India has the potential to be a leading world producer of diesel, but the rural farmers still need to get comfortable with the idea that diesel fuel can be "harvested," but they understand one thing very clearly that they can use jatropha plants as a source of extra earnings. Farmers need to know that there is going to be a good market for what they produce. We are very keen to build that confidence and promote jatropha cultivation by assisting planting, buying the seeds for refining and providing the refining technology to enable growers to make their own biodiesel."
TO RESOLVE ABOVE ISSUE AND TO PROMOTE THE WONDER PLANT
WE have has established Center For Jatropha Promotion with an aim to use the fruit of the jatropha bush to produce biodiesel and thus offer local farmers a new source of income and are currently undertaking the pioneering work of promoting jatropha plantation-the promising biofuel crop on a large scale on wastelands/farm land in India with a mission
"GREENING THE EARTH.... EARNING THE RESOURCES FOR RURAL
MASSES" as we are committed to changed the desert destiny into gold mine and uplifts the standard of life of rural farmers.
Monday, July 16, 2007
Breaking the cycle of poverty
Breaking the cycle of poverty
In India 16 percent of the world’s population is struggling to survive on only 2.4 percent of the planets land mass. The pressure of this intense land utilisation is causing more and more forests and agricultural land to deteriorate into useless wasteland. In 2000, India’s Ministry of Land Use classified nearly 63 million hectares of the subcontinent —about one fifth of its entire territory — as wasteland out of which 33 million hectares of wasteland have been allotted for tree plantation. According to the Indian government, 174 million hectares — more than one half of the country’s territory — are suffering to a greater Or lesser extent from land degradation. But this process of deterioration is not the result of a law of nature. But the icious circle of erosion, soil deterioration and poverty can be broken by jatropha cultivation as this technology has a huge potential for replication nation-wide, improving the livelihood of many more.
In India 16 percent of the world’s population is struggling to survive on only 2.4 percent of the planets land mass. The pressure of this intense land utilisation is causing more and more forests and agricultural land to deteriorate into useless wasteland. In 2000, India’s Ministry of Land Use classified nearly 63 million hectares of the subcontinent —about one fifth of its entire territory — as wasteland out of which 33 million hectares of wasteland have been allotted for tree plantation. According to the Indian government, 174 million hectares — more than one half of the country’s territory — are suffering to a greater Or lesser extent from land degradation. But this process of deterioration is not the result of a law of nature. But the icious circle of erosion, soil deterioration and poverty can be broken by jatropha cultivation as this technology has a huge potential for replication nation-wide, improving the livelihood of many more.
Growing Diesel fuel plant
We are the leading promoter of Jatropha in India and provide production technology for the bio-fuel crop.
Society for Rural Initiatives for Promotion of Herbals (SRIPHL) is based at Churu, Rajasthan, India, a non profit , non-government organization devoted to improving lives of rural farmers.
One of the main crops currently being promoted for biodiesel production in several countries, globally, is Jatropha curcas. There have been substantial political and social pressures to promote the growing of such crops (in particular Jatropha curcas) in India, as a means of economic empowerment, social upliftment and poverty alleviation within marginalized communities.
Jatropha is a valuable multi-purpose crop to alleviate soil degradation, desertification and deforestation, which can be used for bio-energy to replace petro-diesel, for soap production and climatic protection, and hence deserves specific attention
Jatropha can help to increase rural incomes, self-sustainbility and alleviate poverty for women, elderly, children and men, triabal communities, small farmers. It can as well help to increase income from plantations and agro-industries.
Government of India has selected the plant for National Program compared to others due to followings: -
Low cost seeds
High oil content
Small gestation period
Growth on good and degraded soil
Growth in low and high rainfall areas
Seeds can be harvested in non-rainy season
Plant size is making collection of seeds more convenient Of all the above prospective plant candidates as bio-diesel yielding sources, Jatropha curcas is standing "at the top" and "sufficient information " on this plant is already available.
Society for Rural Initiatives for Promotion of Herbals (SRIPHL) is based at Churu, Rajasthan, India, a non profit , non-government organization devoted to improving lives of rural farmers.
One of the main crops currently being promoted for biodiesel production in several countries, globally, is Jatropha curcas. There have been substantial political and social pressures to promote the growing of such crops (in particular Jatropha curcas) in India, as a means of economic empowerment, social upliftment and poverty alleviation within marginalized communities.
Jatropha is a valuable multi-purpose crop to alleviate soil degradation, desertification and deforestation, which can be used for bio-energy to replace petro-diesel, for soap production and climatic protection, and hence deserves specific attention
Jatropha can help to increase rural incomes, self-sustainbility and alleviate poverty for women, elderly, children and men, triabal communities, small farmers. It can as well help to increase income from plantations and agro-industries.
Government of India has selected the plant for National Program compared to others due to followings: -
Low cost seeds
High oil content
Small gestation period
Growth on good and degraded soil
Growth in low and high rainfall areas
Seeds can be harvested in non-rainy season
Plant size is making collection of seeds more convenient Of all the above prospective plant candidates as bio-diesel yielding sources, Jatropha curcas is standing "at the top" and "sufficient information " on this plant is already available.
Bio Diesel
Bio Diesel
World Wide
Indian Scene
Media
The Next Generation Sustainable Fuel
What is Bio Diesel?
The concept dates back to 1885 when Dr. Rudolf Diesel built the first diesel engine with the full intention of running it on vegetative source.
He first displayed his engine at the Paris show of 1900 and astounded everyone when he ran the patented engine on any hydrocarbon fuel available - which included gasoline and peanut oil. In 1912 he stated " … the use of vegetable oils for engine fuels may seem insignificant today. But such oils may in the course of time become as important as petroleum and the coal tar products of present time."
Scientists discovered that the viscosity ( thicKness) of vegetable oils could be reduced in a simple chemical process In 1970 and that it could work well as diesel fuel in modern engine.
This fuel is called Bio- Diesel.
Since than the technical developments have largely been completed. Plant oil is highly valued as Bio fuel "Diesel" and transformed into Bio Diesel in most industrialised
Please note!!!
This vegetable oil can be used as it is crushed – ie - unrefined in the engines of cars
This vegetable oil can be blended with normal diesel and used in cars.
This vegetable oil can be refined and sold as pure diesel
Refined it can be exported as a clean fuel to anywhere in the world.
Bio Diesel is asubstitute for, or an additive to, diesel fuel that is derived from the oils and fats of plants, like Sunflower, Canola or Jatropha.
It is an alternative fuel that can be used in diesel engines and provides power similar to conventional diesel fuel.
Bio Diesel is arenewable domestically produced liquid fuel that can help reduce the countries dependence on foreign oil imports.
Recent environmental and economic concerns (Kyoto Protocol) have prompted resurgence in the use of biodiesel throughout the world. In 1991, the European Community, (EC) Proposed a 90% tax reduction for the use of biofuels, including biodiesel.
To day, 21 countries worldwide, produce Biodiesel.
The Advantages of Bio Diesel
Bio Diesel is the most valuable form of renewable energy that can be used directly in any existing, unmodified diesel engine.
Bio Diesel fuel and can be produced from oilseed plants such as rape seeds, sunflower, canola and or
JATROPHA CURCAS.
Bio Diesel is environmental friendly and ideal for heavily polluted cities.
Bio Diesel is as biodegradable as salt
Bio Diesel produces 80% less carbon dioxide and 100% less sulfur dioxide emissions. It provides a 90% reduction in cancer risks.
Bio Diesel can be used alone or mixed in any ratio with mineral oil diesel fuel. The preferred ratio if mixture ranges between 5 and 20% (B5 - B20)
Bio Diesel extends the live of diesel engines
Bio Diesel is cheaper then mineral oil diesel
Bio Diesel is conserving natural resources
The Process
The process of converting vegetable oil into biodiesel fuel is called Transesterification and is luckily less complex then it sounds.
