The non-renewability, ecological concerns and health risks connected with the fossil fuels has resulted in exploration of alternative sources of energy to substitute the standard ones. A promising innovation, still in its infancy, that might show us the way to the future ahead is Biodiesels. Biodiesels are diesel fuels stemmed 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 contains no petroleum however can be combined with petroleum diesel for usage or could be used in its pure form.

Developed countries especially United States and European Countries have currently made substantial advances in the Biodiesel Technology. Biodiesel have actually discovered its usage across markets and verticals and might become a perfect cleaner and more affordable option to gas, diesel and fossil fuels. India has likewise begun checking out the chances to produce and use bio-diesel. A variety of plants for biodiesel transesterification are currently working in the nation where vegetable oils are responded with alcohols (ethanol or methanol typically) 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 effect on the environment. Besides, bio-diesel runs in compression engines much like normal petroleum diesel and hence can be used with little or no engine modifications. Biodiesel do not require any different infrastructure for its storage and can be stored similar to the petroleum based fuels.

Considering the growing energy need in the nation, rising petroleum costs and the environmental dangers of fossil fuels, the Indian Government has actually used up initiatives to establish the Bio Diesel Technology in India and set up more oil processing systems. The Government revealed its 'National Biofuel Policy' on 12 September 2008 which aims to fulfill 20% of India's diesel need with bio-fuels in the coming years.

Globally, edible vegetable 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 optimal potential to produce biodiesels is from jatropha curcas oil - a non-edible one produced from the seeds of the Jatropha curcas. The biggest advantage of using Jatropha as a basic material is that this plant can be grown in big quantities in wastelands all across India needing really little water in contrast to other cash crops. Once grown, the plant has a beneficial life-span of a number of years. The Jatropha seeds consist of 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 appropriate for the jatropha curcas cultivation in the nation. India now

A study estimates that even if a blending initiative 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 federal is taking steps to motivate the growing of Jatropha in India offering totally free seeds, subsidized loans and other facilities. India needs to now reinforce its efforts to make the max use of the Biodiesel Technology. Besides jatropha curcas, the opportunities for extracting biodiesel from vegetable oils, fats, sunflower, rape seed oil and palm oil should likewise be checked out. It will not just supply a response to the difficulty of Global Warming but might decrease our dependence on foreign oil and contribute to our own economy.