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Thermal power plants in India emit around 500 Mt of CO 2 annually. All of it is released into the atmosphere untreated. Microalgae, a third generation feedstock for bio-fuel emerges as a viable option for partly sequestering the emissions. Moreover, its carbon capture capacity of 4.8 kg CO 2 /kg biomass, which is very much as compared to terrestrial substitutes like Jhatropa curcas , enables to produce bio fuel hence adding value to the entire process. This paper intends to build upon this idea and come up with strategies to integrate bio fuel production and CO 2 sequestration with the existing thermal power plants. The raw materials needed for algal growth are available in the plant as elaborated in the paper. Thus the bio fuel produced can be routed back to power the plant consequently lowering the dependence on coal. This would help in putting a check on the carbon emissions thus making the existing systems more environmentally benign and suitable for long haul. This paper reviews currently employed carbon capture technologies and methods and comes up with a strategy to subsume carbon capture through microalgae with power plants of a certain capacity. 3 t/day is taken as the basis for calculations in the proposed flow sheet. An alternative of the above is also provided which substitutes the biofuel production with co-firing. This escalates the nitrogen content of flue gas but deescalates the investment. This brings down the capital investment in the plant but enhances N 2 content of flue gas. Carbon leakage is accounted for in a table of atomic balance. It takes care of input and output of carbon. The paper is inclined towards the conclusion that the Microalgae possess incredible potential and if tapped efficaciously could prove to be extremely helpful in these days of power and environmental crisis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The story of Jatropha curcas (Jatropha) was started in 2003 when the Planning Commission of India decided 20% blending of Jatropha oil (biodiesel) in petroleum diesel by 2010 and 30% by the year 2030. After that China, Japan, Belgium, Brazil, Tanzania, Mexico, Thailand, Malaysia, Philippines, and East and South Africa have set their own plans to blend Jatropha oil in petroleum diesel. It is not unexpected that almost every paper about Jatropha starts its introduction with the energy, environment and economic benefits and wishful thinking of reducing global warming. Unfortunately, Jatropha could not succeed so far in energy sector as expected, for which it was the most popularized energy crop. Many of the actual investments and policy decisions on Jatropha have convincingly been made without any scientific and technological backup. It has become clear that the positive claims on Jatropha are numerous which have popularized it as a potential source in biodiesel production but many of them still remain as theoretical assumptions and have not been verified yet practically. This letter reports briefly the status of past hopes to ground reality on the basis of what a few scientific studies on Jatropha. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Pongamia is forest-based tree containing non-edible oil and has a large production potential of biodiesel which can grow on any type of soil, needs minimum input and management, have low moisture demand, productive life is more than 40 years and seeds have 28–34% oil content. Biodiesel yield of 99% is obtained from Pongamia oil by transesterification under the molar ratio of 6:1 of alcohol to oil with Sodium hydroxide as a catalyst of 0.5vol% and operating temperature of 60°C with time for production process being 1h. The study shows that brake specific fuel consumption and brake thermal efficiency of B20 biodiesel from Pongamia is quite comparable to diesel. The hydrocarbon and carbon monoxide gas emissions are quite low in case of Pongamia biodiesel as compared to diesel. This paper describes the various aspects of Pongamia as potential fuel in India. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Jatropha, a non-edible oil seed yielding plant has been identified by the Government of India to produce biodiesel under National Biodiesel Mission. Failure of National Biodiesel Mission Phase-I requires critical analysis of all the possible facts related to its long-term sustainability. Present work identifies important sustainability issues related to promotion of Jatropha biodiesel in India. These sustainability issues have been regrouped in four major categories: technological, environmental, economic and social. This paper attempts to explore various sustainability issues taking into account the recent Indian experiences with possible government support/initiatives for successful adoption of Jatropha biodiesel in Indian scenario. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Energy is essential and vital for development, and the global economy literally runs on energy. The use of fossil fuels as energy is now widely accepted as unsustainable due to depleting resources and also due to the accumulation of greenhouse gases in the environment. Renewable and carbon neutral biodiesel are necessary for environmental and economic sustainability. Biodiesel demand is constantly increasing as the reservoir of fossil fuel are depleting. Unfortunately biodiesel produced from oil crop, waste cooking oil and animal fats are not able to replace fossil fuel. The viability of the first generation biofuels production is however questionable because of the conflict with food supply. Production of biodiesel using microalgae biomass appears to be a viable alternative. The oil productivity of many microalgae exceeds the best producing oil crops. Microalgae are photosynthetic microorganisms which convert sunlight, water and CO2 to sugars, from which macromolecules, such as lipids and triacylglycerols (TAGs) can be obtained. These TAGs are the promising and sustainable feedstock for biodiesel production. Microalgal biorefinery approach can be used to reduce the cost of making microalgal biodiesel. Microalgal-based carbon sequestration technologies cover the cost of carbon capture and sequestration. The present paper is an attempt to review the potential of microalgal biodiesel in comparison to the agricultural crops and its prospects in India. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The world is confronted with the twin crises of fossil fuel depletion and environmental degradation. The indiscriminate extraction and consumption of fossil fuels have led to a reduction in petroleum reserves. Alternative fuels, energy conservation and management, energy efficiency and environmental protection have become important in recent years. The increasing import bill has necessitated the search for liquid fuels as an alternative to diesel, which is being used in large quantities in transport, agriculture, industrial, commercial and domestic sectors. Biodiesel obtained from vegetable oils has been considered a promising option. In this paper, an attempt has been made to review the work done on biodiesel production and utilization, resources available, process(es) developed/being developed, performance in existing engines, environmental considerations, the economic aspect, and advantages in and barriers to the use of biodiesel. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]