Chemically, Transesterification means taking a triglyceride molecule, or a complex fatty acid, neutralizing the free fatty acids, removing the glycerin, and creating an alcohol ester. This is accomplished by mixing methanol with sodium hydroxide to make sodium methoxide. This liquid is then mixed into the vegetable oil. After the mixture has settled, Glycerin is left on the bottom and methyl esters, or biodiesel is left on top and is washed and filtered.
The final product Bio Diesel fuel, when used directly in a Diesel Engine will burn up to 75% cleaner then mineral oil Diesel fuel.
The Technology
Presently, the indigenously designed bio-fuel plant for 250 lt./day is in operation. We have to design and develop bio-fuel plants of 3 to 10 tones per day capacity for installation in different parts of the country. Effective marketing chain needs to be planned for enabling farmers to reap the benefits directly. Bio-fuel mission will provide technological and employment generation focuses for the rural sector. Use of eleven million hectares of wasteland for Jetropha cultivation can lead to generation of minimum twelve million jobs
The Cost
The cost of Bio Diesel is largely dependent on the choice of feedstock and the size of the production facility.
If Jatropha feedstock is used, the fuel will cost depending on the country approximately US $ 0,40 per liter plus tax when applicable.
International Laws and regulation
Several countries have active Biodiesel programmes. Such countries also have given legislative support and have drawn up national polices on biodiesel development. Wide variety of motives for action taken can observe like
Increase of energy supply security
Reduction of dependence on fossil energy forms
Reduction of harmful locally acting emissions.
Protection of soil by biodegradable products
Reduction of health hazard by using non-toxic products.
Biodiesel Scenario In India
As India is deficient in edible oils, non-edible oil is the main choice for producing biodiesel. According to Indian government policy and Indian technology effects. Some development works have been carried out with regards to the production of transesterfied non edible oil and its use in biodiesel by units such as Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, Tamilnadu Agriculture University Coimbatore and Kumaraguru College of Technology in association with Pan horti consultants. Coimbatore.
Generally a Blend of 5% to 20% is used in India (B5 to B20). Indian Oil Corporation has taken up Research and development work to establish the parameters of the production of tranesterified Jatropha Vegetable oil and use of bio diesel in its R&D center at Faridabad. Research is carried out in Kumaraguru College of Technology for marginally altering the engine parameters to suit the Indian Jatropha seeds and to minimize the cost of transesterification.
Bio Diesel Experiments
Initially 5% of the bio diesel was blended with High-speed diesel and later increased to 20%. The railway and Indian oil corporation has successfully used 10% blended biodiesel fuel in train running between Amritsar and New Delhi in the month of Feb 2003. At Kumaraguru College of Technology an auto rickshaw was run on pure biodiesel (B100) prepared from Jatropha oil.
Conclusion
As a substitute for fast depleting fossil fuel. Bio diesel had come to stay. In future, it should also serve to reduce and maintain the price of automobile fuel. The under exploited and un exploited vegetable oils are good sources of biofuel. Our country is endowed with many such plants. Research is being carried out now to convert vegetable oils into biodiesel through biotechnological processes using biodiesel. With a concentrated and coordinated effort. Wide use of bio diesel in our country is going to be a reality in the days to come.
A national mission on Bio-Diesel has already been proposed by the committee comprising six micro missions covering all aspects of plantation, procurement of seed, extraction of oil, trans-esterification, blending & trade, and research and development. Diesel forms nearly 40% of the energy consumed in the form of hydrocarbon fuels, and its demand is estimated at 40 million tons.
Therefore blending becomes the important National Issue which apart from giving the dividends , it saves the country's exchequer. India has vast stretches of degraded land, mostly in areas with adverse agro- climatic conditions, where species of Jatropha , Mahua etc can be grown easily.
Even 30 million hectares planted for bio- diesel can completely replace the current use of biofuels. The production of Bio fuels will also boost the rural economy which will bring more enthusiasm in more than one billion lives in the area
World Wide
Indian Scene
Media
The Next Generation Sustainable Fuel
What is Bio Diesel?
The concept dates back to 1885 when Dr. Rudolf Diesel built the first diesel engine with the full intention of running it on vegetative source.
He first displayed his engine at the Paris show of 1900 and astounded everyone when he ran the patented engine on any hydrocarbon fuel available - which included gasoline and peanut oil. In 1912 he stated " … the use of vegetable oils for engine fuels may seem insignificant today. But such oils may in the course of time become as important as petroleum and the coal tar products of present time."
Scientists discovered that the viscosity ( thicKness) of vegetable oils could be reduced in a simple chemical process In 1970 and that it could work well as diesel fuel in modern engine.
This fuel is called Bio- Diesel.
Since than the technical developments have largely been completed. Plant oil is highly valued as Bio fuel "Diesel" and transformed into Bio Diesel in most industrialised
Please note!!!
This vegetable oil can be used as it is crushed – ie - unrefined in the engines of cars
This vegetable oil can be blended with normal diesel and used in cars.
This vegetable oil can be refined and sold as pure diesel
Refined it can be exported as a clean fuel to anywhere in the world.
Bio Diesel is asubstitute for, or an additive to, diesel fuel that is derived from the oils and fats of plants, like Sunflower, Canola or Jatropha.
It is an alternative fuel that can be used in diesel engines and provides power similar to conventional diesel fuel.
Bio Diesel is arenewable domestically produced liquid fuel that can help reduce the countries dependence on foreign oil imports.
Recent environmental and economic concerns (Kyoto Protocol) have prompted resurgence in the use of biodiesel throughout the world. In 1991, the European Community, (EC) Proposed a 90% tax reduction for the use of biofuels, including biodiesel.
To day, 21 countries worldwide, produce Biodiesel.
The Advantages of Bio Diesel
Bio Diesel is the most valuable form of renewable energy that can be used directly in any existing, unmodified diesel engine.
Bio Diesel fuel and can be produced from oilseed plants such as rape seeds, sunflower, canola and or
JATROPHA CURCAS.
Bio Diesel is environmental friendly and ideal for heavily polluted cities.
Bio Diesel is as biodegradable as salt
Bio Diesel produces 80% less carbon dioxide and 100% less sulfur dioxide emissions. It provides a 90% reduction in cancer risks.
Bio Diesel can be used alone or mixed in any ratio with mineral oil diesel fuel. The preferred ratio if mixture ranges between 5 and 20% (B5 - B20)
Bio Diesel extends the live of diesel engines
Bio Diesel is cheaper then mineral oil diesel
Bio Diesel is conserving natural resources
The Process
The process of converting vegetable oil into biodiesel fuel is called Transesterification and is luckily less complex then it sounds.
Chemically, Transesterification means taking a triglyceride molecule, or a complex fatty acid, neutralizing the free fatty acids, removing the glycerin, and creating an alcohol ester. This is accomplished by mixing methanol with sodium hydroxide to make sodium methoxide. This liquid is then mixed into the vegetable oil. After the mixture has settled, Glycerin is left on the bottom and methyl esters, or biodiesel is left on top and is washed and filtered.
The final product Bio Diesel fuel, when used directly in a Diesel Engine will burn up to 75% cleaner then mineral oil Diesel fuel.
The Technology
Presently, the indigenously designed bio-fuel plant for 250 lt./day is in operation. We have to design and develop bio-fuel plants of 3 to 10 tones per day capacity for installation in different parts of the country. Effective marketing chain needs to be planned for enabling farmers to reap the benefits directly. Bio-fuel mission will provide technological and employment generation focuses for the rural sector. Use of eleven million hectares of wasteland for Jetropha cultivation can lead to generation of minimum twelve million jobs
The Cost
The cost of Bio Diesel is largely dependent on the choice of feedstock and the size of the production facility.
