Use of Biodiesel in Armed Forces Advocated

Presiding over a meeting of the three services and the DRDO on 'Promotion of Alternative Energy Sources in the Armed Forces' in New Delhi today, Shri Pallam Raju emphasized that in view of the spiraling cost of fossil fuels and the huge consumption of oil fuels by the Armed Forces to secure the national interests, it was high time that the three Services adopt bio-diesel. He called upon the DRDO to find out the suitability of blending bio-diesel with conventional fuel and study its performance, without compromising the needs of the Forces, in extreme hot and cold climates.

The DRDO already has a running programme with the Army on developing a composite biodiesel model for Army usage and civil sector as well. Various laboratories including CSIR, universities and industrial houses are collaborating in the programme. The DRDO’s Defence Agricultural Research Laboratory (DARL), Pithoragarh is the nodal agency for the DRDO – Army Bio-Diesel Programme. Programme Director, Dr. Zakwan Ahmed who is the Director of DARL, said that over 3.64 lakh saplings of the high-yielding Jatropha has been planted on 300 hectares of land at Military Farms in Secunderabad, Mhow and Ahmednagar. Dr. Shashi Bala Singh, Director, Field Research Laboratory (FRL), Leh revealed that during tests, it was found that 20 % blended Winter Grade Diesel does not freeze up to -17^oC and that 5 % blended and 10 % blended diesel worked efficiently at -17^oC to run the vehicles. Dr. C Dhamejani, Director, Vehicle Research & Development Establishment (VRDE), Ahmednagar said the laboratory has carried out performance trials of bio-diesel on vehicles for a cumulative 4000 kms.

Dr. M Jayapragasam of the Coimbatore based Bio-fuel Research and Development Centre (BRDC), however pointed out the limitations that the Jatropha cultivation is possible only in the southern parts of the country as the plant’s flowering and fruiting does not take place below 18^oC and the crop is dormant below this temperature, gaining normalcy back in ambient warmer temperature.

Representatives of the three Services said that use of non-conventional energy sources including solar powered street lights and water heaters, wind mills, micro-hydel projects of 1 KW capacity and use of CFL lights is being promoted in cantonments.

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