NED UNIVERSITY OF ENGINEERING AN

Department of Environmental Engineering, NED University organized a Seminar on “Bio diesel – Alternative & Clean Fuel for the Present and the Future” held on July 03, 2008.

The seminar was arranged within a short space of two weeks notice. It was extremely positive to note the response received from Pakistan State Oil and TMT Ventures Limited to participate actively in the programme. In addition, plenty of organizations interested in bio diesel research and development were contacted and many of them responded by sending at least one representative to attend within this short space of time. It was felt that the purpose of the seminar to keep the research culture in harnessing alternative and renewable forms of energy alive was shared by many organizations in Pakistan. Some representatives traveled all the way from Islamabad to contribute to the programme (such as one representative from Pakistan Agricultural Research Council). The success of the seminar is highlighted in the latest press release (the Daily Jang dated 4^th July 2008 and the Daily Times dated 5^th July 2008 – shown in Annex-1).

The purpose of these proceedings is to help keep the interest in bio diesel research and development activities in Pakistan alive and to reach out to all those who attended the seminar as well as to those who, for some unforeseen circumstances, could not attend at short notice. Research and development into renewable energy will only help Pakistan overcome future crises due to the ever dwindling reserves of petroleum throughout the world. After all, how much fossil fuels can this nation import? Isn’t it better for Pakistan to stand up on its own feet and develop its indigenous resources for harnessing renewable energy instead? Bio diesel is nature’s efficient way of storing solar energy in wild plants and all one has to do is extract it in the form of non-edible vegetable oils and process it into a fuel ready for immediate use in a compression-ignition engine.

Bio Diesel production from non-edible oil obtained from wild plants growing on marginal land would benefit Pakistan in several ways:

4. Less carbon dioxide content in the atmosphere because this greenhouse gas would be absorbed by growth of many plants;

5. Cleaner Environment due to far less emissions of pollutants to environment; and

Due to the current issue being discussed all over the world regarding a food against fuel crisis, this seminar was organized to highlight the fact that bio diesel is unlikely to contribute to this crisis. Pakistan having about 65% of its landmass being barren and marginal can benefit greatly from the growth of non-edible oil bearing plants for bio diesel production. As a consequence, the seminar was arranged to provide a “Food for thought” for participants as well as Government level policy makers that academic research endeavors in harnessing marginal land for bio diesel fuel production should not only be encouraged but an environment of industry – University linkage should be taken up on a priority basis. The basic theme has been highlighted that every country has to seek involvement in indigenous research which may evolve results for benefiting its future.

The Programme delivery during the seminar contained enlightened discussions by various presenters and experts as well as active discussions by a major portion of a total of 170 participants who were present. Presence of the following organizations should be highlighted in particular:- Pakistan Agricultural Research Council (PARC), PCSIR Laboratories, Hamdard University, University of Karachi, Hino Pak, Pakistan State Oil, Sindh EPA, Sigma Motors, and Alternate energy commission. Photographs of the seminar in progress are shown in Annex-2. List of participants and their contact details are given in Annex-3.

Seminar Program Layout

The seminar began with a brief introduction and the theme for organizing the event was elaborated upon by Dr. Mohammed Harun, Associate Professor and Co-Chairman, Department of Environmental Engineering, NED University. Ms. Farzana Ibrahim, Assistant Professor of the Department of Environmental Engineering was overall “Master of Ceremony” for the seminar. Recitation and translation of the Holy Qu’ran was given by Hafiz Abdullah, who is a first year student of the Department of Automotive and Marine Engineering, NED University.

Prof. Dr. Mir Shabbar Ali, Chairman of the Department of Environmental Engineering, NED University gave the welcome notes for the seminar. He introduced the Department and its various activities prior to discussing the major reason behind holding this seminar (as given in the theme above).

After the Chairman’s welcome remarks, the distinguished Chief Guest, Prof. Dr. Muzafar Mahmood (PD-in-Chief, NED University) and the three speakers for the first session were invited to stage. The Chief Guest was then requested to give the inaugural address of the seminar. In his address, Prof. Dr. Muzafar Mahmood elaborated the importance of energy for the growth of any economy, referring especially to Pakistan. The need for alternative and renewable forms of energy for Pakistan was considered very essential and the basic theme of this seminar was to highlight this fact. He reminded the audience that an energy crisis back in the 1970s spearheaded research and development into harnessing of alternative and renewable forms of energy and stressed the importance of this ongoing endeavor for future generations to come.

