Pakistan State Oil

Bio-diesel Initiative: A Step Towards a Cleaner and Self Sufficient

Pakistan

Background: The consumption and demand for petroleum products are increasing every
year due to increase in population, standard of living and urbanization. The domestic oil
production and supply are not in position to cater the country’s total energy demand. This
results in dependence on foreign imports. According to the report of the Oil Companies
Advisory Committee (OCAC) dated June 8, 2008, Pakistan consumes around 8 million tons of
diesel and 7.2 million tons of furnace oil per year. Around 9 million tons of diesel and furnace
oil is imported out of which Pakistan State Oil alone imports 3.4 million tons of diesel and 4
million tons of furnace oil. The emissions of gases from burning of these fuels have adversely
affected the environment. Pakistan is a low green house gas (GHG) emitting country
contributing 0.43% of the world’s total emissions (35th in world’s ranking)1. However, the low
GHG emission status of the country provides no safety from the adverse effects of global
climate change. Pakistan being an agricultural based economy, lying in arid and semi-arid
region, with heavy dependence on irrigated agriculture, is highly vulnerable to climate change.

Fossil-based reserves provide most of the world’s energy requirements. These Oil resources
are declining and are becoming more difficult to explore. Moreover the extensive use of these
fuels in meeting the energy requirement is changing the earth’s climate at an unprecedented
rate, impacting both physical and biological systems. The emission of green house gases has
considerably caused global warming. Temperature increases have been linked to rising tropical
hurricane activity and intensity, more frequent heat waves, drought, and changes in infectious
disease. The 4th Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
(IPCC) 2007 indicates that “Global temperature rises of 2 - 4.5° C are almost inevitable due to
increased concentration of green house gases caused by human activities (fossil fuel use, land
use changes etc). This change in climate is expected to have serious impacts on agricultural
production, biodiversity, health and disasters.

So there is a need for cleaner and sustainable sources of energy. Renewable/ Alternative
energy offers our planet a chance to reduce carbon emissions, clean the air, and put our
civilization on a more sustainable footing. It also offers countries around the world the chance
to improve their energy security and spur economic development by reducing dependence on
foreign fuel reserves.

To facilitate the development of a renewable production base for liquid fuels in the world, more
and more incentive packages are becoming available to producers and distributors of these
renewable liquid fuels. Another aspect to the establishment of a viable renewable liquid is that
these chemicals are much more environmentally friendly than their respective petroleum-
derived counterparts. Due to its clean emissions profile, ease of use, and many other benefits,
bio-diesel is quickly becoming one of the fastest growing alternative fuels in the world.

Why bio-diesel does not add carbon emissions to the atmosphere?

Plants take up carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere; burning plant (or animal) products
in an engine or burning it any other way releases the CO2 uptake back into the atmosphere, to
be taken up again by other plants. The carbon is recycled and atmospheric carbon levels

1
World Resource Institute, 2005
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remain constant. Thus bio-fuels do not increase global warming
-- unlike fossil fuels, which release large amounts of new (or
rather very old) carbon which has been locked away from the
atmosphere.

Project Description: Pakistan State Oil (PSO) has started

working on bio-fuels with emphasis on bio diesel2. PSO has
planted Jatropha Curcas plant (a non-edible and potential
source of energy) at a PSO site in Sindh.

PSO has selected Jatropha Curcas as a prospective plant

candidate for bio-diesel because of its unique characteristics
and for the same reason substantial research work has been
done by countries like India, Malaysia, China, Brazil and USA. To produce 10% blend of bio-
diesel, approximately one million acres of marginal/barren/waste land is required for Jatropha
plantation.

Why Jatropha Curcas:

• Non edible
• Easy to establish, grows relatively quickly
• Seed contains 32-35 % Oil.
• Being rich in nitrogen, the seed cake is an excellent source of organic manure.
• Various parts of the plant have medicinal value.
• Can withstand poor quality of soil, sustain arid environment and grow in saline
conditions.
• Can withstand severe heat. Likes heating and does well in warmer areas.
• Require less water to grow
• Like all trees, Jatropha removes carbon from the atmosphere, stores it in the woody
tissues and assists in the build up of soil carbon. It is thus environment friendly. From
Some source it has been found that a Jatropha tree absorbs 8 kg of CO2 every year.
• It has the desired physio-chemical and performance characteristic comparable to petro-
diesel. Jatropha oil has higher cetane number (51) compared to other oils, which is
comparable to diesel (46 to 50) and makes it an ideal alternative fuel and requires no
modification in the engine.

