DCE plans 'green' fuel-making plant

NEW DELHI: ''Go green'' is the latest mantra at the Delhi College of Engineering. The mechanical engineering department has laid out a blueprint for the construction of a full-scale fuel plant which is expected to produce about 250 litres of environment-friendly fuel per day.
The project is based on the conversion of waste vegetable oils into a non- toxic and renewable source of energy called ''bio-diesel''.A pilot project for the production of bio-diesel had been launched at the DCE a month back and a small scale reactor, too, had been set up there for the same.
"Experiments on possible alternatives to fossil fuels have been carried on all over the world, but DCE is perhaps the first institute in the country to have its own fuel manufacturing unit," said Professor Naveen Kumar, bio-fuel project head.
The college procured 200 litres of waste vegetable oil from a popular fast food chain and used it to produce the first batch of bio-diesel. The 50 litres of fuel was used by students in their vehicles and for motorised irrigation pumps in nearby villages.