After the Chief Guest’s inaugural address, Dr. Mohammed Harun was invited to give the opening presentation of the seminar. Dr. Harun introduced bio diesel as an alternative and clean replacement fuel for mineral diesel. He stressed the fact that bio diesel is not bio ethanol, the main culprit behind the so called “food against fuel crisis”.

USA was found to be growing a very energy intensive crop, corn, for bio ethanol production and this contributed to the hike in food prices in various parts of the world. The production of bio diesel from vegetable oils and animal fats by means of the transesterification process was explained in brief. Various raw materials were discussed prior to explanation of the fact that bio diesel blended with mineral diesel in appropriate quantities require little or no compression-ignition engine modifications. In addition, the existing supply chain network can be used and the fuel can be made currently available in the market quite easily. Then Dr. Harun explained why bio diesel is an environment friendly as well as a renewable fuel.

Bio diesel is a biodegradable fuel and if spilt in the marine or soil environments, it decays easily into harmless products, thus causing minimal contamination of the environment. In addition, it can work easily with novel emission control technologies such as catalytic converters, thus making bio diesel even cleaner. In addition, greenhouse gases are minimized due to a “closed carbon cycle”. In other words, the non-edible oil yielding plants that are grown on marginal lands absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere by means of photosynthesis, thus negating the impacts of carbon dioxide that is released from the burning of bio diesel fuel. In addition, the emissions of other major harmful air pollutants is thoroughly minimized by using bio diesel (its environmental performance is even better than that of bio ethanol and other popular fossil fuels such as CNG).

The growth of energy crops for bio diesel production was found to produce a positive energy balance resulting in output of energy from the use of bio diesel exceeding that of the energy input required for manufacturing the fuel. In other words, the energy balance for producing bio diesel (defined as the ratio of energy output per unit of fossil energy input) depends on the oil feedstock used, but is almost always greater than 1:1 (usually around 1:3.3).

After covering major points in favor of bio diesel, Dr. Harun explained the progress he made in his research in the conversion of refined canola oil (available in Pakistan) to bio diesel. It was mentioned that canola oil was chosen to “calibrate” the new experimental set-up in NED University for producing bio diesel to compare with the publications present in the literature. Full testing of bio diesel fuel against international standards (EN 14214 and ASTM D 6751) was carried out and the full results are reported in his latest publication entitled, “Bio Diesel from Refined Canola Oil in Pakistan” in NED University Journal of Research, Volume 5 (2008), pages 34-42. After discussing progress with canola oil bio diesel, Dr. Harun explained how castor oil available indigenously was converted to bio diesel. A maximum conversion of 80% was achieved and the audience was again referred to his latest publication entitled, “Transesterification Studies on Castor Oil as a first step towards its use in Bio Diesel Production” in Pakistan Journal of Botany, Volume 40 for further information.

After discussing major progress with the production of bio diesel from vegetable oils available indigenously, Dr. Harun elaborated his plans for future work. It was proposed to construct a pilot plant for bio diesel production and a standards testing laboratory for evaluating bio diesel against international standards (ASTM D 6751). The benefits of such a facility for NED University as well as Pakistan were emphasized and some collaborative initiative with Pakistan State Oil was also hinted towards. Dr. Harun’s presentation ended with special appreciation of NED University and acknowledgements towards his research advisors and other organizations such as PCSIR and PERAC Research and Development Foundation.

Growth of Plants on Marginal Land for Bio Diesel Fuel Production – Second Presentation

The second presentation of the seminar was delivered by Prof. Dr. Rafiq Ahmad, Principal Investigator of Biosaline Research Projects in the Department of Botany, University of Karachi. Dr. Rafiq started by defining bio diesel and also explained that it is produced in order to reduce the viscosity of vegetable oils to a range close to that of mineral diesel fuel. Then the advantages of bio diesel were discussed:

Some sources of bio diesel were introduced (including waste vegetable oil, non-edible oil and micro algal oil) and plants yielding oil feedstocks for bio diesel were also touched upon (including edible and non-edible varieties). Some disadvantages were also highlighted upon which further research work was considered necessary:

