Liquid biofuels from tree borne seed oils for automotive diesel engines

India is having great potential for tree borne seed oils such as Mahua, Neem and Sal and out of which Sal and Mahua alone deserves commercial importance. Only a small fraction of these seeds were utilised and the rest is left behind as waste in the forest. This paper describes biodiesel preparation from these oils, their performance and emission in direct injection diesel engine. The test results show that the brake thermal efficiency is almost similar to that of the diesel. The various exhaust emissions such as CO, HC, and NOx were low compared to that of diesel. Appropriate initiatives in increasing the seed collection and additional plantation of these trees will certainly increase oil availability and use of these oils for biodiesel manufacture, will ensure sustainable source of energy for transportation and thereby minimising environmental pollution.