This section portrays the study of production system,
based on the data collected from Biofuel Park at Madenur
in Hassan district of Karnataka State. Seedlings are
raised using poly bags in the nursery. Seeds are planted in
a mixture of local compost and soil and are watered
manually. Planting pits are dug on waste lands and
agriculture field bunds for transplanting. Normally
seedlings are planted at distance of 40 to 50 feet on bunds
and number of seedlings planted depends on the type of
field and farming practices of the crop grown in those
fields. If the planting is carried out on waste land/
degraded lands/ silvicultural land 300 to 330 seedlings
can be accommodated per hectare. Pongamia is a very
hardy tree and it can establish successfully in almost all
kind of soil due its nitrogen fixing capabilities. Hence
any extra inorganic or organic fertilizers application is not
practiced. Just to support seedling establishment in the
initial stage, application of farm yard manure at the rate
of 2 to 3 kg per pit is practiced. After plantation
establishes no fertilizers are used since the tree has
nitrogen fixing capability in its root zone. The trees
establish very well in southern India with the prevailing
rainfall and start yielding from 5th year onwards and reach
its peak yield from 10th to 15th years. An average seed
yield of about 3 to 5 t ha-1 is obtained from 10 year old
plantation. Life span of Pongamia tree is considered
way above 80 years.
The extraction unit contains an electric screw press
and a filter press and yields 270 to 300 kg crude
Pongamia oil per 1,000 kg seed. During
transesterification 20 kg of methanol and 0.80 kg NaOH
is used per 85 kg (100 L) Pongamia oil. The reaction
takes place in a heated tank (60-80℃ ) and yields about
15-16 kg glycerine and 85 to 90 L of biodiesel. (The
glycerine is assumed to be sold in the market for soap
making etc)