A REVIEW ON JATROPHA PLANT-A GREEN FUEL

Abstract

Bio fuel refers to many different types of alternative energy sources that could supplement or even replace fossil fuels.Although they only account for a few percent of the world's transport fuel to date, they are increasingly popular due tohigher oil prices and an increasing concern with global warming and investments into them are therefore growing eachyear. Biofuels are normally divided into three categories: solid biomass, liquid fuel and biogases. Each group does notonly effectively describe the form of the fuel, but also hints at the uses for which the fuel is intended. The growing concernwith greenhouse gas emissions and global warming can hardly have escaped anyone's attention. Being in many respectsthe most talked about topic of the new century, it should be now common knowledge thathumanity’srelies onfossil fuelsas energy sources is gradually wrecking the ozone layer that protects the world from the less endearing powers of thesun. Yet the increasingly palpable threat of global warming and its consequences has at least resulted in a growingawareness of the problems inherent to oil-based economies. In this paper the focus is on a toxic plant known as“Jatropha”. It is a genus of approximately 175 succulent plants, shrubs and trees. It is resistant to drought and pests,and producesseedscontaining 27-40%oil,averaging 34.4%.[1]Theremaining press cake of jatropha seeds after oilextraction could also be considered for energy production. However, despite their abundance and use as oil andreclamation[1]plants, none of the Jatropha species have been properlydomesticatedand, as a result, their productivityis variable, and the long-term impact of their large-scale use on soil quality and the environment is unknown.