[Assam] Reducing Carbon Foot Print of Biofuels

Thu Dec 20 04:53:15 PST 2007

Dear Mr. Santhanam,
I would most cordially repeat my earlier request:
"Please digest all that is said in the 2 volumes of Agricultural Chemistry--if not other treatises."
It is all a question of minimum levels of NPK+micronutrients.
Hitech India should have gone all out since declaring itself a IT-SAVVY nation to produce and make available at every village a simple effective -----
Soil Elements Analysis Spectrometer with PC READ/PRINTOUT---
where anybody with Q's on suitability of topsoil in any patch  for a particular crop --would carry a Kg of it, wait a few minutes ,pay Rs 20/-and come out with sound Swaminathan Class advice  :Go plant this... and come back with this report for next rotation.
That is the only way forward!
Refuse to take one step without Science!
BR
MM

Date: Thu, 20 Dec 2007 06:52:05 +0000From: rsanthanam_delhi at yahoo.comSubject: Reducing Carbon Foot Print of BiofuelsTo: mikemahant at hotmail.comCC: rohit.pathania at gmail.com; waterwatch at yahoogroups.com
20th December 2007

Gentlemen,

Since I dont see my posting of 18th appearing in Waterwatch, I am sending it to you direct!
I have changed the subject heading to a more appropriate title!

Sincerely,

R. Santhanam
_____________________________________________________________________"R. Santhanam" <rsanthanam_delhi at yahoo.com> wrote:
Date: Tue, 18 Dec 2007 06:39:30 +0000 (GMT)From: "R. Santhanam" <rsanthanam_delhi at yahoo.com>Subject: Fwd: RE: [WaterWatch] EU says `Yes' but London says `No' to BIO-FUELSTo: Water W <waterwatch at yahoogroups.com>
Dear Sri Mahant and Sri Pathania,

I am glad for the contributions both of you are making to this discussion. Mahantji and I had discussed the need for chemical fertiliser inputs and whether we can do without that - organic farming basically.

In reply I would refer ( I am not qualified specialist) to the work done by:

Dr David Pimental of Cornell Univ on a variety of Energy Crops, most importantly the corn/maize grown in U.S Mid West prairies. He concluded that the whole mechanics is energy negative, if we calculate the energy inputs in fertiliser, (extra) water, pesticides manufacture and so on. versus how much calorie is derived by the ethanol out put. There is a PDF file which is available on the net. His study was financed by the U.S Federal govt.  This is in respect of fuel crops. Thre is an earlier Canadian study which concluded that modern agriculture is energy negative in producing food, if we measure food as calories. This means more calories go as inputs and the calorie output is less. Hence here also the modern agriculture is proved as energy negative.
Sri Valmiki Sreenivasa Ayyangarya has developed a revolutionary new orgaic farming methodology based on traditional knowledge (Karnataka). He ferments a variety of biomass wastes (whatever is available) in cow dung and urine and the resultant broth is applied as  soil drench and foliar spray in different dilutions and strenghths.He successfully turned around a tea estate in Arunachal Pradesh and also a Kiwi Orchard. He has  already raised many trees in Maharashtra at Keshavpuri in Yavatamal District of Maharshtra. Hence his totally organic, low energy and resource intensive farming methodlogies can be used for any crop and biofuel Tree Borne Oils can also be rased in an energy efficient and environment friendly manner.A  U.N discussion forum on which I had posted his observations is avilable at Url:http://www.solutionexchange-un.net.in/food/cr/cr-se-food-wes-11090701.htm
Dr Uday Bhawlkar with his theory of excess nitrates and its effects on biotic and abiotic phenomena. www.biosanitiser.com My blogs on this application for total sanitation as well as low cost and efficient agriculture: http://www.wesnetindia.org/fileadmin/newsletter_pdf/Aug06/Waste_Management.pdfEffective Management of Solid and Liquid Waste (From Santhanam R.)Waste management needs to be holistic and must adopt an approach that is closer to nature to bring about multi fold benefits. Waste management techniques need to be revisited and modified to suit present day’s complexities to avoid entry of toxic wastes into the environment, which are being increasingly produced at homes and other establishments. Treatment of waste generated at household, farms and other biological waste generating sources must include segregation, methanation and stabilisation along with the use of Biosanitisers to treat waste in a holistic manner. 

Possible application in wasteland biuofuel plantations. Url: http://www.voy.com/61461/2/470.htmlOn Bio Diesel using Biosanitised wastes posted on 18 May 2005

On the toxicity issue, well Jatropha Curcas is supposed to have been introduced into the Southern peninsula by the Portugese and thee are in use for many centuries as cattle fencing.

Deolied jatropha cake can also be used for generating biogas in Dr A.D Karve's Compact Biodigestor model. Url: http://www.bioenergylists.org/en/compactbiogas

About Mr Mahant's observation of  scrawny growth in Delhi-Kanpur belt well, any tree requires care and maintenance. The whole area is polluted and if we accept the nemotologists observation, it is the excess nitrates  and other P and K on chemical fertiliser fed plants, whch attract the insects!

Sri Valmiki not only rejuvenated the tea bushes in Abali Tea Estate,  all attendant plant diseases and infestations were controlled by organic farming methodologies only!

Today's Times of India front page talks of  the poison in Punjab wells due to excessive insecticide uses. The modern agriculturists claim that farmers have used the insecticides and fertilisers indiscriminately. The truth may also be that it is a losing proposition to follow modern agricultre and its practices! I was travelling Chennai-Delhi last month and met some farmers from Cauvery delta (Tanjavur District). They said that they cultivate high quality rice without fertilisers and pesticides for their own consumption and for the market they cultivate by chemical farming method which yields 2 -3 times higher per acre. Yields ar no doubt beter with chemical fariming. But then propoer organic farming like in Abali Tea Estrate can also yield higher and produce better quality food / fuel.