Project Goals: PSO’s ultimate goal is to significantly participate in blending 10% of

Country’s total petro-diesel consumption (8 million tonnes) with bio-diesel; in line with the
Government of Pakistan’s (GOP) directives. The GOP says, “10 % of the diesel and furnace oil
consumed by Pakistan (i.e. 0.8 million tons of diesel and 0.72 million tons of furnace oil) is
switched to bio-diesel, the country’s import bill can decline by US $ 1.00 billion. To achieve this
target, land requirement will be 1.06 M Acres.”

2
Biodiesel is a domestic, renewable fuel for diesel engines derived from natural oils (plant oil and animal fats).

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The Approach Taken:The approach taken by PSO for the development of bio-diesel from
the Jatropha plant is summarized in the table below:

• Internet browsing & correspondence with local & international experts

Acquire • Meetings with AEDB/Clean Power / PARC / Research Universities/GoP

Knowledge officials

• Visited Jatropha plantation sites i.e. Goth Umerdin / Fiesta Water Park,
Karachi / Thailand / PARC/SARC farm in Malir

• Attended Jatropha world conference & post-conference workshop

• A large nursery is established at a PSO location which has capacity of

producing 15,000 to 20,000 saplings per month
Setting up
Nurseries • Barren/ marginal land was selected for the development of Model farm for
the Plantation of Jatropha & Castor saplings

Arrangement of equipment & feedstock

• Oil extraction, filtration & transesterification units of AEDB was
relocated to PSOs’ location
• Sufficient quantity of seeds was provided by AEDB

Obtain Jatropha Transesterification of Oil

Oil & purify it • Biodiesel produced from filtered extracted oil through
transesterification process.

Blending B-100 with Petro-diesel

• Successfully blended 10% of B-100 with 90% of petroleum diesel to
produce B-10

• B-100 sent to Al-Ghazi tractors, GIK & NED University for engine
testing and their testing and analysis reports are awaited

Achievements and Challenges: The achievements of this project are:

• PSO has made significant progress in plantation of Jatropha Curcas shrubs and it is leading
in all aspect of Jatropha plantation to biodiesel production and its application
• Testing of blended biodiesel in a diesel vehicle is successful
• 17,000 Jatropha saplings have been planted at our model farm and further plantation is
going on .Plants are growing well
• MQTU (Mobile Quality Testing Unit) van is on road trial of blended biodiesel.

In addition, this pilot project will create approximately 320 new job opportunities. After
successful completion and its replication on 1M acres, the following job opportunities, related
to different sectors, will be created:

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 Commercial plantation on approx. 1.06 M Acres Job Opportunities

Farmers 106,000

Seed collection & oil expelling centre 27000

M&R & operation of water facility 12000

Bio-refining (tranesterification) & Quality Assurance 1000

Transportation- Seeds, crude & refined oil 1000

M&R of oil Expeller 100

Monitoring the M&R and operation of wind mills, solar 2100

system, pumps, tube wells & DG sets

Total 1,49,200

The bio-fuel industry will also provide growth opportunities for following industries:
Construction, Manufacturing-Pumps, Oil expellers, Oil filters, Windmills, tube wells, solar
pumps and micro- irrigation

The challenges of this project are:

• Certification & registration of Jatropha Curcas seeds from Min-FAL (Ministry of Food,
Agriculture and Livestock),
• Support from the Government of Pakistan for cultivation of the Jatropha plant.

Lessons Learnt:
• Strong dedication and carefulness is needed for enhanced productivity and good yield
• Business model approach should be adopted
• NGOs & Private Sector should be involved
• Govt. should take legislative action to support cultivation of Jatropha plantation

Contact Details:

Yacoob Suttar
Executive Director (F, IT & AE&NP)
Pakistan State Oil
PSO House, Clifton, Karachi
Tel: +92-21-9203756
Mob: +92-300-2021520
Fax: +92-21-9203721

S. Nawaid Anjum Zaidi

Deputy General Manager (AE)
Pakistan State Oil
PSO House, Clifton, Karachi
Tel: +92-21-5636434
Cell: +92-333-2117015
Fax: +92-21-5636433
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