In news: Minister of Petroleum & Natural Gas and Steel, remotely flagged off the first supply of UCO (Used Cooking Oil) based Biodiesel blended Diesel under the EOI Scheme from Indian Oil’s Tikrikalan Terminal, Delhi.
More information-
- Under the Expressions of Interest for “Procurement of Bio-diesel produced from Used Cooking Oil” scheme, OMCs offer periodically incremental price guarantees for five years.
- It also extends off-take guarantees for ten years to prospective entrepreneurs.
- Under this initiative, Indian Oil has received 51KL of UCO-Biodiesel at its Tikrikalan terminal in Delhi as of 31.3.2021.
- This initiative will garner substantial economic benefits for the nation by shoring up indigenous Biodiesel supply, reducing import dependence, and generating rural employment.
- It will also help divert the unhealthy used oil from the food chain to a more productive purpose and usher in a revolution through “Randhan se Indhan”.
- Indian Oil has started constructing eight Biodiesels plants across Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, and Madhya Pradesh.
Biodiesel-
- It is an alternative fuel, similar to conventional or ‘fossil’ diesel.
- It can be produced from vegetable oils, animal fats, tallow and waste cooking oil.
- A significant advantage of it is its carbon-neutrality, i.e. the oilseed absorbs the same amount of CO2 as is released when the fuel is combusted in a vehicle.
- It is rapidly biodegradable and completely non-toxic.
- Biodiesel is made through a chemical process called transesterification whereby the glycerin is separated from the fat or vegetable oil.
- The process leaves behind two products – methyl esters and glycerin.
Methyl esters is the chemical name for biodiesel and glycerin is used in a variety of products, including soap.
Source: PIB
