In-situ monitoring of chemical species emitted from the combustion of Jatropha oil in a practical Semawar burner were performed by means of several spectroscopic diagnostics. A practical burner commonly used in Indonesia having a built-in preheating system, called semawar, used for illumination purposes with the combustion of Jatropha oil. Non-intrusive two-dimensional (2-D) distributions of flame temperature were obtained using a thermal video camera. The experimental results showed the flame temperatures to range from 500 to 1400 degrees C. Chemical species generated from within the combustion zone were also determined in the Ultraviolet-visible (Uv-Vis) range from the spontaneous emission spectra of the flame. Spatial distribution of NO, C-2 and OH were identified from the spectra. The 2-D distribution emission intensity visualized and recorded for NO, C-2 and OH revealed high temperatures close to the root of the flame that rapidly dispersed radially outwards to provide very high temperatures over much larger volume at downstream locations. The radial stretch of the reaction zone is important for improved performance of the burner with light emission form a much wider zone. In addition, in-situ monitoring of CO2 emission of Jatropha oil was performed by using infrared (IR) spectroscopy. The presence of CO, H2O and NO were also investigated in this research. Moreover, 2D distribution of CO2 emission intensity was also visualized using an IR camera. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.