CONSERVATION OF

ENERGY

“PETROCROPS”
 INTRODUCTION
What is energy?
Technically speaking, energy is a physical
term which is defined as the capability
to do work by any object.
Energy is bounded by a law called LAW
OF CONSERVATION OF ENERGY which
states that energy can neither be created
nor be destroyed. It can only be
transformed from one form to another.
 Need of energy in today’s life-
Today, not only India but many other
countries are on the developing track
and to supplement their development and
population demands an irrational use of
energy resources has resulted in
ENERGY CRISIS which has led to the
increasing need of energy in today’s life.
NOTE- Though total energy is always
conserved but they are transformed in
non- recyclable and re-usability of that
source becomes impossible.
An article showing the need of energy in today’s life
LACK OF ENERGY RESOURCES
CONVENTIONAL SOURCES OF ENERGY
{ fossil fuels}-
• These are the non-renewable or exhaustible
sources of energy present on the earth today.
Once finished it takes millions of years to
replenish, as a result, there is a depleting stock
of these resources.
• These are also known as the conventional sources
of energy because they are used widely for all
the purposes of daily needs such as cooking,
fuels in vehicles, raw materials for electricity
generation
 FUEL RESOURCES IN INDIA

In adjoining fig. we can

notice the following things-
• Coal still constitutes as the
major dependent source
followed by petroleum and
natural gas which all are
conventional sources of
energy.
• In contrast the dependence
on the renewable and non-
conventional sources of
energy is still to its
minimum level.
 FUEL REQUIREMENTS OF INDIA
• India needs to improve its potentiality in the non-
conventional sector of energy production.
• As we had seen in the previous slide, India about
92% of the fuel consumed comes from fossil fuels
which has many disadvantages of which some are
that these sources are soon to get exhausted and
consumed and their harnessment induces air pollution
and global warming.
• Only 8% of energy is produced by the non-
conventional sources which are quite feasible such
as hydropower, nuclear power, geothermal etc.
• But the potential of India is very high such as the
potential reserves and stocks of wind and solar
energy in Rajasthan which are not harnessed
because of lack of technology and economy.
• 70% of the total petroleum product demand is being met by
 Installed Capacity as on 31.07.2004
REGION HYDRO THERMAL NUCLE- WIND TOTAL
AR
COAL GAS DIESEL TOTAL

NORTHERN 10597 15915 3213 15 19143 1180 61 30980

WESTERN 5102 20792 5036 17 25845 760 597 32304

SOUTHERN 10328 13429 2613 939 16945 780 1209 29299

EASTERN 2459 15027 190 17 15235 0 3 17697

N.EASTERN 1134 330 751 143 1223 0 0 2357

ISLANDS 5 0 0 64 64 0 0 69

ALL INDIA 29625 65456 11840 1196 78491 2720 1870 112706
 CONSERVATION OF ENERGY

• Today, we are suffering from energy

crisis globally. Therefore, there is an
intense need of the conservation of
energy.
• There can be divisions of such
practices on the basis of activities
and the activists, they are
STRUCTURAL & NON-STRUCTURAL
methods.
 A) Structural
• In structural changes comes all the
social, physical, chemical and biological
means of formation of institutions and
technology for this purpose.
• In biology we have many such
measures that enable us to conserve
energy practically or structurally of which
some measures are PETRO CROPS,
BIOMASS AND VERMICOMPOSTING.
We are showing our main concentration on the following-

PETRO-CROPS
 INTRODUCTION
What are petro crops?
Petro crop, Calotropis procera is a wild shrub and does not
compete with food and fodder crops for land. This paper presents
an investigation on enhancement of hydrocarbon extraction from
Calotropis procera. An extraction yield of 8% has been obtained
with toluene, as solvent. Increase in extraction to 11.5% has
been achieved by modification of design of conventional “Soxhlet
extractor”. Further enhancement in extraction has been achieved
by pre-treatment of the biomass with alkali or acid. Pre-treatment
results in extractive or hydrolytic breakdown of plant structure and
hence exposes hydrocarbons to solvent attack. Alkali pretreatment
of ground biomass resulted in much higher extraction. So it was
studied in further detail with more alkalis of varying strength. An
enhancement from 8% to 18% has been achieved by pre-
treatment with IN sodium hydroxide.

Jatropha –a petrocrop
 Calotropis Procera

• Calotropis procera
(Asclepiadaceae)
is a wild shrub,
which grows up
to a height of
1-3 m and its
leaves are 10–13
cm wide by 17–
19 cm long.
RECENT TECHNOLOGY TO HARNESS
IT
 CULTIVATION REQUIREMENTS
• India has varied agroclimatic zones which have wide range of temperature,
humidity, rainfall and soil conditions. Growth and productivity of plant depends
upon a large number of edaphic, nutritional and environmental factors. This is
more important in respect to laticiferous plants whose growth is influenced
significantly by soil composition. Even by liberal estimates these fossilized fuel
resourceare not going to last longer .
• Calotropis procera is a potential energy resource, containing latex, an emulsion
of oil and water. The oil fraction looks, feels and acts like crude oil (1). The
latex is converted into petroleum like substances by using hydro-cracking in
presence of zeolite catalysts (1). By some of the estimates majority of the
compound in latex consists of terpenoids and sugars.
• The Calotropis procera is widely distributed in Western Rajasthan while Calotropis
gigantea is found mostly under cultivated conditions near temples in Jaipur,
Bharatpur, Udaipur, Bhilwara, Banswara division with relatively moderate climatic
conditions. 
• India has over 180 million of wasteland out of which 90 million ha is
uncultivable. The degraded and denuded lands arise due to soil erosions as well
as secondary salinizations. However Calotropis procera is a potential plant for
bioenergy and biofuel production in semi arid regions of the country because it
is able to grow on such lands.
 OUTPUT

The plant has a growth potential of 2 dry tones to 40 dry tones

per ha depending on the agro climatic conditions of it’s growth.
The plant has high level of regeneration potential and could be
harvested up to 4 times a year. The plant yields valuable
hydrocarbons which could be converted into diesel substitutes.
The bio-diesel derived from Calotropis procera is free from NOx
gases, S02 and Suspended Particulate Matter (SPM) and has high
cetane value. Due to it’s enormous potential for growth under
adverse climatic conditions Calotropis procera is suggested as
potential plant for bio-diesel production under semi-arid and
arid conditions.