The non-renewability, ecological concerns and health dangers connected with the nonrenewable fuel sources has actually caused expedition of alternative sources of energy to substitute the standard ones. A promising innovation, still in its infancy, that could reveal us the way to the future ahead is Biodiesels. Biodiesels are diesel fuels originated from vegetable oil or animal-fat that could be utilized to run diesel engines. Vegetables oils like sunflower, rape seed, palm oil, soya bean, Jatropha etc can be subjected to oil processing to produce biodiesels. It consists of no petroleum however can be mixed with petroleum diesel for usage or could be utilized in its pure type.

Developed nations especially United States and European Countries have actually already made significant advances in the Biodiesel Technology. Biodiesel have found its use across industries and verticals and could become a perfect cleaner and more affordable option to petrol, diesel and fossil fuels. India has actually likewise started checking out the opportunities to produce and use bio-diesel. A number of plants for biodiesel transesterification are currently functioning in the country where vegetable oils are reacted with alcohols (ethanol or methanol usually) to produce bio-diesel.

The primary factor for the increasing need for biodiesels is the reality that biodiesels are eco-friendly and carbon-neutral, thus having no net effect on the climate. Besides, bio-diesel operates in compression engines similar to typical petroleum diesel and for this reason can be utilized with little or no engine modifications. Biodiesel do not require any separate facilities for its storage and can be stored simply like the petroleum based fuels.

Considering the growing energy demand in the country, rising petroleum costs and the environmental threats of fossil fuels, the Indian Government has used up initiatives to develop the Bio Diesel Technology in India and set up more oil processing systems. The Government announced its 'National Biofuel Policy' on 12 September 2008 which aims to satisfy 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 capacity to produce biodiesels is from Jatropha oil - a non-edible one produced from the seeds of the Jatropha curcas. The most significant benefit of using jatropha curcas as a raw material is that this plant can be grown in substantial quantities in wastelands all throughout India requiring extremely little water in contrast to other cash crops. Once grown, the plant has a useful life expectancy of several years. The jatropha curcas seeds contain 40% oil and are thought about to be an exceptional source of bio-diesel. The Government of India has 400,000 square kilometres of land appropriate for the jatropha curcas cultivation in the nation. India now

A study estimates that even if a blending effort of 2% Jatropha based Biodiesel is achieved in 2011-12, India will save around Rs. 3000 crores. Besides, it will produce around Rs. 5500 crores in the rural economy and help in decrease of Green House Gas emission by 3 Million Metric Tonnes (MMT) every year. The government is taking actions to motivate the growing of jatropha curcas in India offering totally free seeds, subsidized loans and other facilities. India requires to now enhance its efforts to make the fullest usage of the Biodiesel Technology. Besides jatropha curcas, the opportunities for extracting biodiesel from veggie oils, fats, sunflower, rape seed oil and palm oil should also be explored. It will not only provide an answer to the challenge of Global Warming however might reduce our reliance on foreign oil and add to our own economy.