Plantations International News

Biodiesel produced by Universal Biofuels, an Indian subsidiary of Aemetis, has been used by bulk customers to replace 100% petroleum diesel with 100% distilled biodiesel (B100), reducing emissions by 80% and providing cost savings to customers.

Traditionally, in Europe and in the United States, biodiesel is blended in the range of 5% to 20% with petroleum diesel due to colder temperature conditions.

With southern and western India’s tropical climate, Aemetis led the introduction of B100 in truck, bus, taxi, and stationary generator sectors as a 100% replacement of petroleum diesel.

‘We are excited to lead the replacement of 100% petroleum diesel with B100 in India, where 13 cities rank among the 20 most polluted cities in the world,’ says Eric McAfee, chairman and CEO of Aemetis.

Sanjeev Gupta, managing director at Universal Biofuels, says the company has succeeded in working with major bulk fuel customers to convert their fleets to distilled biodiesel to achieve significant cost benefits as well as help improve the environment.

The 99.8% pure distilled biodiesel possesses a number of advantages, such as a high cetane number (66-68) compared to the regular biodiesel cetane number of about 51, along with good lubricating properties to reduce engine wear.

The Indian diesel market is currently estimated at 25 billion gallons per year, which is significantly larger than the current Indian gasoline market of 5 billion gallons per year.

The current biodiesel production capacity in India is only about 250 million gallons.

Aemetis has set up multiple sales channels in India, directly selling to bulk businesses and selling through government-owned oil marketing companies.

Aemetis owns and operates a biodiesel production facility with a capacity of approximately 50 million gallons per year near Kakinada, located on the East Coast of India.

The company has ramped up its production in the aftermath of the recent deregulation of diesel prices and approval for direct market access in India.

Biofuels Plantations International