Oil prices are fluctuating everyday making fuel more and more unaffordable especially for the developing countries, making biodiesel a great choice as an alternative. The interest in alternative fuels such as biodiesel rose sharply after the oil crisis in the 1970s. It led the world to think and devise new methods to meet the growing energy demands in the world in general. The development of biodiesel as a fuel started sometime in 1850s. Biodiesel is a fuel created using vegetable oil and animal fat. The crops such as corn, sugarcane, sunflower and flaxseed are commonly grown to process and create biodiesel. These crops are generally grown in the US and UK.
One of the newer crops being used for making biodiesel is Jatropha. Jatropha is a perennial plant grown in African region and is particularly known for giving a high energy payback in case of biodiesel. The best part of Jatropha is that it can be easily grown in arid regions, requiring limited water for growth. This makes it a good choice for use in almost any part of the world. One of the major users of biodiesel and biofuels in recent times has been the African countries, with Zimbabwe being the first one to have a biodiesel plant.
The South American countries too are adopting the usage of biodiesel as an alternative to petroleum fuels. South America has been the very first users of biofuels after the oil crisis of 1970s. However, the usage was limited and did not go any further once the oil embargo was over. In recent times the need of the environment and rise in oil prices prompted Brazil to use biodiesel as a replacement of gasoline. In most cases biodiesel is mixed with gasoline to increase fuel efficiency.
The developing countries especially benefit by using biodiesel and other biofuels. The energy demands of a growing economy such as India are increasing by the day. The need of an alternative to fossil fuels is absolute essential. The biggest advantage that the Asian countries have is the climate. The climatic conditions aid in using biogas plants for generating biofuels such as biodiesel. The environment is also conducive for the production of plants such as Jatropha. The use of biodiesel in these countries would not only meet their energy demands but also reduce the greenhouse emissions.
The inventor of diesel engine Rudolph Diesel had prophesized the use of biofuels for running his combustion engine, long before the fuel diesel came into being. With the world joining hands to make biofuels in general and biodiesel in particular for meeting fuel demands, his prophecy is as good as true.
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