When I say better quality fuel, I mean that Biofuel from that would be free of NOx emissions.

More later!

R. Santhanam
________________________________________________________

mc mahant <mikemahant at hotmail.com> wrote:
To: <waterwatch at yahoogroups.com>, <assam at assamnet.org>From: mc mahant <mikemahant at hotmail.com>Date: Sun, 16 Dec 2007 22:29:04 +0530Subject: RE: [WaterWatch] EU says `Yes' but London says `No' to BIO-FUELS

Dear Sri Santhanam and Dear Sri Pathania, Q's......#1  What great secret did CLRI patent?#2  What VEL(Bhel?) will do with a few litres of Biodiesel--which is more for IC/CI engines  x millions?#3  Why did R.Diesel kill himself--Really? Should'n't all Germans repent this every day--at least Mercedes?#4  Why did President Kalam(What does he lecture on, these days?) go all Ga GA on Biodiesel?#5  If Rohit saw the writing on the wall--why didn't he stop the Good President  "Stop-it won't work"#6  What did the wise professors from Southern Univs discover --after all? And what was their Surprise? Or were they really ASTONISHED? --Which-Pray?#7 Does India HAVE TO CARE what Europe thinks and Livingstone does not?We know India is a mere copyist.  As I see this thingie "Jatropha Spews Poison--but Pongamia does not"  is not science nor backed up by whole set of data over a century.We have been seeing JATROPHA as low cost, plots -separating picket fence in all ASSAM villages since as long as I can remember(65 years+--).No usefor man or beast-till now. Seeds grow ,fall,propagate.Soil poisoned??Really? And Pongamia --this also supposed to have been brought over from South America---there are a few trees --somebody planted in towns in British days--certainly not for Bio diesel --agtain saw not fecund growth of plant life below Pongamia!!As they say--'Do not change horses in midstream'--carry on the good work . I am sure a fewhundred million Jatropha Curcus have already been planted. Tell people "carry on -plant more and look after J----.Good days will SURELYcome"And as I see--IT IS THE SCRAWNYgrowth of Jatropha which is unnerving the avid Jatropha-maniacs  now.But seeing the wild luscious growth in Assam versus scrawny thousands planted on the Yamuna banks as we see travelling out of New Delhi towards Kanpur--yours truly is convinced of need of N,P,K by the Poor plants. Shit carried by Yamuna is not complete Jatropha food!!So try planning feeding NPK to all Jatropha  and harbour no ideas of doing without these.Do we need Biodiesel at all?Yes-soon . Unless of course the Vajpayee Pet Projects--East-West  ,South-North Corridors are abandoned-and long-distance Trucks/Trains  disappear,  And people think 10 times before taking any Powered Vehicle ride.Best RegardsMahant

To: WaterWatch at yahoogroups.comFrom: rohit.pathania at gmail.comDate: Sat, 15 Dec 2007 12:58:44 +0530Subject: Re: [WaterWatch] EU says `Yes' but London says `No' to BIO-FUELS

A team of lecturers and professors from our college had actually gone on a field visit to the southern univerisities in Tamil NAdu that had had conducted studies about biodiesel from jatropha, and in their discussion, which our teachers had shared with us in some lectures, the findings that I had mentioned were discovered to the surprise of our lecturers, because our college hasd in fact been propagating the same  jatropha to PCRA, which has agreed to tadopt the reactor designs proposed by our college. About intercropping, the results have not been out, as it does take time for them to show. In fact, in my opinion, algal bioreactors could be the real key for a country like India, as the sacle at which we have paddy cultivation, we could obtain plenty of raw material easily without any consequences. Also, the methane that emits as a result from the rice fields could also be curbed to a certain extent by this action. And moreover, we might find a way of using the methane evolved as a fuel in a sustainable manner as well. 
As for the idea of using vegetable oil, it would not be suitable for countries like India, that have such a high edible oil consumption that we need to import palm oil from Maaysia. In my opinion, we have also not adequately explored the use of agricultural waste for developing biofuels, and attention needs to be diverted towards that front, as not only is it a better use of the waste, we would also not need any thing else especially for the purpose of making fuel.  
On 12/14/07, R. Santhanam <rsanthanam_delhi at yahoo.com> wrote: 

There is nothing wrong in commercialising a good technology and talking about it. Intellectuals rarely contribute to real development becuase of their tendency to get into hair splitting arguments. Sure we have made many wrong selection of technologies. Maybe Rudolph Disel's original version of a disel engine running on peanut oil was a better option than the oil coming from below the ground which then flooded the market at low prices. But then he committed suicide! 

I invite Mr Rohit Pathania to comment on this: 
http://www.merinews.com/catFull.jsp?articleID=126664

It was s surprise to learn that Jatropha Curcas spews poison on the soil around. What about the intercropping experiments done at TNAU, in Coimbatore and elsewhere? They were supposed to improve the economics of cultivating Jatrophs whose oil based on yield per unit area of land has remained elusive in terms oif economic returns to the farmer despite many claims. 

I suppose Pongamia Pinnata does not have these toxic draw backs. The best example ofa Biofuel plantation fulfilling Triple Bottom Line is the rare case of top  University professor trekking to the hinterland and making a real change. 

http://www.goodnewsindia.com/Pages/content/discovery/honge.html 

I have also heard that the gene in Jatropha Curcas is recessive and this means seed propogation may introduce inbreeding and lower yields. Any comments?

Nobody is talking about Algal Biodisel in India. Lot of R&D is going on USA and this promises 30,000 gallons per acre and sequesters CO2 from carbon emitters like power plants using fossil fuels. Closed Bioreactors seem to be the best bet. 

Sincerely,

R. Santhanam

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