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by rosser 4561 days ago
What's your definition of "oil"? It's still hydrocarbons, and can still be refined into at least some of the same compounds that so-called "mineral oil" (petroleum) is.

The big difference is that it's more or less carbon-neutral. The carbon released from burning petrochemicals was underground for tens or hundreds of millions of years, and hence increases atmospheric CO₂ concentrations. Like all biofuels, on the other hand, the carbon released from burning jatropha-derived fuels was sucked from the atmosphere as the plant grew.