The non-renewability, ecological issues and health threats connected with the fossil fuels has led to exploration of alternative sources of energy to replace the standard ones. An appealing innovation, still in its infancy, that could reveal us the method to the future ahead is Biodiesels. Biodiesels are diesel fuels stemmed from grease or animal-fat that could be used to run diesel engines. Vegetables oils like sunflower, rape seed, palm oil, soya bean, jatropha curcas and so on can be subjected to oil processing to produce biodiesels. It contains no petroleum however can be combined with petroleum diesel for use or could be utilized in its pure form.

Developed countries specifically United States and European Countries have actually currently made considerable advances in the Biodiesel Technology. Biodiesel have actually discovered its use across industries and verticals and could become a perfect cleaner and cheaper alternative to fuel, diesel and nonrenewable fuel sources. India has actually also begun exploring the opportunities to produce and use bio-diesel. A variety of plants for biodiesel transesterification are currently operating in the country where veggie oils are reacted with alcohols (ethanol or methanol typically) to produce bio-diesel.

The main factor for the increasing demand for biodiesels is the reality that biodiesels are renewable and carbon-neutral, hence having no net effect on the environment. Besides, bio-diesel operates in compression engines similar to normal petroleum diesel and thus can be utilized with little or no engine modifications. Biodiesel do not need any different infrastructure for its storage and can be stored much like the petroleum based fuels.

Considering the growing energy need in the country, increasing petroleum prices and the ecological hazards of fossil fuels, the Indian Government has taken up initiatives to develop the Bio Diesel Technology in India and established more oil processing units. The Government announced its ‘National Biofuel Policy’ on 12 September 2008 which aims to fulfill 20% of India’s diesel demand with bio-fuels in the coming years.

Globally, edible vegetable oils like sunflower, soya bean, rape seed, palm oil are used as the pre-dominant basic materials for oil processing and biodiesel production but in India the maximum capacity to produce biodiesels is from Jatropha oil - a non-edible one produced from the seeds of the Jatropha curcas. The biggest advantage of using Jatropha as a is that this plant can be grown in substantial quantities in wastelands all across India requiring extremely little water in contrast to other cash crops. Once grown, the plant has a helpful life expectancy of a number of decades. The Jatropha seeds consist of 40% oil and are considered to be an exceptional source of bio-diesel. The Government of India has actually identified 400,000 square kilometres of land appropriate for the Jatropha growing in the country. India now

A research study approximates that even if a blending effort of 2% jatropha curcas based Biodiesel is attained in 2011-12, India will save around Rs. 3000 crores. Besides, it will produce around Rs. 5500 crores in the rural economy and assistance in decrease of Green House Gas emission by 3 Million Metric Tonnes (MMT) every year. The federal government is taking steps to motivate the cultivation of Jatropha in India offering free seeds, subsidized loans and other centers. India requires to now enhance its efforts to make the maximum usage of the Biodiesel Technology. Besides Jatropha, the avenues for drawing out biodiesel from vegetable oils, fats, sunflower, rape seed oil and palm oil must also be explored. It will not only offer an answer to the obstacle of Global Warming however might reduce our reliance on foreign oil and contribute to our own economy.