BIO D is Using Used Cooking Oil to Check Pollution

For years, we have known about the nature friendly use of bio fuel, but how far have we been able to implement its uses? The transportation sector has been identified as a major polluting sector. Use of biofuels have, therefore, become compelling in view of the tightening automotive vehicle emission standards to curb air pollution. BIO D, in its essence, is a waste management company, which offers a one-stop solution to India for its waste management, reducing the dependency of imported crude oil and fight against pollution.

India generates over 150,000 tonnes of municipal solid waste (MSW) per day. Yet, only 83% of waste is collected and less than 30% is treated. According to the World Bank, India’s daily waste generation will reach 377,000 tonnes by 2025. With such figures there is an urgent need of such waste management company which will help to collect the waste in form of Used Cooking Oil (UCO) in an effective way and convert into biodiesel. The vision of the company is ‘To create a sustainable environment towards a cleaner and greener future for the next generation.’

The Tech Panda spoke to Shiva Vig, CEO and Director, BIOD Energy Pvt Ltd. BIOD Energy is coming up with employing new innovations in the energy sector to make the planet safe, clean, and eco-friendly, for the coming generations.

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“BIOD Energy India is coming with a 100 (Tonnes Per Day) TPD biodiesel plant with the aim of curbing pollution in the country. The company aims to reduce the emission levels of traditional fuels. We believe that this will also help the country go green and save people from health hazards,” he says.

An alumnus of Regent’s University of London in the field of Global Business Management, Vig has had a professional journey of more than eight years working in various companies and different sectors like finance and digital marketing. Before joining Bio D Energy, he co-founded projects, including Jaldi Paisa and bfound.

“Reduce and Recycle” is the aim of the BioDEnergy, as the focus is on collecting the Used Cooking Oil and recycling it into Biofuel. BioD Energy’s business is to showcase the use of biofuel as an inestimable contribution to the generation of income with its social inclusion, to bring the reduction in poverty and pollution in many poor countries of the world.

The idea behind BIOD’s project is waste management, which will also help in reducing dependency on imported crude oil, fighting pollution, managing illegal discharge of oil into a drainage system that contaminates water and clogs drainage system. Above all, it will check adulteration in edible oil.

“The cleaner fuel, biodiesel, which would be manufactured, will be in line with the IS15607 standards. This fuel can be either blended with diesel or used directly as a fuel to power DG sets, boilers and automobiles sector. This fuel would be converted out of waste including waste edible oil and waste generated from edible oil manufacturing units,” Vig explains.

Dangers of ‘Sasta Tel’

The CEO says the recycling of used cooking oil helps in addressing two problems with a single application. Firstly, it helps in stopping adulteration of edible oil, which previously, through illegal hawker network, found its way into the market sold as ‘sasta tel’ (cheap oil).

“This sasta tel is being purchased by small vendors and reused to cook food. Consumption of this oil leads to various health diseases like Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, and other cardiovascular diseases. This edible oil, once declared unfit for consumption (i.e. when it crosses the TPC level of 25), can be used to produce a greener fuel called biodiesel via various technologies that are available. The clean oil is low on sulphur and other pollutants, thereby giving consumers a cleaner fuel with reduced emissions. Thus, BIOD Energy India is not only doing its bit in helping control pollution but also helping Indians eat and live a healthier life,” he says.

Future Plans

BIOD Energy India has plans to commission a state-of-the-art facility in the industrial town of Bawal, Haryana. The facility will process up to 100 tonne of waste oil into pure biodiesel of IS15607 or its equivalent European standard of EN14214. The raw material will be collected from various areas situated in and around the plant and then brought to the facility, where a team of highly-skilled engineers would convert this waste into green fuel. The company has certain advanced processes to handle even the worst quality of raw material.

How Bio Fuels Can Help India

Considering that India harbours some of the most polluted cities in the world, the use of biofuel is a must to give the coming generations a better future. “Taking into account various case studies from Europe and America, there is a lot of impact that biofuels have created on the environment of these areas. Even in Asian countries like China, Indonesia, Malaysia and now India, the use of biofuels has increased. This biofuel is generated from within the country and reduces the import of crude oil by a significant margin.  This reduction is directly responsible for the cleaner environment and saving costs for the nation,” Vig says.

Looking into all this, the government of India published the Biofuel Policy of India 2018, with special emphasis on the use of biofuels. The policy has setup targets that are to be achieved in the years to come and all the stakeholders have welcomed this bold step.

Since, India is a fast-growing economy, the need for energy is constantly on the rise. Considering that fossil fuel reserves are depleting along with their impact on the environment, India needs long-term solutions for renewable energy, which is one of the reason for which BIOD Energy has shown the commitment. The new Biofuel Policy is in place to harness the potential and reduce the import dependency of crude oil to meet India’s growing energy demand. It envisages a target of 20% blending of ethanol in petrol by 2030.

“With the regular increase in the demand of fuel in the country and increasing pollution levels, India has to look for alternatives to meet the ever-growing energy demands. Importing crude oil continuously drains the country’s exchequer. Biodiesel can be widely used as a substitute of regular diesel and help the country in achieving the economic as well as energy security,” he says.

Challenges for Biofuels in India

Vig says challenges in making use of biofuels at an industrial level in India prior to the biofuel policy of 2018, were immense and was a main reason why there was very little development in the biofuel sector. However, with the new policy in place, the government has come out to support this sector.

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“Though the country is now evolving and adapting the alternate fuels, a lot still needs to be done. The government has to increase its support and time to time must revise the blending ratios for biofuel.  Subsidies to the stakeholders who are willing to enter this sector, can go a long way in the use of biofuel in the country,” he says.

According to Vig, if we do not start using bio fuels, the future would look pretty bleak. “If we do not wake up right now, we would be heading towards increased levels of pollutions. The living situation for landlocked cities like Delhi would depreciate considerably. The GHG emissions would increase, life expectancy of humans would decrease, people would suffer from various diseases. We would be leaving a chaotic and polluted environment for the coming generations,” he explains.

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