The importance of bio diesel for Pakistan was discussed. The points raised can be encapsulated in a simple fact that out of Pakistan’s total land area of 80 million hectares, about 60% or more consists of barren and marginal areas. Hence it was suggested that such marginal lands can be reclaimed by growing non-edible oil bearing plants for bio diesel fuel production. In other words, bio diesel produced from selected plants can replace or supplement the costly petroleum diesel imports as Pakistan has vast areas of unused wasteland of different kinds like saline and alkaline lands, wind eroded lands, water logged lands and deserts. Recommendations put forth were:

Plants suitable for growing on marginal land were suggested (prior to concluding the presentation) and included the following:

Emissions Testing of Bio Diesel Fuel in a Compression Ignition Engine – Third Presentation

This presentation was delivered by Engr. Mehmood Ali, Assistant Professor of the Department of Environmental Engineering, NED University. After introducing the concept of bio fuels, the presenter stressed on the major advantages of bio diesel in particular:

Mr. Ali stressed upon the fact that the existing mineral fuel distribution network could be utilized with ease for the supply of bio diesel to the consumer. Even if it is blended with its mineral fuel counterpart (20-25% bio diesel), its impacts upon the environment is far less than the use of fossil fuels for generating energy. The blending of bio diesel was suggested in the initial run to avoid engine performance problems due to the slightly lower calorific value of the renewable fuel (in comparison to mineral diesel).

A series of photographs were shown to the audience that included the growth of a couple of non-edible oil bearing plants in NED University (jatropha and castor bean) as well as the conversion of some oil obtained from such plants into bio diesel. The conversion of indigenous castor oil into bio diesel and its subsequent testing in a compression-ignition engine available with the Department of Environmental Engineering (testing conducted at PCSIR’s Environmental Lab) was elaborated in particular. The main parameters of importance of both castor oil bio diesel and canola oil bio diesel were compared.

The major findings from the research work of Mr. Ali were that the emissions of carbon monoxide, sulfur oxides and particulate matter were significantly reduced in direct proportion to the increase in bio diesel fuel content in the fuel mixture blend. Carbon dioxide content was found to increase with more bio diesel blended in the fuel mixture showing greater combustion efficiency (since bio diesel happens to be a highly oxygenated fuel). Nitrogen oxides were also found to increase with bio diesel blends because of the higher temperatures of combustion. Mr. Ali also stressed that due to minimum sulfur content of the renewable fuel, catalytic converters can be used with diesel engines to minimize nitrogen oxide emissions to the atmosphere.

The overall conclusion drawn from Mr. Ali’s research was that bio diesel blended with mineral diesel in quantities ranging from 20-25% showed optimum environmental performance and thus could be recommended for further testing with diesel based automobile manufacturing companies such as Hino Pak Ltd. The bio diesel feedstock was suggested to be non-edible oil obtained from wild indigenous plants that could be easily cultivated on marginal/barren land. As a result, Mr. Ali stressed that farmers should be given incentives by the Government to plant such wild plants on barren land.

The PSO Coordinator, Mr. Ameer Ali gave a full demonstration of their vehicle running on 10% bio diesel fuel (blended with 90% mineral diesel). The bio diesel was obtained from converting non-edible oil from the Jatropha Curcas plant, which was cultivated on barren land areas of Karachi for PSO’s research project (as discussed later).

Brig. (R) Dr. Nasim A. Khan, Vice Chancellor of Hamdard University, also attended the demonstration session. He was the ex-Secretary of the Alternative Energy Development Board and played a major role in the development of bio diesel programmes in Pakistan using Jatropha plant oil as the major raw material.

This presentation was given by Dr. Jafar Usmani, an expert in the field of bio diesel in Pakistan. In his introduction Dr. Usmani quoted a wise saying as, “the whole world today runs on mainly two things: money and oil”. Money can always be re-printed by a country’s central bank but mineral oil cannot be replaced. The central topic of the presentation was, “the time to start thinking about alternate energy forms is now as other countries are already doing. Otherwise, it will be too late for Pakistan”.

