Alternative fuel
Tuesday, 25 March 2008
BANGLADESH spends a great deal of resources on imported petroleum based fuels. These imports can be decreased by using ethanol produced at home to save and ease pressure on the country's foreign exchange reserve. At a time when prices of petroleum products are continually rising in the international market, the locally produced alternative fuel can be a notable saver of precious resources.
Apart from molasses, ethanol could be produced out of agricultural wastes and municipal garbage. Ethanol is an ideal fuel for many uses. It is renewable, as it can be produced from plant materials. It burns clean, producing virtually none of the pollutants associated with gasoline or diesel. And the technology for producing it is relatively simple and affordable for a country like Bangladesh. Engines do not have to be modified for using ethanol. Engines of vehicular transports now in operation in Bangladesh would be easily able to run their vehicles on a mixture of petrol or octane or diesel with ethanol, requiring no conversion. In the USA and Brazil, vehicles operate on mixtures that contain up to 20 per cent ethanol. There is no reason why vehicles cannot similarly operate in Bangladesh using ethanol mixtures saving costs. Ethanol is likely to be substantially cheaper in price compared to petroleum-based fuels now in use in Bangladesh.
There is also the great potential of producing diesel for use in automotive vehicles in Bangladesh from jatrofa plants. The seeds of the plants are crushed to make a liquid similar to diesel called bio-diesel. Bio-diesel from jatrofa plants is partially meeting the requirement of fuel for transports in neighbouring India. Bio-diesel production is also relatively cheaper than diesel obtained from crude petroleum. Jatrofa plants can grow anywhere and easily without care. It can be grown successfully in Bangladesh on road sides, fallow lands, around homesteads or any place considered to be of little or no potential agricultural value otherwise. A plan to introduce jatrofa cultivation was reported sometime ago. But no further follow-up in the matter was heard since then. A plan needs to be implemented fast in view of jatrofa's potential to be a significant source of alternative fuel.
Shabbir Karim
Shantinagar, Dhaka
Apart from molasses, ethanol could be produced out of agricultural wastes and municipal garbage. Ethanol is an ideal fuel for many uses. It is renewable, as it can be produced from plant materials. It burns clean, producing virtually none of the pollutants associated with gasoline or diesel. And the technology for producing it is relatively simple and affordable for a country like Bangladesh. Engines do not have to be modified for using ethanol. Engines of vehicular transports now in operation in Bangladesh would be easily able to run their vehicles on a mixture of petrol or octane or diesel with ethanol, requiring no conversion. In the USA and Brazil, vehicles operate on mixtures that contain up to 20 per cent ethanol. There is no reason why vehicles cannot similarly operate in Bangladesh using ethanol mixtures saving costs. Ethanol is likely to be substantially cheaper in price compared to petroleum-based fuels now in use in Bangladesh.
There is also the great potential of producing diesel for use in automotive vehicles in Bangladesh from jatrofa plants. The seeds of the plants are crushed to make a liquid similar to diesel called bio-diesel. Bio-diesel from jatrofa plants is partially meeting the requirement of fuel for transports in neighbouring India. Bio-diesel production is also relatively cheaper than diesel obtained from crude petroleum. Jatrofa plants can grow anywhere and easily without care. It can be grown successfully in Bangladesh on road sides, fallow lands, around homesteads or any place considered to be of little or no potential agricultural value otherwise. A plan to introduce jatrofa cultivation was reported sometime ago. But no further follow-up in the matter was heard since then. A plan needs to be implemented fast in view of jatrofa's potential to be a significant source of alternative fuel.
Shabbir Karim
Shantinagar, Dhaka