This volume contains the papers presented at the Symposium having the same name held in Potsdam, Germany, February 16-18, 1997. The symposium was intended as a forum for economists, engineers, ecologists and toxicologists to present and exchange their ideas for improving the product Biodiesel and to discuss these views with expert plant bioscientists. The challenge for the latter was and will be to determine whether biotechnical methods can be applied safely to introduce new properties into the rape plant, an example for a number of other plants also suitable for production of renewable energy. The properties concerned are those which will improve the product Biodiesel fuel economically, technologically and especially toxicologically such that it will then possess those characteristics identified as the most desirable by the scientists. It was, therefore, not the goal of the symposium to evaluate Biodiesel as a form of energy under the present conditions, but rather to find an answer to the question of the chances Biodiesel will have in the market of the future.

The Biodiesel Market Today and its Future Potential

Discussion
Session 1: Engines for Natural and Modified Plant Oil-Based Fuels
Engines for Natural and Modified Plant Oil-Based Fuels
The Automotive Industry's Views of the Standards for Plant Oil-Based Fuels
Vegetable Oil Fatty Acid Methyl Esters as Alternative Diesel Fuels for Commercial Vehicle Engines
Diesel Engine Technologies for Raw and Transesterified Plant Oils as Fuels: Desired Future Qualities of the Fuels
Exhaust Components of Biofuels Under Real World Engine Conditions
Discussion of Session 1
Session 2: Toxicological and Environmental Aspects Related to the Use of Plant Oils as Fuels
Toxicological and Environmental Aspects Related to the Use of Plant Oils as Fuels
Health Issues Concerning Inhalation of Petroleum Diesel and Biodiesel Exhaust
Biodiesel Exhaust Emissions and Determination of their Environmental and Health Effects
The Mutagenic Potential of Diesel and Biodiesel Exhausts
Biodiesel: Effects on Exhaust Constituents
Toxicology and Ecotoxicology of Biodiesel Fuel
Discussion of Session 2
Session 3: Contribution of Plant Breeding for Making Biodiesel Rapeseed a Realistic Proposition
Contribution of Plant Breeding for Making Biodiesel Rapeseed a Realistic Proposition
Breeding of Hybrid Rapeseed
Pollination Control in Transgenic Rapeseed: from Concept to Market Entry of Fl Hybrids
Rapeseed with Tolerance to the Non Selective Herbicide Glufosinate Ammonium
Plant Biotechnology and Implications for Rapeseed Agronomy: Development of New Methods of Pest and Disease Control
Modification of Fatty Acids by Genetic Engineering
Breeding of High-Oleic-Acid Rapeseed (HOAR)
Genetic Engineering of Brassica napus Seeds for Oil Quality and Yield with Toxicological andMotor-Technical Aspects ofBiodiesel in Mind
Discussion of Session 3
Roundtable Discussion.