Pongamia Pinnata Seeds-Karanj-Pungam Oil-Pongamia Seed And Oil

Pongamia pinnata Seeds

Bio Fuel / Bio Diesel Plants / Pongamia pinnata Seed Oil/ Bio Doiesel Seed

Pongamia pinnata is one of the few nitrogen fixing trees (NFTS) to produce seeds containing 30-40% oil. It is often planted as an ornamental and shade tree but now-a-days it is considered as alternative source for Bio- Diesel. This species is commonly called pongam, karanja, or a derivation of these names.
Botany : Pongam (Leguminoceae, subfamily Papilionoideae) is a medium sized tree that generally attains a height of about 8 m and a trunk diameter of more than 50 cm. The trunk is generally short with thick branches spreading into a dense hemispherical crown of dark green leaves. The bark is thin gray to grayish- brown, and yellow on the inside. The taproot is thick and long; lateral roots are numerous and well developed.

There are major advantages of replacing present fossil diesel oil by bio diesel. They are as follows :

• Bio diesel is a renewable resource and thus there is no fear like exhausting of present fossil stocks.
• Bio diesel contains almost no sulphur and hence the exhaust gas emission is far better in quality for controlling pollution caused by fossil fuel combustion.
• Bio diesel is produced from seed oil of plants. Increasing the vegetation or plantation will help consuming the carbon dioxide produced by combustion and releasing oxygen maintaining the ozone in the atmosphere.