The non-renewability, environmental concerns and health hazards 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 might show us the method to the future ahead is Biodiesels. Biodiesels are diesel fuels originated from grease or animal-fat that could be utilized to run diesel engines. Vegetables oils like sunflower, rape seed, palm oil, soya bean, jatropha curcas etc can be subjected to oil processing to produce biodiesels. It contains no petroleum but can be blended with petroleum diesel for use or could be used in its pure kind.

Developed countries especially United States and European Countries have actually already made considerable advances in the Biodiesel Technology. Biodiesel have found its use across markets and verticals and might become an ideal cleaner and less expensive option to gas, diesel and fossil fuels. India has likewise started checking out the chances to produce and use bio-diesel. A number of plants for biodiesel transesterification are already operating in the nation where veggie oils are reacted with alcohols (ethanol or methanol normally) to produce bio-diesel.

The primary factor for the increasing need for biodiesels is the fact that biodiesels are renewable and carbon-neutral, thus having no net impact on the climate. Besides, bio-diesel runs in compression engines similar to normal petroleum diesel and thus can be used with little or no engine adjustments. Biodiesel do not need any separate infrastructure for its storage and can be saved similar to the petroleum based fuels.

Considering the growing energy demand in the country, rising petroleum rates and the environmental dangers 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 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 utilized as the pre-dominant raw products for oil processing and biodiesel production but in India the maximum potential to produce biodiesels is from Jatropha oil - a non-edible one produced from the seeds of the Jatropha curcas. The greatest advantage of using jatropha curcas as a raw material is that this plant can be grown in big amounts in wastelands all throughout India requiring really little water in comparison to other cash crops. Once grown, the plant has a useful life-span of numerous years. The jatropha curcas seeds contain 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 curcas cultivation in the nation. India now

A study approximates 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 create around Rs. 5500 crores in the rural economy and help in reduction of Green House Gas emission by 3 Million Metric Tonnes (MMT) every year. The federal government is taking steps to encourage the cultivation of jatropha curcas in India providing free seeds, subsidized loans and other centers. India requires to now enhance its efforts to make the maximum use of the Biodiesel Technology. Besides jatropha curcas, the opportunities for drawing out biodiesel from vegetable oils, fats, sunflower, rape seed oil and palm oil must also be checked out. It will not only offer a response to the difficulty of however might reduce our reliance on foreign oil and contribute to our own economy.