Simarouba glauca Biodiesel: A Renewable and Sustainable energy source

To combat the present energy crisis, one of the important strategies need to be adopted is to develop and promote appropriate technology for utilizing non-traditional energy resources to satisfy energy requirements. Simarouba glauca is one of the potential feedstocks for the development of alternative fuel in India as it is available; nonedible grade and produced from tree borne oilseed plant. The major green energy components and their sources from Simarouba are biodiesel from seeds, ethanol from fruit pulps, biogas from oil cake, leaf litter and thermal power from leaf litters, shell and unwanted branches.The Simarouba biodiesel is obtained with a good yield by transesterification process using both homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysts. The engine is run smoothly using diesel blends of Simarouba biodiesel and pure diesel. The engine performance and engine emission analysis is nearly similar to that of the pure diesel. The full chain energy analysis conducted for Simarouba glauca plantation system in India shows a favorable result.