Chennai: In one of the nail-biting scientific revelations in the city, Let’s Make Engineering Simple (LMES) team has exactly replicated the ‘herbal fuel’ preparations of P Ramar Pillai, the controversial man continuing to claim he can manufacture fuel from herbal sources without the use of petroleum products.
The team also revealed to News Today about how Ramar could have gone ahead reportedly “cheating” people for years.
The more than two-decade-old herbal fuel theories of Ramar are back with a bang. While all this time Ramar was challenging scientists, oil companies and investigating agencies, he now steps on the toes of Let’s Make Engineering Simple (LMES) after it published a video a few days ago, claiming he cheated during the manufacturing demonstration of his mysterious ‘herbal fuel’ on its premises in Chennai.
Ramar shot to fame in 1996 for ‘inventing’ a ‘herbal fuel’ that he claimed didn’t use petroleum products. Being a school dropout hailing from a village near Rajapalayam, he soon became the talk of the town with the then Chief Minister M Karunanidhi even allotting him a land for starting a production plant. With appreciation from all spheres, criticisms were ignored. Between 1996 and 2001, Ramar reportedly sold over 15 lakh litres of the ‘herbal fuel’.
But, soon suspicion rose in the way he prepared his fuel as some of his early customers are said to have complained that their vehicles didn’t run properly. Following this, the faculty at IIT Madras requested him to demonstrate the procedure at their campus early 2000.
At the time, they found him cheating and came to the conclusion that Ramar was, indeed, adding a petroleum product through a stirrer stating that water has been converted into fuel using his herbal ingredients.
Ramar was arrested and let out on bail a couple of times due to various cases pertaining to cheating investors and causing losses to his customers.
Speaking to News Today, LMES founder Premanand Sethurajan said, “Thirsting to bring to light inventions of Tamils, we asked Pillai to demonstrate the process to us a week ago, so that, if genuine, we could propagate it through our strong online platform. We went to his place and were amazed looking at the water, which we gave, burning, after his preparations. But, after analysing our footage thoroughly, we came to know he had used wax on the jar lid to help in the combustion process. When we revealed that to the world in our first release on YouTube, he came down heavily on us, demonstrating another method to another TV channel. At the time, he also allowed the anchor to ensure wax wasn’t used. We were shocked as the water started burning just as it did with us.”
“With a tough task on hand, we again started analysing the footage and found that the secret ingredient in one of his bottles was nothing but nitro methane, a pucca petroleum fuel. After some trials, we cracked his preparation method as well. As nitro methane is heavier than water, it doesn’t mix with it and settles at the bottom. It catches fire only at higher temperatures. So, Ramar’s ultimate aim is to somehow mix this fuel to the sample water which we give. He will go to any extent to do this. The first time, he placed the fuel above the wax on the jar so that when wax melts, the fuel gets released into the sample water. So, we were very easily able to replicate his preparation and revealed it to the world in our second release on YouTube. Ramar can’t cheat us any more,” he wagged a finger.
When asked how Ramar was able to afford the expensive nitro methane and how he was able to sell lakhs of litres for dead cheap prices, Premanand responded saying, “There are a lot of bio-fuels already in existence. When normal fuels like petrol get mixed with these bio-fuels in certain quantities, the combination can exhibit properties similar to normal fuel. But, they don’t fulfil any of our emission requirements. That’s the reason, throughout the world, not much importance is given to bio-fuels. So, we believe Ramar would have resorted to this method to prepare large quantities of this so-called ‘herbal fuel’. We believe Ramar still has something in him and if he demonstrates without cheating, we are ready to extend our help.”
‘GIVE ME WATER’
After LMES released its second video on YouTube, simultaneously, an online news channel released a response video by interviewing Ramar. He shot a series of questions at the LMES team, adding that he will make sure they pay adequate fine for discrediting him. Ramar alleged that LMES asked him the formula even before he demonstrated his method to Naam Thamizhar Katchi chief Seeman. He said he will soon write patent exams to restart the manufacturing process after almost two decades. “I am ready to convert how much ever water they give me, even if it be 30 litres, into fuel. No fuel will burn if added to water. It is a lie that my customers complained about my herbal fuel. I have received no such complaint so far,” he asserted.
WHAT IS LMES?
Let’s Make Engineering Simple (LMES) is an online and offline teaching platform explaining science and engineering concepts of varying difficulty levels using practical real world applications. Over the past two years, the team has enabled clear understanding on selected science concepts for over one million people through social media. They also recently conducted a science fair called ‘Big Bang’. Other initiatives like e-content development, educational TV programs have also become a part of LMES.
FROM PLANTS
Bio-fuel is a fuel that is produced through contemporary biological processes such as agriculture and anaerobic digestion, rather than a fuel produced by geological processes such as those involved in the formation of fossil fuels such as coal and petroleum from prehistoric biological matter. Bio-fuels can be derived directly from plants or indirectly from agricultural, commercial, domestic and / or industrial waste.