Report: Iran converts Jatropha into biodiesel; a first for the nation

Though producing biodiesel fuel by extracting oil from the Jatropha curcas plant is relatively common in some nations, Iran has, for the first time ever, managed to successfully convert Jatropha into biodiesel. Iranian scientists cultivated the Jatropha curcas plant, a species that's native to tropical subtropical regions, in Southern Iran.
Peiman Yousefi Azar, a member of Iran's Scientific Forestry Assocation, told Fars News Agency that:

Iran produced biodiesel fuel through extracting oil from Jatropha plant which was grown in Bandar Abbas in a pilot [project].

Azar claims the advantage of using biodiesel fuel to power vehicles and commercial machinery is that it can reduce CO2 emissions by up to 85 percent. Producing useable fuel from the the Jatropha curcas plant is relatively simple. The Jatropha seeds are crushed and the residual oil is subject to a transesterification process, which results in biodiesel.

[Source: Fars News Agency | Image: Reinhard Henning – C.C. License 2.0]