After one year of launching the production of bio diesel, the Institute of scientific and Technological Research (IRST), has achieved its strategic projection of producing 2000 liters of bio diesel per day.

The bio diesel that is produced from the palm oil, Moringa oil, Jatropha oil, avocado seeds and animal fats among others will help the country break away from dependency of imported petroleum products, since Rwanda is a land locked country.

"Economic sustainability will be achieved only if we can be independent in terms of fuel production and supply of fuel and bio diesel is the solution,” said Nduwayezu Jean Baptist the Director General of IRST.

The land mark achievement has been accomplished due to the purchase of machinery from Europe and plans are under way to purchase bigger machines with higher capacity that can produce 340,000 liters of diesel per day.

However, Rwanda still imports most of the raw materials from the neighboring countries for the production of diesel oil. It imports a total of 11.5 tonnes of raw materials. 

According to Nduwayezu, for Rwanda to attain fuel independence, it needs at least 225,000 hectares of land to produce raw materials.

In order to consolidate the production of bio diesel oil, the government plans to start a bio diesel company as the majority share holder and limited shares to private sector before the end of the first phase of the project which is stretched along three years.

Nduwayezu also dispels the fears of gas emission as being less with the use of bio diesel compared to other sources of fuel.

"When we carried out the carbon monoxide emissions of the bio diesel, we found that emission was reduced by 48 percent which is in conformity with international standards,” explained Nduwayezu.

The international gas emission standards are between 43 to 50 percent. When the normal diesel was costing Rwf756 per liter, the bio diesel would cost Rwf700 and when the bio diesel policy is passed by the government, and it gets subsidized it would cost Rwf350 per liter.

According to the results from the tests, they showed a slight difference in the consumption of the fuel with bio diesel, every 100 km traveled 10.7 liters are consumed while the normal diesel every 100 km 10.4 liters are consumed.

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