India to power trains with biodiesel

Indian Central Railway (CR) has completed its first year of biodiesel production at its workshop in the Parel area of Mumbai.

The plant has produced nearly 20,000 litres of biodiesel with an aim to provide cleaner alternatives for CR’s diesel locomotives. 

‘We have successfully achieved our target to produce 1,500 litres of bio-diesel per month since August 2014 from edible oils and looking ahead an uptick in this production, though we are facing shortage of raw material like used edible oil which is its primary source,’ says an official from the Parel workshop. 

With a concern for cleaner environment, Indian Railways has decided to promote use of alternative fuels like biodiesel for powering the vast fleet of over 4,000 diesel locomotives. 

Biodiesel can be used in diesel engines without engine modification and can attain full operating power. 

‘We are very shortly going to approach hotel owners and edible oil users to give or donate once used edible oil to us. The only problem with us is that if edible oil has been used more than once, then the biodiesel’s viscosity will not be ideal," says Narendra Patil, chief public relations office of CR.

‘Biodiesel has potential to become the fuel of the future and it will not only provide employment opportunities in rural areas but also energy security, cleaner air, and savings in foreign exchange,’ Patil adds. 

Biodiesel is safe, biodegradable, and reduces serious air pollutants such as particulates, carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons, and air toxics. 

According to the National Biodiesel Board, a US trade association representing the biodiesel industry, using B20 biodiesel fuel blend can reduce unburned hydrocarbons up to 20%, carbon monoxide up to 12%, and particulate matter up to 12%.