The non-renewability, ecological concerns and health risks related to the nonrenewable fuel sources has resulted in expedition of alternative sources of energy to substitute the traditional ones. An appealing technology, still in its infancy, that might reveal us the way to the future ahead is Biodiesels. Biodiesels are diesel fuels originated from veggie oil 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 includes no petroleum but can be blended with petroleum diesel for use or might be utilized in its pure form.

Developed nations especially United States and European Countries have actually currently made substantial advances in the Biodiesel Technology. Biodiesel have found its usage across markets and verticals and might become a perfect cleaner and more affordable option to petrol, diesel and nonrenewable fuel sources. India has also started checking out the chances to produce and utilize bio-diesel. A variety of plants for biodiesel transesterification are currently functioning in the country where vegetable oils are responded with alcohols (ethanol or normally) to produce bio-diesel.

The main reason for the increasing demand for biodiesels is the fact that biodiesels are renewable and carbon-neutral, thus having no net effect on the climate. Besides, bio-diesel runs in compression engines similar to regular petroleum diesel and hence can be utilized with little or no engine adjustments. Biodiesel do not require any separate facilities for its storage and can be stored simply like the petroleum based fuels.

Considering the growing energy need in the country, increasing petroleum costs and the environmental risks of fossil fuels, the Indian Government has actually taken up initiatives to establish the Bio Diesel Technology in India and set up more oil processing units. The Government announced its 'National Biofuel Policy' on 12 September 2008 which aims to satisfy 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 used as the pre-dominant raw products for oil processing and biodiesel production but in India the maximum potential to produce biodiesels is from jatropha curcas oil - a non-edible one produced from the seeds of the Jatropha curcas. The most significant advantage of using jatropha curcas as a basic material is that this plant can be grown in huge amounts in wastelands all throughout India requiring extremely little water in comparison to other cash crops. Once grown, the plant has a helpful life expectancy of several years. The Jatropha seeds include 40% oil and are considered to be an outstanding source of bio-diesel. The Government of India has identified 400,000 square kilometres of land appropriate for the Jatropha growing in the nation. India now

A research study approximates that even if a blending effort of 2% jatropha curcas based Biodiesel is accomplished in 2011-12, India will conserve around Rs. 3000 crores. Besides, it will produce 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 government is taking actions to encourage the growing of jatropha curcas in India providing totally free seeds, subsidized loans and other centers. India requires to now reinforce its efforts to make the max use of the Biodiesel Technology. Besides Jatropha, the avenues for extracting biodiesel from vegetable oils, fats, sunflower, rape seed oil and palm oil ought to also be checked out. It will not only provide a response to the challenge of Global Warming however might reduce our dependence on foreign oil and add to our own economy.