DECCAN CHRONICLE

Bio-diesel Project to be set up in City soon

FROM OUR BUREAU

Hyderabad, Dec 25: If all goes well, trucks, buses, generator sets and other motors in the State will soon run on environment friendly bio-diesel produced from oilseeds of trees.

A former World Bank official and a city-based entrepreneur are planning to set-up a pilot project in Hyderabad to produce 30 tonne of bio-diesel per day shortly. The bio-diesel will be produced from crude oils extracted from “ganuga” (Pongamia pinnata), Jatropha curcas and other oilseeds bearing trees grown in wastelands and degraded areas in the State.

The brainchild of Dr.Emmanuel D'Silva, a former official of the World Bank in Washington and N. Satish Kumar, managing director of Southern Online, an Internet service provider in Hyderabad, the bio-diesel produced from the unit would undergo a pilot test in State transport buses, municipal trucks, seven-seater autos, power generators in hospitals, hotels and small businesses. The duo held discussions with transport officials, truck owners and others and they are optimistic of the success of the experiment.

“The motivation to start the project came from the horrendous pollution caused by traffic in Hyderabad. The use of bio-diesel is expected to cut vehicular pollution by upto 80 percent, depending on the ratio of bio-diesel used,” Silva told Deccan Chronicle.

The German Technical Cooperation Agency, GTZ has entrusted Zenith Corporate Services, Hyderabad, to appraise the project fro possible future funding, according to Satish.