If Jatropha feedstock is used, the fuel will cost depending on the country approximately US $ 0,40 per liter plus tax when applicable.
International Laws and regulation
Several countries have active Biodiesel programmes. Such countries also have given legislative support and have drawn up national polices on biodiesel development. Wide variety of motives for action taken can observe like
Increase of energy supply security
Reduction of dependence on fossil energy forms
Reduction of harmful locally acting emissions.
Protection of soil by biodegradable products
Reduction of health hazard by using non-toxic products.
Biodiesel Scenario In India
As India is deficient in edible oils, non-edible oil is the main choice for producing biodiesel. According to Indian government policy and Indian technology effects. Some development works have been carried out with regards to the production of transesterfied non edible oil and its use in biodiesel by units such as Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, Tamilnadu Agriculture University Coimbatore and Kumaraguru College of Technology in association with Pan horti consultants. Coimbatore.
Generally a Blend of 5% to 20% is used in India (B5 to B20). Indian Oil Corporation has taken up Research and development work to establish the parameters of the production of tranesterified Jatropha Vegetable oil and use of bio diesel in its R&D center at Faridabad. Research is carried out in Kumaraguru College of Technology for marginally altering the engine parameters to suit the Indian Jatropha seeds and to minimize the cost of transesterification.
Bio Diesel Experiments
Initially 5% of the bio diesel was blended with High-speed diesel and later increased to 20%. The railway and Indian oil corporation has successfully used 10% blended biodiesel fuel in train running between Amritsar and New Delhi in the month of Feb 2003. At Kumaraguru College of Technology an auto rickshaw was run on pure biodiesel (B100) prepared from Jatropha oil.
Conclusion
As a substitute for fast depleting fossil fuel. Bio diesel had come to stay. In future, it should also serve to reduce and maintain the price of automobile fuel. The under exploited and un exploited vegetable oils are good sources of biofuel. Our country is endowed with many such plants. Research is being carried out now to convert vegetable oils into biodiesel through biotechnological processes using biodiesel. With a concentrated and coordinated effort. Wide use of bio diesel in our country is going to be a reality in the days to come.
A national mission on Bio-Diesel has already been proposed by the committee comprising six micro missions covering all aspects of plantation, procurement of seed, extraction of oil, trans-esterification, blending & trade, and research and development. Diesel forms nearly 40% of the energy consumed in the form of hydrocarbon fuels, and its demand is estimated at 40 million tons.
Therefore blending becomes the important National Issue which apart from giving the dividends , it saves the country's exchequer. India has vast stretches of degraded land, mostly in areas with adverse agro- climatic conditions, where species of Jatropha , Mahua etc can be grown easily.
Even 30 million hectares planted for bio- diesel can completely replace the current use of biofuels. The production of Bio fuels will also boost the rural economy which will bring more enthusiasm in more than one billion lives in the area
Jatropha Plantation
Jatropha Plantation
Calender
Location
CULTIVATION TECHNOLOGY
THE PRODUCTIVE PLANTATION OF JATROPHA CURCAS
The practices being undertaken by the Jatropha growers currently need to be scientifically managed for better growth and production. The growth and yield of Jatropha could be improved through effective management practices.
The keyfactors that can influence the oil yield of Jatropha Curcas are:
Climate
Quality of the soil
Irrigation
Weeding
Use of fertilizer
Crop density
Genotype
Use of pesticide
Inter-cropping
Calender
Location
CULTIVATION TECHNOLOGY
THE PRODUCTIVE PLANTATION OF JATROPHA CURCAS
The practices being undertaken by the Jatropha growers currently need to be scientifically managed for better growth and production. The growth and yield of Jatropha could be improved through effective management practices.
The keyfactors that can influence the oil yield of Jatropha Curcas are:
Climate
Quality of the soil
Irrigation
Weeding
Use of fertilizer
Crop density
Genotype
Use of pesticide
Inter-cropping
Jatropha Business
How many ways are there to make Money out of Jatropha plant ?Bio-diesel - From the Business Point of View?
Bio fuel, "Diesel" from Jatropha has the ability to lift many people from poverty to financial independence, from despair to respect and unemployment to business owners.
BUSINESS OPPURTUNITIES
PLANTATION OF JATROPHA
Extraction Of Oil & VALUE ADDITION
PRODUCTION OF BIODIESEL
You may go for plantation of jatropha, OR For oil extraction Or For production of biodiesel or for all
For plantation & cultivation you require land for seeds production
For oil extraction you require seeds for oil production
For biodiesel production you require oil for trans-esterification
To have a comprehensive jatropha business in your selected/ deginated area you
Need to cultivate at least 100 hectares land involving your fallow farmers
Need to set up a few oil extraction units
Need to set up a biodiesel production unit
In this way
Farmers
would earn from jatropha farming
Farm worker would have employment
Small rural enterprises would sell or purchase the seeds
Small scale industries grow for oil production
Diesel fuel production would further provide business opportunity
By products like press-cake would be traded by villagers
Energy employment and earnings would go together
The Cost
The cost of cultivation depends upon labor availability and comes around US $ 500 per hectare
The cost maintenance of plantation is around US $ 100per year per hectare
The cost of oil extraction roughly comes about US $ 0,12 / kg
The cost of Bio Diesel is largely dependent on the choice of feedstock and the size of the production facility.
The goal of SRIPHL, if Jatropha feedstock is used, the fuel will cost depending on the country approximately US $ 0,40 per liter plus tax when applicable.
CARBON- FINANCE:
The carbon dioxide absorption of 8 Kg. per tree per Year can be converted into Carbon Credit Certificates under the CDM Guidelines of the Kyoto Protocol und used for the development of Jatropha Plantations hence Renewable Energy.
All about jatropha plant
About Jatropha Plant
THE PLANT- PROFILE
INTRODUCTION
Jatropha curcus is a drought-resistant perennial, growing well in marginal/poor soil. It is easy to establish, grows relatively quickly and lives, producing seeds for 50 years.
Jatropha the wonder plant produces seeds with an oil content of 37%. The oil can be combusted as fuel without being refined. It burns with clear smoke-free flame, tested successfully as fuel for simple diesel engine. The by-products are press cake a good organic fertilizer, oil contains also insecticide.
It is found to be growing in many parts of the country, rugged in nature and can survive with minimum inputs and easy to propagate.
Medically it is used for diseases like cancer, piles, snakebite, paralysis, dropsy etc.
Jatropha grows wild in many areas of India and even thrives on infertile soil. A good crop can be obtained with little effort. Depending on soil quality and rainfall, oil can be extracted from the jatropha nuts after two to five years. The annual nut yield ranges from 0.5 to 12 tons. The kernels consist of oil to about 60 percent; this can be transformed into biodiesel fuel through esterification
Family: Euphorbiaceae Synonyms: Curcas purgans Medic. Vernacular/common names: English- physic nut, purging nut; Hindi - Ratanjyot Jangli erandi; Malayalam ? Katamanak; Tamil? Kattamanakku; Telugu ? Pepalam; Kannada ? Kadaharalu; Gujarathi ? Jepal; Sanskrit ? Kanana randa.
Distribution and habitat
It is still uncertain where the centre of origin is, but it is believed to be Mexico and Central America. It has been introduced to Africa and Asia and is now culti-vated world-wide. This highly drought-resistant spe-cies is adapted to arid and semi-arid conditions. The current distribution shows that introduction has been most successful in the drier regions of the tropics with annual rainfall of 300-1000 mm.It occurs mainly at lower altitudes (0-500 m) in areas with average an-nual temperatures well above 20°C but can grow at higher altitudes and tolerates slight frost. It grows on well-drained soils with good aeration and is well adapted to marginal soils with low nutrient content.
