Bangalore invests heavily into extra biofuel research hubs

The chairman of the Karnataka State Biofuel Development Board in Bangalore helped lay the foundation for the first of a proposed 13 new biofuel research centres in the district.

Mr Y B Ramakrishna spoke during the foundation laying ceremony at the Bangalore University of Agricultural Sciences.

‘Thirteen new centres will be added to the 17 existing  information outlets, but these new centres will be designed to collect different types of non-edible seeds and turn them into between 100 and 150 litres of bio-diesel per day,’ he says.

Ramakrishna believes the bio-diesel produced will be blended with both petrol and diesel to be used in many different vehicles, plus the de-oiled cake will be used as organic manure.

‘Currently Karnataka has the capacity to produce 135 million litres of ethanol from molasses, which should be increased to 200 million by the end of this year. I also appreciate the government’s efforts in promoting biofuels,’ he adds