The non-renewability, environmental concerns and health hazards associated with the nonrenewable fuel sources has actually resulted in exploration of alternative sources of energy to substitute the traditional ones. An appealing innovation, still in its infancy, that might show us the way to the future ahead is Biodiesels. Biodiesels are diesel fuels stemmed from grease or animal-fat that might be used to run diesel motors. Vegetables oils like sunflower, rape seed, palm oil, soya bean, jatropha curcas etc can be to oil processing to produce biodiesels. It includes no petroleum but can be combined with petroleum diesel for usage or might be used in its pure kind.

Developed countries particularly United States and European Countries have actually already made significant advances in the Biodiesel Technology. Biodiesel have discovered its usage throughout industries and verticals and could emerge as an ideal cleaner and cheaper alternative to petrol, diesel and nonrenewable fuel sources. India has also begun exploring the opportunities to produce and utilize bio-diesel. A variety of plants for biodiesel transesterification are already functioning in the country where veggie oils are responded with alcohols (ethanol or methanol typically) to produce bio-diesel.

The primary reason for the increasing demand for biodiesels is the truth that biodiesels are renewable and carbon-neutral, thus having no net effect on the environment. Besides, bio-diesel operates in compression engines simply like typical petroleum diesel and hence can be utilized with little or no engine adjustments. Biodiesel do not need any separate infrastructure for its storage and can be kept similar to the petroleum based fuels.

Considering the growing energy need in the country, increasing petroleum rates and the environmental risks of fossil fuels, the Indian Government has actually taken up initiatives to establish the Bio Diesel Technology in India and established more oil processing systems. The Government announced its ‘National Biofuel Policy’ on 12 September 2008 which intends to meet 20% of India’s diesel demand with bio-fuels in the coming years.

Globally, edible veggie oils like sunflower, soya bean, rape seed, palm oil are used as the pre-dominant basic materials for oil processing and biodiesel production however in India the optimal potential to produce biodiesels is from jatropha curcas oil - a non-edible one produced from the seeds of the Jatropha curcas. The most significant benefit of using jatropha curcas as a raw product is that this plant can be grown in big quantities in wastelands all across India requiring really little water in comparison to other money crops. Once grown, the plant has a beneficial life-span of several decades. The jatropha curcas seeds include 40% oil and are considered to be an exceptional source of bio-diesel. The Government of India has actually recognized 400,000 square kilometres of land ideal for the Jatropha cultivation in the nation. India now

A study estimates that even if a mixing initiative of 2% jatropha curcas based Biodiesel is achieved in 2011-12, India will save around Rs. 3000 crores. Besides, it will generate around Rs. 5500 crores in the rural economy and aid in decrease of Green House Gas emission by 3 Million Metric Tonnes (MMT) every year. The federal government is taking actions to motivate the growing of jatropha curcas in India offering complimentary seeds, subsidized loans and other centers. India needs to now strengthen its efforts to make the fullest use of the Biodiesel Technology. Besides jatropha curcas, the avenues for extracting biodiesel from veggie oils, fats, sunflower, rape seed oil and palm oil should also be checked out. It will not only supply an answer to the obstacle of Global Warming but might decrease our reliance on foreign oil and add to our own economy.