Botanical Features
It is a small tree or shrub with smooth gray bark, which exudes a whitish colored, watery, latex when cut. Normally, it grows between three and five meters in height, but can attain a height of up to eight or ten meters under favourable conditions.
Leaves
It has large green to pale-green leaves, alternate to sub-opposite, three-to five-lobed with a spiral phyllotaxis.
Flowers
The petiole length ranges between 6-23 mm. The inflorescence is formed in the leaf axil. Flowers are formed terminally, individually, with female flowers usually slightly larger and occurs in the hot seasons. In conditions where continuous growth occurs, an unbalance of pistillate or staminate flower production results in a higher number of female flowers.
FRUIT
Fruits are produced in winter when the shrub is leafless, or it may produce several crops during the year if soil moisture is good and temperatures are sufficiently high. Each inflorescence yields a bunch of approximately 10 or more ovoid fruits. A three, bi-valved cocci is formed after the seeds mature and the fleshy exocarp dries.
Seeds
The seeds become mature when the capsule changes from green to yellow, after two to four months
Flowering and fruiting habit
The trees are deciduous, shedding the leaves in the dry season. Flowering occurs during the wet season and two flowering peaks are often seen. In permanently hu-mid regions, flowering occurs throughout the year. The seeds mature about three months after flowering. Early growth is fast and with good rainfall conditions nursery plants may bear fruits after the first rainy season, direct sown plants after the second rainy season. The flowers are pollinated by insects especially honey bees.
Ecological Requirements
Jatropha curcas grows almost anywhere , even on gravelly, sandy and saline soils. It can thrive on the poorest stony soil. It can grow even in the crevices of rocks. The leaves shed during the winter months form mulch around the base of the plant. The organic matter from shed leaves enhance earth-worm activity in the soil around the root-zone of the plants, which improves the fertility of the soil.
Regarding climate, Jatropha curcas is found in the tropics and subtropics and likes heat, although it does well even in lower temperatures and can withstand a light frost. Its water requirement is extremely low and it can stand long periods of drought by shedding most of its leaves to reduce transpiration loss. Jatropha is also suitable for preventing soil erosion and shifting of sand dunes.
Biophysical limits
Altitude: 0-500 m, Mean annual temperature: 20-28 deg. C, Mean annual rainfall: 300-1000 mm or more.
Soil type: Grows on well-drained soils with good aeration and is well adapted to marginal soils with low nutrient content. On heavy soils, root formation is reduced. Jatropha is a highly adaptable species, but its strength as a crop comes from its ability to grow on very poor and dry sites.
THE PLANT- PROFILE
INTRODUCTION
Jatropha curcus is a drought-resistant perennial, growing well in marginal/poor soil. It is easy to establish, grows relatively quickly and lives, producing seeds for 50 years.
Jatropha the wonder plant produces seeds with an oil content of 37%. The oil can be combusted as fuel without being refined. It burns with clear smoke-free flame, tested successfully as fuel for simple diesel engine. The by-products are press cake a good organic fertilizer, oil contains also insecticide.
It is found to be growing in many parts of the country, rugged in nature and can survive with minimum inputs and easy to propagate.
Medically it is used for diseases like cancer, piles, snakebite, paralysis, dropsy etc.
Jatropha grows wild in many areas of India and even thrives on infertile soil. A good crop can be obtained with little effort. Depending on soil quality and rainfall, oil can be extracted from the jatropha nuts after two to five years. The annual nut yield ranges from 0.5 to 12 tons. The kernels consist of oil to about 60 percent; this can be transformed into biodiesel fuel through esterification
Family: Euphorbiaceae Synonyms: Curcas purgans Medic. Vernacular/common names: English- physic nut, purging nut; Hindi - Ratanjyot Jangli erandi; Malayalam ? Katamanak; Tamil? Kattamanakku; Telugu ? Pepalam; Kannada ? Kadaharalu; Gujarathi ? Jepal; Sanskrit ? Kanana randa.
Distribution and habitat
It is still uncertain where the centre of origin is, but it is believed to be Mexico and Central America. It has been introduced to Africa and Asia and is now culti-vated world-wide. This highly drought-resistant spe-cies is adapted to arid and semi-arid conditions. The current distribution shows that introduction has been most successful in the drier regions of the tropics with annual rainfall of 300-1000 mm.It occurs mainly at lower altitudes (0-500 m) in areas with average an-nual temperatures well above 20°C but can grow at higher altitudes and tolerates slight frost. It grows on well-drained soils with good aeration and is well adapted to marginal soils with low nutrient content.
Botanical Features
It is a small tree or shrub with smooth gray bark, which exudes a whitish colored, watery, latex when cut. Normally, it grows between three and five meters in height, but can attain a height of up to eight or ten meters under favourable conditions.
Leaves
It has large green to pale-green leaves, alternate to sub-opposite, three-to five-lobed with a spiral phyllotaxis.
Flowers
The petiole length ranges between 6-23 mm. The inflorescence is formed in the leaf axil. Flowers are formed terminally, individually, with female flowers usually slightly larger and occurs in the hot seasons. In conditions where continuous growth occurs, an unbalance of pistillate or staminate flower production results in a higher number of female flowers.
FRUIT
Fruits are produced in winter when the shrub is leafless, or it may produce several crops during the year if soil moisture is good and temperatures are sufficiently high. Each inflorescence yields a bunch of approximately 10 or more ovoid fruits. A three, bi-valved cocci is formed after the seeds mature and the fleshy exocarp dries.
Seeds
The seeds become mature when the capsule changes from green to yellow, after two to four months
Flowering and fruiting habit
The trees are deciduous, shedding the leaves in the dry season. Flowering occurs during the wet season and two flowering peaks are often seen. In permanently hu-mid regions, flowering occurs throughout the year. The seeds mature about three months after flowering. Early growth is fast and with good rainfall conditions nursery plants may bear fruits after the first rainy season, direct sown plants after the second rainy season. The flowers are pollinated by insects especially honey bees.
Ecological Requirements
Jatropha curcas grows almost anywhere , even on gravelly, sandy and saline soils. It can thrive on the poorest stony soil. It can grow even in the crevices of rocks. The leaves shed during the winter months form mulch around the base of the plant. The organic matter from shed leaves enhance earth-worm activity in the soil around the root-zone of the plants, which improves the fertility of the soil.
Regarding climate, Jatropha curcas is found in the tropics and subtropics and likes heat, although it does well even in lower temperatures and can withstand a light frost. Its water requirement is extremely low and it can stand long periods of drought by shedding most of its leaves to reduce transpiration loss. Jatropha is also suitable for preventing soil erosion and shifting of sand dunes.
Biophysical limits
Altitude: 0-500 m, Mean annual temperature: 20-28 deg. C, Mean annual rainfall: 300-1000 mm or more.
Soil type: Grows on well-drained soils with good aeration and is well adapted to marginal soils with low nutrient content. On heavy soils, root formation is reduced. Jatropha is a highly adaptable species, but its strength as a crop comes from its ability to grow on very poor and dry sites.
Gujarat firm first to commercialise bio-diesel
Gujarat firm first to commercialise bio-diesel
ANKLESHWAR: A new chapter to the country's alternative energy resources was added on Saturday after Ankleshwar-based firm released the first commercial consignment of bio-diesel to Indian Oil Corporation IOC). With this, the firm, Gujarat Oelo Chem Limited (GOCL) will be the first Indian company to commercialise the production of bio-diesel from vegetable based feedstock. IOC had placed an order of 450 kilolitres of bio-diesel with GOCL last year for field trials with the Indian Railways and Haryana roadways. In fact, the IOC's only crop cultivation project of jetropha seeds for its project with the Indian Railways is in Surendranagar district of Gujarat. The Railways had agreed to provide wasteland to IOC for the crop cultivation under a MoU, while the IOC had agreed to produce alternate fuel for the former. This comes after the Sierra Railroad at California planned to convert 1,500 locos on bio-diesel to meet international pollution norms. They also found that 26 to 37 per cent less emissions were recorded during its usage. At Haryana, IOC is running 20 buses since April on 5 per cent biodiesel and diesel blends.
