five million hectares under jatropha cultivation in India by 2010. Apart from Karnataka, TamilNadu, Chattisgarh, Rajasthan and Gujarat are among the States where large-scale cultivation of jatropha has been taken up, he said. As jatropha cultivation expands, more refineries will be set up in different places in the country.

The demand for bio-diesel is set to increase in India, China, Japan and European countries by 2012 when the Kyoto protocol on blending five percent of biodegradable fuel with fossil diesel will be implemented, he said.

He said the company is looking at countries such as India for large-scale of jatropha on account of the cost factor. The jatropha-derived bio-diesel is a viable alternative to diesel oil because it burns without emitting smoke.

Engines do not need any modification for using jatropha-derived bio-diesel.

Mr. Quinn, who is scheduled to meet the Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas,Mani Shankar Aiyar, in New Delhi on Monday, said the meeting will focus on early marketing of bio-diesel in India by their company. "India consumes 60 million tonnes of diesel annually. The market in India is huge." he added.

The Indian Railways and various State-owned road transport corporations in the country had experienced bio-diesel as a blended fuel. "The trails were successful", he said.

Mr. Quinn said palmolein-derived bio-diesel will be more suitable for marketing in India
unlike the European countries where the jatropha-derived bio-diesel is preferred in cold climatic conditions.

Mr. Quinn, who is aware of the huge demand for palmolein as an edible oil in India, said the surplus palmolein available in South Asian countries such as Malaysia can be imported to produce bio-diesel.

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