The major issue regarding the brewing of a controversy related to food against fuel was raised. It was stressed by the speaker that societies need both fuel and food to survive. Considered to be an ethical issue, its importance may become relevant in the not so distant future. Rich societies can have both food and energy. Poor ones cannot – unless they make sacrifices. The controversy of biofuel’s effect on food prices was found to have wide ranging views from different parts of the globe. President Bush said it’s responsible for about 15 percent of the rise in costs. U.S. Department of Agriculture put it closer to 20 percent. International Food Policy Research Institute analysis blamed 30 percent of the overall food price rise from 2000-2007 on biofuels. An industry-funded study put the food cost rise from biofuels at 4 percent. Matt Hartwig, a spokesman for the Renewable Fuels Association, said, “World agriculture can both feed and fuel the globe.’’ U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Ed Schafer told a recent International Food Aid Conference “Higher [fossil] energy prices are the biggest factor in pushing up food prices.” However, he stressed, “Biofuels are a factor, but not THE factor.”

Similarly, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, whose country is Europe’s largest biofuel producer, said, “the rise in food prices was not mainly due to biofuels but to poor and inadequate agricultural policies in developing countries” as well as “insufficient forecasts of changes in nutritional habits” in emerging markets. However, one fact which can not be ignored is that the Governments need energy to keep their economies running and growing. At the same time, concern about global warming and a chance to save or make money from biofuels was found to have prompted many Governments to launch crash programs to produce them for domestic use or for export. Some countries seemed to focus on converting corn to ethanol (USA), while others focused on sugar cane (Brazil), and still others focused on oil palm (Indonesia). To do so, the land on which to grow such cash crops had to come from somewhere and, where there was no suitable land available, food producing areas became candidates for takeover by relentless pressures on governments from the so-called biofuel producers.

Moreover, this so-called ‘food versus fuel’ controversy appeared to have been exaggerated in many cases. The subject was considered far more complex than has generally been presented since agricultural and export policies and the politics of food availability (including cross border smuggling) could be factors of far greater importance. The argument should be analyzed against the background of the world’s real food situation of food supply and demand (ever-increasing food surpluses in most industrialized and a number of developing countries), the use of food as animal feed, the under-utilized agricultural production potential, the increased potential for agricultural productivity, and the advantages and disadvantages of producing biofuels.

After covering the above general points, Dr. Usmani moved onto Pakistan’s energy scenario and how biofuels could contribute in developing Pakistan’s ailing economy. An important fact was raised that Pakistan was found to be facing both food and fuel problems. Adoption of agricultural practices should, therefore, take into account this reality and evolve efficient methods of utilizing available land and other resources to meet both food and fuel needs (besides other products), e.g., from agro forestry systems.

Pakistan has always been highly dependent on imported fuels. The threat of supply interruption has been real, primarily for unforeseeable political reasons, pipeline accidents, system vulnerabilities, embargoes, terrorism, and civil strife. The more universal threat has been price fluctuations. Over dependence on imports, especially for energy sources like petroleum has made Pakistan quite vulnerable. Pakistan’s energy scenario (2005 energy scenario) was then presented:

In short, Pakistan’s diesel and fuel oil consumption came to a total of 10 MMTY, petrol consumption was 1.65 MMTY and total import value of oil was US$ 6.6 Billion (2005 figures). It was evident that Pakistan needed to increase energy security by producing more energy in-house. A possibility was considered through the development of Alternative Energy Sources. Out of major alternative energy sources available, Dr. Usmani focused on biofuels.

The bio-energy alternative was found to be exciting because it could provide Pakistan with easily available fuel that could fit into today’s gasoline and diesel engines with minimal or no changes to existing systems. Biofuel was also presented as a form of solar energy harvested from the land, as plants use photosynthesis to convert solar energy into chemical energy stored in the form of oils etc., and wherever land and water may be abundant biofuel has been found to be cheap and sustainable. Of the bioenergy alternatives, one exciting trend was considered to be Bio diesel – a diesel-like substitute from plant and animal fats.

Realizing the necessity of developing alternate sources of energy the Government of Pakistan established an Alternate Energy Development Board (AEDB). The AEDB has been actively exploring the utilization of alternate energy sources in Pakistan. AEDB was also instrumental in establishing a few petrol pumps to supply a blend of petrol and ethanol (technically known as E10). Indigenously produced 165,000 tons of anhydrous ethanol was made available for this purpose and was found to contribute towards the saving of lot of foreign exchange as well as part of environmental degradation.

