According to an official statement of Indian Oil Corp (IOC), the firm developed and commercialised a technology to produce bio-diesel from non-edible oil extracted from plants like Jatropha.
The company expects to convert the non-edible oil into bio-diesel at its existing Diesel Hydrotreating (DHDT) units in a petroleum refinery.
The R&D Centre of IOC located at Faridabad developed the technology for co-processing of Jatropha oil. This is first time in India, and possibly the first in the world, when Jatropha oil has been used for co-processing in a petroleum refinery.
This is a major technological breakthrough that can be a game changer for advancing use of bio-diesel in the country and ensuring ready acceptance of the fuel by the automobile industry, the company said in the statement.
This would be a shift from the conventional practice of producing bio-diesel by the trans-esterification process which requires separate plant to be set up.
The new technology of IOC addresses the disadvantages with the existing technology and produces bio-diesel with higher Cetane number, good oxidation stability and lower density, the statement said.
While developing this process technology, IOC also developed a process for de-metallisation and de-gumming of vegetable oils. De-metallation of oils is a pre-requisite for co- processing since metals are poisonous for the catalyst in the DHDT unit.
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