After the consignment was flagged off, IOC's R&D director N Raje said, The total wasteland in the country estimated at 30 million hectares, which can be used for cultivation of bio-diesel seeds and provide employment to around 15 million people. Bio-diesel can additionally replace the current use of fossil fuels. The country's annual oil bill is around Rs 60,400 crore (during 2002-03) and wasteland development would require only about Rs 1,000 crore a year for 20 years to make the country self sufficient in oil. Diesel forms nearly 40 per cent (40 million tonnes) of total energy consumed in the form of oil, which can be replaced or supplemented by bio-diesel." Raje added that even if 5 per cent of bio-diesel is blended with normal diesel, it can cut down import cost of fuel considerably.
It also helps in cutting down cost of pollution-control measures. "Bio-diesel has in-built oxygen, which burns down the fuel completely and does not pollute the environment. The demand is abundant. The IOC will be able to supplement 5 per cent of diesel with bio-diesel in three years. However, the percentage of biodiesel can also be increased further with proper planning." Gujarat chief secretary P K Laheri, who flagged off the consignments, said, "The government is supporting increase of 'jatropha , 'jajoba ' and 'karanjia' plants cultivation to increase utilisation of renewable sources of energy in the state." GOCL executive director Sandip Chaturvedi said, "The company has achieved a milestone by producing and commercialising bio-diesel. The IOC has already shown further interest in our project. Many other private players too are showing interest and may place orders." Experts added that the United States and the European Union have successfully started utilising biodiesel in their army, navy, air force and Marines. They are also using bio-diesel in various equipment, buses, tractors and motor graters
ANKLESHWAR: A new chapter to the country's alternative energy resources was added on Saturday after Ankleshwar-based firm released the first commercial consignment of bio-diesel to Indian Oil Corporation IOC). With this, the firm, Gujarat Oelo Chem Limited (GOCL) will be the first Indian company to commercialise the production of bio-diesel from vegetable based feedstock. IOC had placed an order of 450 kilolitres of bio-diesel with GOCL last year for field trials with the Indian Railways and Haryana roadways. In fact, the IOC's only crop cultivation project of jetropha seeds for its project with the Indian Railways is in Surendranagar district of Gujarat. The Railways had agreed to provide wasteland to IOC for the crop cultivation under a MoU, while the IOC had agreed to produce alternate fuel for the former. This comes after the Sierra Railroad at California planned to convert 1,500 locos on bio-diesel to meet international pollution norms. They also found that 26 to 37 per cent less emissions were recorded during its usage. At Haryana, IOC is running 20 buses since April on 5 per cent biodiesel and diesel blends.
After the consignment was flagged off, IOC's R&D director N Raje said, The total wasteland in the country estimated at 30 million hectares, which can be used for cultivation of bio-diesel seeds and provide employment to around 15 million people. Bio-diesel can additionally replace the current use of fossil fuels. The country's annual oil bill is around Rs 60,400 crore (during 2002-03) and wasteland development would require only about Rs 1,000 crore a year for 20 years to make the country self sufficient in oil. Diesel forms nearly 40 per cent (40 million tonnes) of total energy consumed in the form of oil, which can be replaced or supplemented by bio-diesel." Raje added that even if 5 per cent of bio-diesel is blended with normal diesel, it can cut down import cost of fuel considerably.
It also helps in cutting down cost of pollution-control measures. "Bio-diesel has in-built oxygen, which burns down the fuel completely and does not pollute the environment. The demand is abundant. The IOC will be able to supplement 5 per cent of diesel with bio-diesel in three years. However, the percentage of biodiesel can also be increased further with proper planning." Gujarat chief secretary P K Laheri, who flagged off the consignments, said, "The government is supporting increase of 'jatropha , 'jajoba ' and 'karanjia' plants cultivation to increase utilisation of renewable sources of energy in the state." GOCL executive director Sandip Chaturvedi said, "The company has achieved a milestone by producing and commercialising bio-diesel. The IOC has already shown further interest in our project. Many other private players too are showing interest and may place orders." Experts added that the United States and the European Union have successfully started utilising biodiesel in their army, navy, air force and Marines. They are also using bio-diesel in various equipment, buses, tractors and motor graters
Bio-diesel to reduce costs and pollution
Bio-diesel to reduce costs and pollution
UNI Lucknow Aug 10: Bio-diesel can be an eco-friendly panacea to the burgeoning fuel import bills and rising pollution level in cities due to the increasing vehicular population.
This was stated at the recently held bio-business meet on ?Bio-diesel: a biofuel of future?, organised by the biotech park here.
Addressing a news conference on the international bio-diesel day on Monday, biotech park CEO, Dr P K Seth demonstrated the usage of bio-diesel by lighting earthen lamps with ?biofuel? extracted from jatropha curca (ratanjyot).
Dr Seth said biodiesel was the future fuel and an eco-friendly and viable alternative resource for automobiles and even trains.
He said jatropha saplings from biotech park were of high quality and high oil yielding variety.
The Union government mandated the supply of 5 per cent ethanol (derived from waste molasses) to be blended with petrol from January 2003. The Planning Commission had also identified jatropha curca and pongamia pinata (honge) for producing bio-diesel.
Jatropha has now been selected for bio-diesel to be mixed at 5 per cent by year 2005 in a phased manner.
Uttar Pradesh science and technology department secretary, Mr Navneet Sahgal, said a network for propagation of biotech had been set up in Lucknow and 28 acres of land provided where farmers would raise tissue culture plants, prepare bio-fertilisers and acquaint with technology for oil from jatropha.
He informed that the state government was paying special attention to biotechnology and had even set-up a biotech development board to provide single window mechanism to help the industry.
The production of ratanjyot and honge plants is, however, at a nascent stage with National Botanical Research Institute (NBRI) and biotech park, said Dr Seth.
NBRI director Dr P Pushpangadan said jatropha takes at least two-and-a-half years to mature and the institute had 2-3 lakh saplings ready.
He further claimed that studies had shown that UP soil was suited for growing pingamia pinata which could be exploited for commercial use.
UNI Lucknow Aug 10: Bio-diesel can be an eco-friendly panacea to the burgeoning fuel import bills and rising pollution level in cities due to the increasing vehicular population.
This was stated at the recently held bio-business meet on ?Bio-diesel: a biofuel of future?, organised by the biotech park here.
Addressing a news conference on the international bio-diesel day on Monday, biotech park CEO, Dr P K Seth demonstrated the usage of bio-diesel by lighting earthen lamps with ?biofuel? extracted from jatropha curca (ratanjyot).
Dr Seth said biodiesel was the future fuel and an eco-friendly and viable alternative resource for automobiles and even trains.
He said jatropha saplings from biotech park were of high quality and high oil yielding variety.
The Union government mandated the supply of 5 per cent ethanol (derived from waste molasses) to be blended with petrol from January 2003. The Planning Commission had also identified jatropha curca and pongamia pinata (honge) for producing bio-diesel.
Jatropha has now been selected for bio-diesel to be mixed at 5 per cent by year 2005 in a phased manner.
Uttar Pradesh science and technology department secretary, Mr Navneet Sahgal, said a network for propagation of biotech had been set up in Lucknow and 28 acres of land provided where farmers would raise tissue culture plants, prepare bio-fertilisers and acquaint with technology for oil from jatropha.
He informed that the state government was paying special attention to biotechnology and had even set-up a biotech development board to provide single window mechanism to help the industry.
The production of ratanjyot and honge plants is, however, at a nascent stage with National Botanical Research Institute (NBRI) and biotech park, said Dr Seth.