AEDB was also involved in the development of Bio diesel. They had sponsored a Project to develop Bio diesel as an alternate energy source. The technology of trans-esterification to produce Bio diesel from vegetable oil had already been developed and tested locally at Sir Syed University of Engineering & Technology as well as at PSO in Karachi. Work has also been conducted at NED University. The capacity of locally developed unit, under AEDB, for the production of Bio diesel was described to be 70 liters per batch. This patented technology was produced by Dr. Jafar Usmani and can be made available for implementation in any future bio diesel development programmes for the benefit of Pakistan.

The fuel properties of biodiesel, petroleum diesel and blends were then presented:

A variety of lipids (triglycerides) from different biological sources could be used to produce bio diesel. The main plants whose oils were considered as feedstock for bio-fuel included: soybean oil, rapeseed oil, palm oil, sunflower oil, safflower oil & jatropha oil. Others in the contention were mustard, hemp, castor oil, waste vegetable oil, and in some cases, even algae. Ongoing research into finding more suitable crops and improving oil yield of microalgae was described. New Zealand based company Aquaflow Bionomic had successfully produced its first sample of bio-diesel fuel from algae grown out of sewage-ponds. However, unlike some bio-fuel sources which require crops to be specially grown - using more land, fuel, chemicals and fertilizers - the algae was found to already exist extensively in Pakistan. To get the fuel, the algae can be processed into a pulp before lipid oils may be extracted to be turned into bio-diesel. PCSIR Labs, Karachi was credited for being extensively involved in the development of biofuels from indigenously grown Algae obtained from Sewage ponds.

In his final part of the presentation, Dr. Usmani stressed about the importance of indigenously grown Jatropha and Pongamia plants for bio diesel production (using non-edible oil). These were very useful for restoring soil, combating desertification, and providing fertilizers. These were considered to require minimal inputs of water and could grow in extremely poor soil. It has been Jatropha's ability to grow on marginal, waste or arid land and produce energy crops without displacing food crops that may be perhaps of most potential importance to Pakistan, particularly as these plants could reduce the effects of climate change. Pakistan’s large areas of poor quality land may be ideal for the cultivation of energy crops such as Jatropha and Pongamia. Plantation of these plants could likely be able to create at least one job for every acre of planted trees; the total impact on agricultural employment alone could be huge. Moreover, these plants were found to have the ability to grow on marginal, waste or arid land and could be considered for intercropping to generate extra money. 80 million acres of marginal land were found to exist in Pakistan; ideal for the cultivation of energy crops, so growing Jatropha and Pongamia would not divert land away from growing vital food crops.

When the Bio-diesel production cost was considered, it was found to depend on the cost of procurement of seeds, scale of manufacturing, government policies related to taxation, utilization of by-products, seed cake, etc. However, while considering the cost factor, it has been essential to look at the rural employment generation, energy security, carbon trading issues, savings of foreign exchange and commercial value of glycerol by-product. Employment could be generated from plantation, seed collection, oil extraction, Bio-diesel manufacturing, and localized distribution. Finally, it was emphasized that employment generation from plantation and seed collection alone was estimated to be 40 man days/ha/year. In conclusion, it was stated that Pakistan has the technology and the manpower to pursue bio diesel infrastructure development. The only input required now is the will to deliver.

This presentation was given by Mr. Syed Anwar Saeed, General Manager (Alternate Energy and New Projects), Pakistan State Oil. Mr. Saeed stressed the fact that global energy crises have lead to a tremendous opportunity for production of biofuels. Energy from crops was not only considered to be financially viable, but strategically and environmentally important.

World bio diesel production from 1991 to 2005 increased dramatically from a mere 100 million litres per year to a significant 3.5 billion liters per year. This was projected to increase to 25 billion liters per year by the year 2020. During the year 2005, Western Europe was found to be contributing up to 75% of the world’s bio diesel production and consumption markets. Eastern Europe and American continents came second in combination. However, by the year 2010, the situation was predicted to change immensely. During 2010, it was predicted that the market share of Western Europe may decline to 38%, whereas the Asian continent could become major players by taking up a total market share of 30%. Eastern Europe and the American continent could content with 18% of world market share. Rest of the world would follow suit.

