Biodiesel is a fuel made from vegetable oils, fats or greases. Biodiesel fuel can be used in diesel engines without altering the engine. Pure biodiesel is non-toxic, biodegradable and produces a lower level of air pollutants than petroleum-based diesel fuel. The Government of India approved the National Policy on Biofuels in December 2009 and identified Jatropha curcas as the most suitable oilseed for biodiesel production. Pongamia species is also a suitable choice for production of biodiesel.

(a) Alexander Fleming
(b) Earnest Chain
(c) Howard Florey

When the insects ingest the toxin crystals their alkaline digestive tract denatures the insoluble crystals making them soluble. The cry toxin then gets inserted into the gut cell membrane and paralyzes the digestive tract. The insect then stops eating and starves to death.

(i) Biogas is a mixture of different gases produced by the breakdown of organic matter in the absence of oxygen. Biogas can be produced from raw materials such as agricultural wastes, manure, municipal wastes, plant material, sewage, food waste, etc.,
(ii) Biogas primarily consists of methane (63 %), along with CO₂ and hydrogen.

UV is an ideal disinfectant for wastewater since it does not alter the water quality - except for inactivating microorganisms. UV is a chemical free process that can completely replace the existing chlorination system and also inactivates chlorine-resistant microorganisms like Cryptosporidium and Giardia

In secondary treatment of sewage, once the BOD of sewage water is reduced significantly, the effluent is passed into a settling tank where the bacterial "floes" are allowed to sediment. This sediment is calleda as activated slidge. A small part of activated sludge is pumped back into the aeration tank to serve as the inoculum.

(i) Bio-fertilizers are formulation of living microorganisms that enrich the nutrient quality of the soil. They increase physico - chemical properties of soils such as soil structure, texture, water holding capacity, cation exchange capacity and pH by providing several nutrients and sufficient organic matter.
(ii) The main sources of bio-fertilizers are bacteria, fungi and cyanobacteria. Rhizobium is a example for symbiotic nitrogen fixing bacteria. This bacterium infects the root nodules of leguminous plants and fixes atmospheric nitrogen into organic forms. Azospirillum and Azotobacter are free living bacteria that fix atmospheric nitrogen and enrich the nitrogen content of soil.
(iii) A symbiotic association between a fungus and the roots of the plants is called mycorrhiza. The fungal symbiont in these associations absorbs the phosphorus from soil and transfers to the plant. Plants having such association show other benefits such as resistance to root-borne pathogens, tolerance to salinity, drought, enhances plant growth and developments. For example, genus Glomus form mycorrhiza.
(iv) Cyanobacteria (or) blue green algae (BGA) are prokaryotic free-living organisms which can fix nitrogen. Oscillatoria, Nostoc, Anabaena, Tolypothrix are well known nitrogen fixing cyanobacteria. In water logged paddy fields Cyanobacteria multiply and fix molecular nitrogen. Cyanobacteria secrete growth promoting substances like indole-3-acetic acid, indole-3-butyric acid, naphthalene acetic acid, amino acids, proteins, vitamins which promotes plant growth and production.
(v) Biofertilizers are commonly used in organic farming methods.
(vi) This process involves the use of biological materials, avoiding synthetic substances to maintain soil fertility and ecological balance thereby minimizing pollution and wastage.

(i) Protecting soil quality using organic materials and encouraging biological activity.
(ii) Indirect provision of crop nutrients using soil microorganisms.
(iii) Nitrogen fixation in soils using legumes.
(iv) Weed and pest control based on methods like crop rotation, biological diversity, natural predators, organic manures and suitable chemical, thermal and biological interventions.

(i) Bacillus thuringiensis is a soil dwelling bacterium which is commonly used as a biopesticide and contains a toxin called cry toxin. Scientists have introduced this toxin producing genes into plants and have raised genetically engineered insect resistant plants. Eg. Bt-cotton.
(ii) When the insects ingest the toxin crystals their alkaline digestive tract denatures the insoluble crystals making them soluble. The cry toxin then gets inserted into the gut cell membrane and paralyzes the digestive tract. The insect then stops eating and starves to death.