NBRI director Dr P Pushpangadan said jatropha takes at least two-and-a-half years to mature and the institute had 2-3 lakh saplings ready.
He further claimed that studies had shown that UP soil was suited for growing pingamia pinata which could be exploited for commercial use.
Indian, British firms tie up for bio-diesel :
Indian, British firms tie up for bio-diesel :
Tamilnadu, India > Chennai, Aug 13 : The Britain-based company D1 Oils Plc has signed an agreement with Mohan Breweries and Distilleries for producing bio-diesel from the jatropha plant.
The drought resistant small tree is grown extensively in Tamil Nadu's fallow land. The Indian Railways too has several pilot projects in Tamil Nadu to commercially farm jatropha. The seeds of this plant contain oil that can be extracted and used to drive engines.
The companies will hold 50 percent stake each in the joint venture, to be named D1 Mohan Bio-oils Ltd, the company's CEO Mark Quinn told the media here Friday.
Quinn said two bio-diesel refineries will be set up by the new company. Local farmers will be assisted in the cultivation and harvesting of jatropha seed. The company will undertake refining and marketing of the bio-diesel. Farmers will be provided the know-how to market by-products like glycerine and seed cake, which can be used as fertiliser and animal feed. The first refinery in Chennai will have the capacity to produce 22,000 litres of bio-diesel a day. The initial investment in the project will be 900,000 pounds, the official said.
Besides, 1.75 million pounds will be invested in planting jatropha trees in 200,000 hectares of land this year. Mohan Breweries managing director N. Nandagopal said the company hopes to have five million hectares under jatropha cultivation by 2009. Indo-Asian News Service
Tamilnadu, India > Chennai, Aug 13 : The Britain-based company D1 Oils Plc has signed an agreement with Mohan Breweries and Distilleries for producing bio-diesel from the jatropha plant.
The drought resistant small tree is grown extensively in Tamil Nadu's fallow land. The Indian Railways too has several pilot projects in Tamil Nadu to commercially farm jatropha. The seeds of this plant contain oil that can be extracted and used to drive engines.
The companies will hold 50 percent stake each in the joint venture, to be named D1 Mohan Bio-oils Ltd, the company's CEO Mark Quinn told the media here Friday.
Quinn said two bio-diesel refineries will be set up by the new company. Local farmers will be assisted in the cultivation and harvesting of jatropha seed. The company will undertake refining and marketing of the bio-diesel. Farmers will be provided the know-how to market by-products like glycerine and seed cake, which can be used as fertiliser and animal feed. The first refinery in Chennai will have the capacity to produce 22,000 litres of bio-diesel a day. The initial investment in the project will be 900,000 pounds, the official said.
Besides, 1.75 million pounds will be invested in planting jatropha trees in 200,000 hectares of land this year. Mohan Breweries managing director N. Nandagopal said the company hopes to have five million hectares under jatropha cultivation by 2009. Indo-Asian News Service
President for overhaul of education system
President for overhaul of education systemTribune News Service
New Delhi, August 14The President Dr A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, today strongly advocated a comprehensive overhaul of the country?s education system and an increase in the expenditure on education to 6-7 per cent of the GDP to turn India into a "prosperous, happy and strong nation."
Addressing the nation on the eve of the 58th Independence Day, the President pleaded for a thorough restructuring of the education system ? covering admissions, syllabi, examination and evaluation.
In concrete terms, he went on to suggest introduction of "open book system of examinations," a common all-India examination for entry into universities and professional colleges and evaluation of papers by examining bodies with ISO certification.
The President caught the bull by the horn when he observed that an estimated 36 million people (9 per cent of 400 million employable people) are unemployed. He made concrete suggestions saying "we can definitely find productive employment for all the 36 million people by launching certain missions like bio-diesel generation through plants such as Jatropha, dry land and herbal farming in the available 33 million hectares of waste land earmarked for cultivation".
"Secondly, the banking system should provide venture capital right from village level to prospective entrepreneurs for undertaking new enterprises.
Banks have to be pro-active in supporting innovative products for enabling wealth generation by young entrepreneurs by setting aside the ?
conventional tangible asset syndrome?", he said.
He also recommended an economic pull for generation of marketable products and enhancement of purchasing power among the people. "This can come through the implementation of mega programmes such as rural connectivity, regional linking of rivers, infrastructural missions, power missions and tourism".
Dwelling on education, Dr Kalam said expenditure on this vital issue should be raised to 6-7 per cent of the gross domestic product (GDP), from the present 4 per cent, to achieve nearly 100 per cent literacy.
This could be achieved by involving all the Ministries and Departments as partners in human resource development and taking help from the corporate sector.
To augment government resources, he appealed to the entire corporate sector to emulate the example set by some corporate leaders who have focused on education to make a national difference.
Devoting six pages of his eight-page address to education, the President also suggested restructuring of syllabi with the thrust on entrepreneurship to deal with unemployment and standardisation of education to raise standard in rural areas.
Mooting a three-pronged strategy to make education more attractive and simultaneously create more employment potential, he said: "The education system should highlight the importance of entrepreneurship and prepare students right from college education to get oriented towards setting up of enterprises."
Dr Kalam pointed out that sustaining high 8 per cent growth and containing inflation, now at 7.61 per cent, are the major challenges for the country.
New Delhi, August 14The President Dr A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, today strongly advocated a comprehensive overhaul of the country?s education system and an increase in the expenditure on education to 6-7 per cent of the GDP to turn India into a "prosperous, happy and strong nation."
Addressing the nation on the eve of the 58th Independence Day, the President pleaded for a thorough restructuring of the education system ? covering admissions, syllabi, examination and evaluation.
In concrete terms, he went on to suggest introduction of "open book system of examinations," a common all-India examination for entry into universities and professional colleges and evaluation of papers by examining bodies with ISO certification.
The President caught the bull by the horn when he observed that an estimated 36 million people (9 per cent of 400 million employable people) are unemployed. He made concrete suggestions saying "we can definitely find productive employment for all the 36 million people by launching certain missions like bio-diesel generation through plants such as Jatropha, dry land and herbal farming in the available 33 million hectares of waste land earmarked for cultivation".
"Secondly, the banking system should provide venture capital right from village level to prospective entrepreneurs for undertaking new enterprises.
Banks have to be pro-active in supporting innovative products for enabling wealth generation by young entrepreneurs by setting aside the ?
conventional tangible asset syndrome?", he said.
He also recommended an economic pull for generation of marketable products and enhancement of purchasing power among the people. "This can come through the implementation of mega programmes such as rural connectivity, regional linking of rivers, infrastructural missions, power missions and tourism".
Dwelling on education, Dr Kalam said expenditure on this vital issue should be raised to 6-7 per cent of the gross domestic product (GDP), from the present 4 per cent, to achieve nearly 100 per cent literacy.
This could be achieved by involving all the Ministries and Departments as partners in human resource development and taking help from the corporate sector.
To augment government resources, he appealed to the entire corporate sector to emulate the example set by some corporate leaders who have focused on education to make a national difference.
Devoting six pages of his eight-page address to education, the President also suggested restructuring of syllabi with the thrust on entrepreneurship to deal with unemployment and standardisation of education to raise standard in rural areas.
Mooting a three-pronged strategy to make education more attractive and simultaneously create more employment potential, he said: "The education system should highlight the importance of entrepreneurship and prepare students right from college education to get oriented towards setting up of enterprises."
Dr Kalam pointed out that sustaining high 8 per cent growth and containing inflation, now at 7.61 per cent, are the major challenges for the country.
