The Indian Railways is soon to set up plants to manufacture bio-diesel for mechanical traction with technology patented by scientists at the CSIR-Indian Institute of Petroleum (CSIR-IIP), Union Minister Harsh Vardhan today said.
Announcing this, Vardhan, who is also the Vice President, CSIR, laid out the roadmap for further exploitation of opportunities in alternative fuel sources.
"We are the first to have the capability to convert one tonne of broken buckets, mugs, toothpaste tubes, bottle caps and other Polyolefin products into 850 litres of the cleanest grade of diesel. This is the best news yet for the planet this year because henceforth plastic waste will be viewed more as a resource than a nuisance," said a government statement, quoting Vardhan.
"I have myself campaigned on the streets of Delhi against pollution and plastic proliferation. Today, I am glad to announce that diesel conforming to Euro-5 specifications in sulphur content has become a reality thanks to the CSIR-IIP and GAIL's diligence and ingenuity," the Minister of Science and Technology said.
Another feather in CSIR-IIP's cap is the successful project to produce low-carbon jet fuel from inedible, drought-resistant Jatropha plant.
"We have gone several steps ahead in developing alternative sources of jet fuel. Jatropha apart, CSIR-IIP has the knowledge to make jet fuel out of any non-edible oil - even the waste cooking oil from our kitchens is soon to become prized material in the market," the Minister said.
