The non-renewability, environmental issues and health risks associated with the nonrenewable fuel sources has actually resulted in expedition of alternative sources of energy to substitute the standard ones. A promising innovation, still in its infancy, that could show us the method to the future ahead is Biodiesels. Biodiesels are diesel fuels derived from grease or animal-fat that could be utilized to run diesel motors. Vegetables oils like sunflower, rape seed, palm oil, soya bean, Jatropha etc can be subjected to oil processing to produce biodiesels. It contains no petroleum however can be mixed with petroleum diesel for use or might be used in its pure kind.

Developed nations especially United States and European Countries have currently made substantial advances in the Biodiesel Technology. Biodiesel have discovered its usage across markets and verticals and could become an ideal cleaner and less expensive alternative to petrol, diesel and nonrenewable fuel sources. India has also begun exploring the opportunities to produce and utilize bio-diesel. A number of plants for biodiesel transesterification are currently working in the country where vegetable oils are reacted with alcohols (ethanol or methanol normally) to produce bio-diesel.

The primary reason for the increasing demand for biodiesels is the fact that biodiesels are renewable and carbon-neutral, hence having no net effect on the environment. Besides, bio-diesel runs in compression engines just like typical petroleum diesel and for this reason can be used with little or no engine modifications. Biodiesel do not require any separate facilities for its storage and can be stored much like the petroleum based fuels.

Considering the growing energy need in the country, increasing petroleum prices and the ecological dangers 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 intends to meet 20% of India's diesel demand 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 maximum 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 in wastelands all across India requiring extremely little water in contrast to other cash crops. Once grown, the plant has a useful life expectancy of a number of decades. The jatropha curcas seeds consist of 40% oil and are thought about to be an excellent source of bio-diesel. The Government of India has actually recognized 400,000 square kilometres of land appropriate for the Jatropha growing in the nation. India now

A research study approximates that even if a mixing initiative of 2% jatropha curcas based Biodiesel is achieved 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 motivate the cultivation of Jatropha in India supplying totally free seeds, subsidized loans and other centers. India needs to now reinforce its efforts to make the maximum usage of the Biodiesel Technology. Besides jatropha curcas, the opportunities for extracting biodiesel from veggie oils, fats, sunflower, rape seed oil and palm oil ought to likewise be explored. It will not only offer an answer to the difficulty of Global Warming but might decrease our dependence on foreign oil and contribute to our own economy.