Bio diesel was described to have application areas in diesel generator sets, homes, small industries, diesel fuelled automobiles and in the mechanized agricultural sector. The definition of bio diesel was provided, which was identical to that given in the first presentation. The environmental and economic benefits were mentioned, which was again found in tandem with earlier presentations. However, the mechanical benefits of bio diesel were as follows:

The Government of Pakistan’s initiative for bio diesel fuel was described. By 2015, it was stipulated that 5% blends of bio diesel fuel with mineral diesel fuel should be achieved in all diesel run machines in Pakistan. By 2025, it was stipulated that 10% blending of bio diesel with petroleum based diesel should be achieved in all diesel run machines in Pakistan.

PSO set up the Alternate Energy and New Projects Department on 17^th January 2008 with the vision to come forward and play its role in the Energy Sector by taking initiatives in terms of renewable energy projects. The ultimate goal of PSO has been to blend 10% of Pakistan’s total petro-diesel consumption (8 million tons) with bio diesel. In consequence, the focus of PSO’s study was the following plants: castor bean, jatropha and pongamia.

Comparison of the properties of Jatropha oil with mineral diesel fuel was presented in a table as follows:

Specification	Standard specification of Jatropha curcas	Standard specification of Diesel
Flash point	110°C	54°C min
Carbon residue	0.64	0.20 max
Cetane index	51.0	45.0 min
Kinematics Viscosity	50.73 cSt	1.5-6.5 cSt max-
Sulphur % wt	0.13 %	1 % max
Calorific value	9,470 kcal/kg	10,170 kcal/kg
Pour point	8°C	+6°C max
Colour	4.0	3 max

Some facts about the employment of castor bean plant in Pakistan as well as its usefulness were given as follows:

In his concluding remarks, Mr. Anwar Saeed remarked that PSO firmly believed that the growing of jatropha plants on marginal/unutilized land will not only substitute petroleum diesel but also alleviate the poverty level and will bring revolution in the farming community. The same was also concluded for both castor and pongamia plant oils.

This presentation was given by Mr. Syed Nawaid Anjum Zaidi, Deputy General Manager (Alternate Energy and New Projects), Pakistan State Oil. Mr. Zaidi’s main focus was on PSO’s journey to the production of bio diesel fuel. Re-iterating the objective of the company to blend 10% bio diesel with 90% mineral diesel the following facts was presented:

· Visits to Goth Umerdin / Fiesta Water Park, Karachi / Thailand / PARC/SARC farms in Malir.

· Seeds were found to be germinating well and approximately 7,000 saplings have been developed.

· Developed jatropha saplings in different agricultural zones of Pakistan in coordination with PARC.

· Analyzed growth potential of different plants such as Jatropha, Sukh Chain and Castor at PSO locations.

· Analyzed the effects of wind, direct sunlight, quality of soil and quantity of water supplied on selected plants.

· Collection and analysis of data from PARC arid zones on plantation of Jatropha seeds, saplings and plants.

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

o One PSO vehicle has been running on B-10 successfully (demonstrated during seminar).

· The following core objectives of introducing bio diesel in Pakistan may only be achieved if PSO succeeds in:

· Identification of plant species with the coordination of PARC for plantation in various zones/areas of Pakistan.

· Presentation with the coordination of AEDB, Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources and Ministry of Agriculture, Food & Livestock to attract the farmers and large barren land owners to grow Jatropha plants.

· Government of Pakistan to initiate dialogue with commercial (NBP, HBL, MCB, UBL & ABL) and agriculture banks (ZTBL, ADBP, Punjab Provincial Co-operative Bank) to disburse loans to small and medium size farmers.

The results of PSO’s blends of bio diesel (from jatropha oil) with mineral diesel fuel were finally presented and are reproduced below:

HSD refers to high sulfur containing diesel fuel. Then Mr. Zaidi showed the audience a video of PSO’s bio diesel development programme, which focused mainly on the plantation and growth of jatropha plants in Pakistan. After Mr. Zaidi’s presentation, all speakers and experts were invited to stage for the question and answer session (photos shown in Annex-2).

Dr. Nasim A. Khan (Vice Chancellor, Hamdard University) provided an overview of AEDB’s policy to promote the growth of a bio diesel fuelled economy in Pakistan obtained mainly from the “wonder plant”, Jatropha. He also mentioned that he had planted about 10 jatropha saplings in his own home in Karachi and urged PSO to collaborate with both NED and Hamdard for developing jatropha plantations in both Universities for bio diesel production. Hamdard University showed its willingness to donate some large land space for the same.

