The non-renewability, ecological issues and health hazards associated with the fossil fuels has actually resulted in exploration of alternative sources of energy to substitute the traditional ones. A promising technology, still in its infancy, that might reveal us the way to the future ahead is Biodiesels. Biodiesels are diesel fuels stemmed from grease or animal-fat that could be used to run diesel motors. 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 usage or could be utilized in its pure kind.

Developed nations especially United States and European Countries have actually already made significant advances in the Biodiesel Technology. Biodiesel have actually discovered its use across industries and verticals and could emerge as an ideal cleaner and cheaper option to gas, diesel and nonrenewable fuel sources. India has likewise 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 veggie oils are reacted 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, thus having no net effect on the climate. Besides, bio-diesel runs in compression engines similar to normal petroleum diesel and thus can be utilized with little or no engine modifications. Biodiesel do not require any separate infrastructure for its storage and can be stored similar to the petroleum based fuels.

Considering the growing energy need in the nation, rising petroleum prices and the ecological risks of fossil fuels, the Indian Government has used up initiatives to develop 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 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 used as the pre-dominant raw products 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 advantage of using jatropha curcas as a raw product is that this plant can be grown in huge amounts in wastelands all across India needing really little water in comparison to other money crops. Once grown, the plant has a helpful life-span of a number of years. The Jatropha seeds consist of 40% oil and are considered to be an excellent source of bio-diesel. The Government of India has identified 400,000 square kilometres of land suitable for the jatropha curcas in the nation. India now

A study estimates that even if a mixing initiative of 2% Jatropha based Biodiesel is attained in 2011-12, India will save around Rs. 3000 crores. Besides, it will create around Rs. 5500 crores in the rural economy and assistance in decrease of Green House Gas emission by 3 Million Metric Tonnes (MMT) every year. The federal government is taking steps to encourage the growing of Jatropha in India providing totally free seeds, subsidized loans and other centers. India needs to now strengthen its efforts to make the fullest usage of the Biodiesel Technology. Besides Jatropha, the avenues for drawing out biodiesel from vegetable oils, fats, sunflower, rape seed oil and palm oil must 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.