Jatropha pill for rising oil bill
Jatropha pill for rising oil billTIMES NEWS NETWORK[ SATURDAY, AUGUST 21, 2004 02:05:58 AM ]
LUCKNOW: With non-renewable fossil fuel reserves depleting, and prices spiralling, India is footing a whopping crude oil import bill of Rs 6,04,000 crore. India ranks sixth in terms of energy demand, accounting for 3.5 per cent of global demand. Addressing a conference on 'Bio-diesel as bio-fuel: energy the world is converting to' on Friday, minister for agriculture Ashok Bajpai said oil import was a major drain on funds that diverted money from development projects. He emphasised that alternatives to this exorbitant, polluting fuel must be introduced. Jatropha seed oil is a suitable
alternative for curbing escalating oil bill. However, Bajpai said there must be suitable processing and marketing facilities for this agro-produce so that farmers are not stranded with jatropha without a market.
He added that just as it was mandatory for sugar mills to buy sugarcane, similar processing units should be set up for jatropha. Member, Committee on Development of Biofuel AP Dixit said that a 'National Mission' on biofuel has to be started to revolutionise the industry. He agreed that to meet requirements of jatropha growers, an effective and remunerative market was essential. He said Indian oil companies were already committed to purchasing jatropha from farmers and so far there has been a shortage in supply. Railways which has experimented with jatropha as biofuel is a potentially large consumer. "If we talk of rural energy security jatropha is a good candidate. It can grow on sodic wasteland adding to the green cover. The plant starts yielding in 2-3 years and no maintenance is required for almost 40-50 years assuring income for UP's farmer. However, the key to sustainability of biofuel is that it has to be cost viable for all, be it farmers, oil extractors, marketing agency or consumer," he said.
As the fuel is eco-friendly, it will meet emission norms. Incidentally, biodiesel and CNG cost is the same on a per-mile basis. However, unlike CNG, biodiesel can be poured into the fuel tank and expensive CNG conversions can be avoided. At this seminar organised by Centre of Bharatiya Marketing Development (CBMD), Om Prakash Singh minister of land resources said concept of jatropha-based biofuel must be taken to the grassroot level with dissemination of information and technology. Manager CBMD, Hemant Misra and Irshad Mirza from Assocham reiterated the need for promoting it.
LUCKNOW: With non-renewable fossil fuel reserves depleting, and prices spiralling, India is footing a whopping crude oil import bill of Rs 6,04,000 crore. India ranks sixth in terms of energy demand, accounting for 3.5 per cent of global demand. Addressing a conference on 'Bio-diesel as bio-fuel: energy the world is converting to' on Friday, minister for agriculture Ashok Bajpai said oil import was a major drain on funds that diverted money from development projects. He emphasised that alternatives to this exorbitant, polluting fuel must be introduced. Jatropha seed oil is a suitable
alternative for curbing escalating oil bill. However, Bajpai said there must be suitable processing and marketing facilities for this agro-produce so that farmers are not stranded with jatropha without a market.
He added that just as it was mandatory for sugar mills to buy sugarcane, similar processing units should be set up for jatropha. Member, Committee on Development of Biofuel AP Dixit said that a 'National Mission' on biofuel has to be started to revolutionise the industry. He agreed that to meet requirements of jatropha growers, an effective and remunerative market was essential. He said Indian oil companies were already committed to purchasing jatropha from farmers and so far there has been a shortage in supply. Railways which has experimented with jatropha as biofuel is a potentially large consumer. "If we talk of rural energy security jatropha is a good candidate. It can grow on sodic wasteland adding to the green cover. The plant starts yielding in 2-3 years and no maintenance is required for almost 40-50 years assuring income for UP's farmer. However, the key to sustainability of biofuel is that it has to be cost viable for all, be it farmers, oil extractors, marketing agency or consumer," he said.
As the fuel is eco-friendly, it will meet emission norms. Incidentally, biodiesel and CNG cost is the same on a per-mile basis. However, unlike CNG, biodiesel can be poured into the fuel tank and expensive CNG conversions can be avoided. At this seminar organised by Centre of Bharatiya Marketing Development (CBMD), Om Prakash Singh minister of land resources said concept of jatropha-based biofuel must be taken to the grassroot level with dissemination of information and technology. Manager CBMD, Hemant Misra and Irshad Mirza from Assocham reiterated the need for promoting it.
Bio-fuels must be given tax sops
Bio-fuels must be given tax sops
Our BureauNew Delhi , Sept. 16
POINTING out the need to have bio-fuel alternatives for fossil fuels, the Planning Commission Deputy Chairman, Dr Montek Singh Ahluwalia, on Thursday favoured giving tax incentives to make bio-fuels economically feasible.
"If bio-fuels have the same tax as petrol and diesel, they will not be economically viable," he said while speaking at an international conference on bio-fuels organised by non-profit organisation Winrock International Ltd.
"As is evident from the experience of some countries, bio-fuels have enough external benefits such as generating employment and income in the rural areas and emitting less green house gases, among others, all of which make it worthwhile for the Government to encourage bio-fuels by providing tax benefits," he added.
The tax incentives need not be in the form of cash subsidy as is the case of kerosene, which the country imports, he added. India's estimated 50-100 million hectares of wasteland, degraded forestland and such can be used for large-scale bio-fuel plantations such as Jatropha curcas, thereby generating employment in the rural areas.
Yield per hectare for bio-fuel plantation is 30-40 per cent, which can safely go to 50 per cent if the right kind of technology is in place, he said.
An investment of Rs 30,000 per hectare is needed for plantation of bio-fuel plants, which would generate an income of Rs 20,000 after a gap of three years for the next 50 years.
"At present, India is not doing enough in the field of renewable energy compared to other fuel import-dependent countries," he said.
"The Planning Commission is already working on finalising a National Energy Policy report which is expected to be finalised by this December," he said on the sidelines of the conference.
The policy would also take into account renewable energy sources along with conventional sources.
Our BureauNew Delhi , Sept. 16
POINTING out the need to have bio-fuel alternatives for fossil fuels, the Planning Commission Deputy Chairman, Dr Montek Singh Ahluwalia, on Thursday favoured giving tax incentives to make bio-fuels economically feasible.
"If bio-fuels have the same tax as petrol and diesel, they will not be economically viable," he said while speaking at an international conference on bio-fuels organised by non-profit organisation Winrock International Ltd.
"As is evident from the experience of some countries, bio-fuels have enough external benefits such as generating employment and income in the rural areas and emitting less green house gases, among others, all of which make it worthwhile for the Government to encourage bio-fuels by providing tax benefits," he added.
The tax incentives need not be in the form of cash subsidy as is the case of kerosene, which the country imports, he added. India's estimated 50-100 million hectares of wasteland, degraded forestland and such can be used for large-scale bio-fuel plantations such as Jatropha curcas, thereby generating employment in the rural areas.
Yield per hectare for bio-fuel plantation is 30-40 per cent, which can safely go to 50 per cent if the right kind of technology is in place, he said.
An investment of Rs 30,000 per hectare is needed for plantation of bio-fuel plants, which would generate an income of Rs 20,000 after a gap of three years for the next 50 years.
"At present, India is not doing enough in the field of renewable energy compared to other fuel import-dependent countries," he said.
"The Planning Commission is already working on finalising a National Energy Policy report which is expected to be finalised by this December," he said on the sidelines of the conference.
The policy would also take into account renewable energy sources along with conventional sources.
Kalam for focus on rural enterprises, agriculture
Kalam for focus on rural enterprises, agricultureBy Indo-Asian News Service New Delhi, Nov 20 (IANS) President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Saturday called for more focus on better use of land and rural resources to usher in development and create employment opportunities.
Kalam called for better use of wastelands in the country in view of the shrinking land holdings of farmers.
"If the land is not good for intensive crop production, the same can be used for establishing fruit orchards or tree plantations of economic importance," said Kalam inaugurating a three-day symposium on 'Uncommon opportunities: a roadmap for employment, food and global security' organised by the United Nations World Food Programme.
