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Scientific Research Production Engineering Institute of Environmental Problem -- the developer of the technology -- had claimed that if NOC introduced the technology, it can safely blend 20 percent water in diesel and still enjoy high energy output by mixing mere 1.5 percent catalyst in the blended fuel. [break]
With this, officials had hoped to cut diesel´s import and also believed to lower loss it suffers in the industrial fuel.
NOC Chief Digambar Jha, who took part in the demonstration in Saint Petersburg in Russia last week, said that the technology really worked as the institute claimed. “But its developers could not give us convincing economic analysis. Hence, we had to drop the idea,” he told myrepublica.com.
The corporation refused the plan also because it was required to import huge volume of chemical catalyst for the technology to work, something which was not possible due to lack of liquid storage facility at Kolkata port as well as dry port in Birgunj.
“Technical analysis showed we needed to import some 750,000 liters of reagent if we are to successfully blend water in some 50,00 kiloliters of diesel in a month. We do not have transport and storage infrastructure to support it,” said Jha.
Nonetheless, the corporation has ordered the sample of the blended fuel for trial. According to Jha, NOC will use the fuel in a couple of cars, trucks and excavator for few months and study out its impact on engines and vehicles´ performance.
“For the purpose, we are acquiring the vehicles on lease,” said Jha.
NOC that ruled out introduction of eco-fuel technology even in the near future, however, has said that it was positive toward introducing transparent fiber, polymer-based cylinders for refilling liquefied petroleum gas (LPG).
The top officials who visited and interacted with promoters of Aromtech SRO Composite Designs, a Russian company that is producing and supplying fiber cylinders to various East European countries, said they were attracted to fiber cylinder because it has capacity to bear more pressure than metal cylinders.
Besides, such cylinders are light weight. For example, a fiber cylinder that holds 10 to 15 kg of gas weighs just 5 kg, whereas metal cylinder of the same capacity weighs around 15 kg.
“This makes fiber cylinder easy to carry,” said Jha. Also fiber cylinders are transparent, something which could come to consumers benefit. This will enable them see how much fuel has been refilled in the cylinder, when it is emptying and check if gas still remains in the cylinder when they return it for refill.
If NOC really wished to introduce the cylinders and assured consumption of more than 300,000 cylinders, the company even proposed of setting up the manufacturing plant in Nepal, disclosed Jha.
“We will report the possibility of introducing new cylinders to the board. If everything went well, we will talk to the Russian manufacturer further,” he stated.
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