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Sustainable alternative to diesel: A biodiesel sourced from plants 

05 Mar 2022

  • Innovation found through mechanism founded 15 years ago: Dr. Samaraweera
  • Commendable innovation but not the path for SL: Energy Ministry
By Uwin Lugoda Amidst the global diminishing of fossil fuels and their current price hike, a Sri Lankan has come up with a greener, more sustainable alternative to traditional diesel. According to its inventor, Dr. Dulan Samaraweera, this ‘biodiesel’ is completely sourced from plant materials (castor seeds), is identical to traditional diesel, and has a lower carbon emission.  Speaking to The Sunday Morning, the doctor stated that the idea for this new mechanism came from research he conducted over 15 years ago when this plant-based diesel showcased its potential to be a sustainable alternative to traditional, fossil fuel-based diesel. “In 2007, my research showed that two species, rata endaru and thel endaru, had the potential to produce oil that could be refined into biodiesel. At that time, I proposed the idea to grow these along our railway tracks, so that the fuel produced from these could completely power our train systems,” said Dr. Samaraweera. Despite being the Acting Director at the Anuradhapura Teaching Hospital, Dr. Samaraweera has been conducting research into biofuels and clean energy for a long time.  Prior to his current innovation, he invented a machine that would generate electricity via sea waves in 2018. He claimed that by fixing these machines within 10km of the coast, the machine would utilise the waves to create enough power to cover the daily power demand of Sri Lanka. The machine he built at the time cost him a total of Rs. 32,000 and utilised discarded parts of motor vehicles and other metals. Similar to this, Dr. Samaraweera’s new biodiesel innovation also aims to lower the impact of fossil fuels on nature, and also address the current shortage in fossil fuels within the country.  He explained that this biodiesel, while similar to regular diesel, had 30% less carbon dioxide emissions and 20% less carbon monoxide emissions. He stated that the entire process of extracting biodiesel from a plant source took around 24 hours to complete. He explained that the process began when the plants were put into the machine for it to extract oil, and once the oil had been extracted it could be refined into biodiesel within a day. “The mechanism I use extracts oil from a plant source and turns it into biodiesel. I have successfully produced biodiesel and during my demonstration three weeks ago I showcased it to the media. What my mechanism does is, it extracts oil from plant sources and turns it into biodiesel; a kilo of plant materials can produce up to one litre of oil and that litre of oil can be refined into a litre of biodiesel. The process can be done on a small scale, like in a household, or be done on a larger scale by the Government,” said Dr. Samaraweera. He stated that this could not be done by private companies, since the end product needed price controls and regulations. Instead, he stated that it was up to the Government to take up the initiative of mass-producing bio-diesel. However, speaking to The Sunday Morning, the Energy Ministry stated that while this innovation was commendable, it was not the path Sri Lanka should be taking. Energy Ministry Additional Secretary and Spokesperson Chaminda Hettiarachi stated that while more sustainable than traditional diesel, biodiesel still released relatively harmful levels of carbon. He explained that the Government was instead more focused on greener energy sources. He further stated that while similar ideas had been thought of in the past, a closer look into large-scale production of biodiesel showed the need for large areas of land to plant the trees needed for extracting the oil. Hettiarachi stated that the Government was currently working on plans to introduce greener, more sustainable energy sources to the country.


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