The non-renewability, ecological issues and health dangers associated with the fossil fuels has led to expedition of alternative sources of energy to substitute the traditional ones. An appealing innovation, still in its infancy, that could show us the way to the future ahead is Biodiesels. Biodiesels are diesel fuels originated from vegetable oil 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 consists of no petroleum but can be blended with petroleum diesel for use or could be used in its pure form.

Developed countries especially United States and European Countries have currently made considerable advances in the Biodiesel Technology. Biodiesel have actually discovered its usage across industries and verticals and might emerge as an ideal cleaner and less expensive alternative to fuel, diesel and nonrenewable fuel sources. India has actually also started checking out the opportunities to produce and . A variety of plants for biodiesel transesterification are currently operating in the nation where veggie oils are reacted with alcohols (ethanol or methanol generally) to produce bio-diesel.

The primary factor for the increasing need for biodiesels is the fact that biodiesels are sustainable and carbon-neutral, hence having no net influence on the environment. Besides, bio-diesel runs in compression engines simply like normal 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 similar to the petroleum based fuels.

Considering the growing energy demand in the country, rising petroleum costs and the ecological risks of nonrenewable fuel sources, the Indian Government has taken up efforts to develop the Bio Diesel Technology in India and set up more oil processing units. The Government revealed 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 veggie oils like sunflower, soya bean, rape seed, palm oil are utilized as the pre-dominant basic materials for oil processing and biodiesel production but in India the maximum capacity to produce biodiesels is from jatropha curcas oil - a non-edible one produced from the seeds of the Jatropha curcas. The greatest advantage of utilizing jatropha curcas as a basic material is that this plant can be grown in substantial amounts in wastelands all across India requiring extremely little water in contrast to other money crops. Once grown, the plant has a beneficial life-span of numerous decades. The Jatropha seeds consist of 40% oil and are thought about to be an outstanding source of bio-diesel. The Government of India has identified 400,000 square kilometres of land ideal for the jatropha curcas cultivation in the country. India now

A research study estimates that even if a mixing effort of 2% Jatropha based Biodiesel is attained in 2011-12, India will conserve around Rs. 3000 crores. Besides, it will generate around Rs. 5500 crores in the rural economy and aid in reduction 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 free seeds, subsidized loans and other facilities. India needs to now reinforce its efforts to make the maximum usage of the Biodiesel Technology. Besides jatropha curcas, the avenues for extracting biodiesel from vegetable oils, fats, sunflower, rape seed oil and palm oil should likewise be checked out. It will not just offer an answer to the difficulty of Global Warming however might decrease our reliance on foreign oil and contribute to our own economy.