Dr. Razia Sultana elaborated upon her experiences of cultivating microalgae for bio diesel fuel production. Although microalgae have enormous potential, she stressed that her research findings did not reveal that as yet. However, further work has been ongoing and some collaborative studies with the department of Environmental Engineering, NED University may be expected in the near future.

Mr. Syed Arshad Ali stated that Hino Pak is already in contact with PSO regarding the testing of bio diesel fuel in compression-ignition engines being manufactured by the Japanese multinational. He stressed that for the benefit of Pakistan, Hino Pak is willing to provide full assistance to all organizations interested in developing and testing bio diesel fuel in the present as well as in the future.

Mr. Abdul Qadir reiterated the same points of Mr. Arshad Ali and also mentioned the extreme environmental advantages of bio diesel compared to petroleum based fuels. Being a graduate of the Department of Environmental Engineering, he was willing to collaborate with NED for testing and evaluating bio diesel fuel.

Mr. Imtiaz Ahmad thanked the organizers and re-stressed the importance of a harmonious research culture between government organizations, universities and industries for bio diesel fuel production in Pakistan. A mass awareness campaign was also considered necessary to educate the people of Pakistan regarding the benefits of bio diesel for Pakistan. This seminar was considered to be a very good starting point for that.

This was a highly lively and interactive session which generated interests from both expert members of the audience as well as students. Both bachelors and Masters students attended and played a very active role in this session.

One member of the audience queried regarding the economics of bio diesel in comparison to petroleum diesel. To that Dr. Jafar Usmani mentioned that if a mass scale farming of non-edible oil yielding plants is conducted on marginal land for bio diesel production, then bio diesel can easily become cost competitive with mineral diesel, if not cheaper.

Prof. Dr. Ajmal Khan from the University of Karachi, representing the views of the major parts of the audience, stressed the importance of further bio diesel research in Pakistan and stated that his Halophytes Institute would be willing to provide full support in this regard. He had identified halophytes that could grow on extreme soil conditions and could yield much more oil than jatropha or castor bean. He welcomed a joint collaborative research project with PSO anytime in the future in this regard. He also expressed his interest to collaborate with the Department of Environmental Engineering, NED University for the same purpose in the future.

Prof. Dr. R. Q. Hamid, Chairman of the Department of Automotive and Marine Engineering, NED expressed his reservations against bio fuels so that further research initiatives could be conducted to tackle the negative aspects. However, his major points were focusing against bio ethanol and not bio diesel that could be obtained from non-edible oil bearing plants growing on marginal land. This misconception was clarified by Dr. Jafar Usmani and the distinguished Chief Guest, Prof. Dr. Muzafar Mahmood, PD-in-Chief, NED University. The Chief Guest also remarked that all research work presented were focusing on harnessing indigenous resources and no adverse effects could be foreseen from that.

Dean of the Civil Engineering and Architecture, NED University (Prof. Dr. S. F. A. Rafeeqi) stressed that continuous research endeavors should carry on in the development of bio diesel and alternative energy solutions for Pakistan, ignoring debates and pressures related to the food against fuel crisis. Even if bio diesel may not find practical use at the present moment for industries in Pakistan, research should continue because in the future dwindling fossil fuel reserves would force the Nation into bringing back the alternative energy sources that may so disdainfully be dumped at the present moment for getting influenced unnecessarily in the food against fuel crisis. The honorable Vice Chancellor of NED University, Engr. A. Kalam also supported this view strongly.

Concluding Remarks from Chairman of Department of Automotive and Marine Engineering, NED University

In his concluding remarks, Prof. Dr. R. Q. Hamid said, “the success of a seminar is decided upon the interest generated from the audience, i.e. the length of the question/answer/discussion session”. Judging from that, this seminar was found to be one of the most successful ones held in NED University so far. The debate regarding food against fuel crisis will continue but Pakistan could harness its indigenous resources to produce bio diesel from non-edible oil, which would avoid this issue altogether.

After concluding remarks, souvenirs were presented to distinguished Chief Guest, speakers, Dean (CEA) and experts by Chairman of the Department of Environmental Engineering.