'White coal' production becoming popular in Rajasthan

Jaipur, Nov 1 (ANI): The production of white coal (Briquettes made of Biomass) has gained popularity in Jaipur as it helps in the protection of the environment due to low levels of carbon emission.

More than 200 units are involved in the production of white coal around Ganganagar, Kota and Jaipur.

Rajasthan has emerged as the hub for the production of white coal due to the availability of raw material and favourable climatic conditions.

The environmentalists have lauded the production of white coal as they make optimum utilisation of agricultural waste and also help the farmers to earn more money. Earlier the waste was not utilised and it used to go into the drains.

"In Rajasthan, mustard seeds are produced in large quantity. Around 70 per cent of the mustard is produced in the region. Earlier, farmers used to throw the agricultural waste. Now it used by the industries. In addition to this, it is available at a cheap price. There are industries set up in rest of the places like Gujarat, aharashtra but due to non-availability of sufficient area for production, it is not a viable option for the industries," said V.K. Parikh, an environmentalist.

The surge in demand for white coal has enabled to earn carbon credit points, which are sold in European market in return bringing a lot of foreign exchange to India.

In the near future, white coal is likely to replace the regular fuels due to the low-level of carbon emission and also due to its high calorific value.

"There has been a world wide competition; people who are using bio-fuels are getting back 25 per cent of their costing. Thus, the fuel cost gets cut by 25 per cent. The major companies in the region are engaging in this production. The future of these industries is bright and it will grow. It is beneficial for the environment as well," said Parikh.

The mixture of agricultural wastes like mustard sticks and the sesame seeds oilcake are used as bio-fuel.

Rajasthan has great potential to produce white coal as Kota, Swaimadhopur, Tonk, Ganaganagar and Bharatpur towns produce large amount of mustard and the agricultural residue is used in the production of the white coal.