It’s a green drive! 300 cars in Bengaluru run on bio-fuel

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Some 300 cars in the city are running on green fuel or bio-diesel, the alternative to diesel. These cars are blending 20 per cent of green fuel with normal diesel. In the coming days more green fuel will be made available.

Tests show that green fuel has no adverse impact on the engine as it is refined and meets all the specifications and standards prescribed for diesel.

Y. B. Ramakrishna, chairman of the Karnataka Bio Fuel Task Force (BFTF) says once the bio-fuel unit near Devanahalli is established, the alternative fuel will be available for the general public.

“In the next few months the refinery plant to produce bio-diesel with a maximum capacity of 50,000 litres per day will be operational on Doddaballapur-Devanahalli Road. The refinery is dependent on the waste oil produced in edible oil refineries and other sources as pongemia and neem seeds. Once the refinery reaches its maximum production capacity, it can be sold to the general public,” Mr Ramakrishna explained.

Presently bio-diesel is sold at the Gandhi Krishi Vignana Kendra campus on Bellary Road, for Rs 2 less than the diesel price. The BFTF has set up at Information and Demonstration Centre (I&D Centre) where 100 litres of green fuel is produced per day.

Another such centre will soon come up at R V College of Engineering and another educational institute in the city.

“One must realise that we are producing the green fuel to reduce the prices. It's a necessity based requirement where this fuel can become the answer to the future fossil fuel crisis. Bio-fuel can be used instead of diesel, but due to unavailability of volume of green fuel it will take some time to stabilise. If there is more production and more users the price will automatically come down,” Mr Ramakrishna added.