Can we extract oils from plants that can work as fuel in automobiles in place of petrol or diesel. Answer is, Yes.
Juices of several plants, seeds and pods can be turned into fuels. For instance, sugarcane juice can be turned into alcohol by fermentation. The same sugarcane can also make alcohol of a lesser variety which is mixed with petrol to produce a new form of fuel called bio-alcohol. However, the engine may require a few changes to take this fuel.
Bio-fuels can also be extracted from sugar beet, maize or plant waste, Jatropha and Honge seeds. Thousands of cars in the United States are run on ethanol extracted from maize. In India Jatropha and Honge seeds are now yielding a variety of fuel which is similar to diesel. In Bangalore, hundreds of city transport buses are run on fuel extracted from Honge seeds. Jatropha and Honge (local name Karanja) trees can be grown in dry and non-agricultural lands.
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