Nagaraj Banapurmath

Renewable and Alternative Fuelled Diesel Engines: Future Fuels for Diesel Engines Nagaraj Banapurmath

India being predominantly agricultural country requires major attention for the fulfillment of energy demands of a farmer. Irrigation is the bottleneck of Indian agriculture, it has to be developed on a large scale, but at the same time diesel fuel consumption must be kept to a minimum level because of the price of diesel and its scarcity. Finding an alternative fuel for diesel fuel is critically important for our nation's economy and security. The complete substitution of oil imports for the transportation and agricultural sectors is the biggest and toughest challenge for India. Vegetable oils are renewable in nature and can be directly used as fuels in diesel engines. One such potential being non-edible oil extracted from the seeds of Honge oil (Pongamia pinnata). With the use of Honge oil as an alternative to diesel, and biomass derived from Honge tree, a farmer can become self- sufficient in his energy requirements. Moreover, he would also be contributing towards a healthier environment and thereby reducing the dependence of the nation on other countries for oil imports.