Thar Technologies looks at India's karanj, jatropha for biodiesel

Pittsburgh, Penn.-based Thar Technologies said it plans to build a biodiesel plant in Rajasthan, India, using the region's karanj and jatropha crops.

Thar CEO Lalit Chorida said the company plans to take advantage of the region's policy to give 30 percent of wastseland to private companies seeking to grow the two biodiesel feedstocks. Thar plans to grow some of its own feedstock and buy the rest from area farmers.

Thar is seeking 20 acres around Jaipur on which to build the plant.

Thar recently received a $1.9 million grant from the U.S. government's Advanced Technology Program to develop its biodiesel production process.

The company is working on that single-step biodiesel process at its headquarters in Pennsylvania. That method uses carbon dioxide, instead of hexane, to extract oil from seeds and create biodiesel, using 25 percent less energy and reducing cost by 14 percent, Thar says.

Founded in 1990, Thar develops supercritical fluid technology that uses carbon dioxide to replace traditional solvent-based processing techniques for the pharmaceutical, foods, chemicals and electronics industries.