"Further, degraded land can be redeveloped with biomass plantation, which can help in promoting soil and water conservation and improve the ecosystem while providing fuel and fodder for our villagers," said Kalam.
The president called on scientists to rise to the challenge to boost agriculture by ensuring development of good quality seeds "that would ensure good yield even under constraints of water and land with ecologically balanced farming."
Pointing to the big rural market of 700 million people living in 600,000 villages of the country, Kalam said there was need for creating enterprises to service this market and generate large-scale employment.
"The total eligible aspiring youth at any time in the country are 400 million. Estimated unemployment reported in the year 2004 is about 36 million, which is nine percent of eligible employable population," the president said.
He suggested that Jatropha plantation for extraction and processing of non-edible oil for blending in auto fuels, dryland farming, herbal cultivation and social forestry, lighting through non-conventional energy, tourism and water missions are some areas that could create millions of job opportunities.
Delivering the keynote address, External Affairs Minister K. Natwar Singh called for a new blueprint on governance based on partnership between the government, private sector, international organisations, civil society stakeholders and mass media.
"It will be a great thing if national and international bodies can focus on hunger and malnutrition issues rather than just political problems," said Singh pointing to the fact that hunger and malnutrition are claiming one life every five seconds.
"In a globalised world, globalisation of poverty and hunger poses major challenges for peace and stability," said Pedro Medrano, country director of World Food Programme.
Great Day for Biofuels! Russia Ratifies Kyoto Protocol TreatyThursday November 11, 9:30 am ET
BAKERSFIELD, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 11, 2004--American Biofuels (ABF), which is 35% owned by Green Star Products, Inc. (OTC:
GSPI - News), made the following announcement:
After six years of international negotiations the Kyoto Treaty finally received enough signatures from participating countries to make that treaty binding on all signatures. Russia was the last to sign giving the treaty its required 55% of the nations that contribute to global warming gases.
This is a major victory for alternative fuels like biodiesel and ethanol, which reduce CO2 emissions.
On Nov. 5, 2004 Reuters released the following information:
"President Vladimir Putin gave his seal of approval for Russia's crucial backing of the Kyoto Protocol, clearing the way for the U.N. environment pact aimed at curbing global warming to come into force early next year."
"The Kremlin said Putin signed a parliament bill late on Thursday confirming Russia's ratification of the protocol. Both chambers of Russia's parliament approved ratification of the pact last month after Putin pointed the way."
The Wall Street Journal on October 22, 2004, in an article also stated, "The treaty is meant to slow the rapidly accelerating release into the atmosphere of so-called greenhouse gases, chiefly carbon dioxide. CO2, produced by the burning of fossil fuels such as oil and coal, forms an atmospheric layer that reflects the sun's heat back toward Earth, heating the planet in a process known as the greenhouse effect, or global warming."
Joseph LaStella, president on GSPI, stated, "The use of biodiesel reduces CO2 emissions by 78% and that a study done by the National Biodiesel Board indicates that biodiesel is the lowest cost alternative to reduce exhaust emissions from diesel engines, which includes global warming gases."
These past few weeks have been great news for the planet Earth, the Kyoto Treaty was ratified and President Bush signed HR 4520 in law, which provides both biodiesel and ethanol an excise tax refund. Both these events will greatly increase biodiesel and ethanol production in the US and worldwide.
An article printed in Biodiesel Magazine (Oct.-Nov. 2004) states: "India wants to launch a major biodiesel effort, but they have not been able to lock in on a consistent source."
The article further states, "The only real hope (for India) today lies is non-edible tree oils, such as jatropha and pogomia. These oil trees are hardy plants that require minimum water and can grow in nearly all soil types...Plants like jatropha, which produce non-edible oil seeds, can grow very well in varied regions of India." These oil trees have only one hitch; it takes three to five years to produce full yields.
Joseph LaStella stated, "India is only one part of a huge market in a world that suddenly realizes that they may have to import alternative fuels while gearing up their own production of alternative fuels through technology transfers."
The Biodiesel Magazine article also states, "California-based American Biofuels...recently announced that it had shipped a container load of U.S.-produced biodiesel to Asia. The shipment is believed to be the largest order of biodiesel ever shipped from the United States to Asia. The company shipped approximately 6,000 gallons of biodiesel packaged in over 100 barrels. The company called the shipment - 'a major step in opening Asian markets to U.S.- produced biodiesel and biodiesel technology.'"
Presently, almost every country is scrambling to increase their production of biofuels to wean off the high cost and instability of crude oil and become more energy independent.
American Biofuels is not only planning its expansion in the US but also its exports abroad and to construct plants on a joint venture basis in several foreign countries, which have contacted American Biofuels.
Green Star Products, Inc. is an environmentally friendly company dedicated to creating innovative cost-effective products to improve the quality of life and clean up the environment. GSPI is involved in the production of renewable clean-burning biodiesel and other products including lubricants, additives and devices that reduce emissions and improve fuel economy in vehicles, machinery and power plants. For more information, see GSPI's Web site at http://www.GreenStarUSA.com or call Investor Relations at 619-864-4010, or fax 619-789-4743, or email info@GreenStarUSA.com. Information about trading prices and volume can be obtained at several Internet sites including http://www.bloomberg.com and http://www.bigcharts.com under the ticker symbol "GSPI."
Forward-looking statements in the release are made pursuant to the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Investors are cautioned that such forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, including without limitation, continued acceptance of the company's products, increased levels of competition for the company, new products and technological changes, the company's dependence on third-party suppliers, and other risks detailed from time to time in the company's periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Kalam called for better use of wastelands in the country in view of the shrinking land holdings of farmers.
"If the land is not good for intensive crop production, the same can be used for establishing fruit orchards or tree plantations of economic importance," said Kalam inaugurating a three-day symposium on 'Uncommon opportunities: a roadmap for employment, food and global security' organised by the United Nations World Food Programme.
"Further, degraded land can be redeveloped with biomass plantation, which can help in promoting soil and water conservation and improve the ecosystem while providing fuel and fodder for our villagers," said Kalam.
The president called on scientists to rise to the challenge to boost agriculture by ensuring development of good quality seeds "that would ensure good yield even under constraints of water and land with ecologically balanced farming."
Pointing to the big rural market of 700 million people living in 600,000 villages of the country, Kalam said there was need for creating enterprises to service this market and generate large-scale employment.
"The total eligible aspiring youth at any time in the country are 400 million. Estimated unemployment reported in the year 2004 is about 36 million, which is nine percent of eligible employable population," the president said.
He suggested that Jatropha plantation for extraction and processing of non-edible oil for blending in auto fuels, dryland farming, herbal cultivation and social forestry, lighting through non-conventional energy, tourism and water missions are some areas that could create millions of job opportunities.
Delivering the keynote address, External Affairs Minister K. Natwar Singh called for a new blueprint on governance based on partnership between the government, private sector, international organisations, civil society stakeholders and mass media.
"It will be a great thing if national and international bodies can focus on hunger and malnutrition issues rather than just political problems," said Singh pointing to the fact that hunger and malnutrition are claiming one life every five seconds.
"In a globalised world, globalisation of poverty and hunger poses major challenges for peace and stability," said Pedro Medrano, country director of World Food Programme.
Great Day for Biofuels! Russia Ratifies Kyoto Protocol TreatyThursday November 11, 9:30 am ET
BAKERSFIELD, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 11, 2004--American Biofuels (ABF), which is 35% owned by Green Star Products, Inc. (OTC:
GSPI - News), made the following announcement:
After six years of international negotiations the Kyoto Treaty finally received enough signatures from participating countries to make that treaty binding on all signatures. Russia was the last to sign giving the treaty its required 55% of the nations that contribute to global warming gases.
This is a major victory for alternative fuels like biodiesel and ethanol, which reduce CO2 emissions.
On Nov. 5, 2004 Reuters released the following information:
"President Vladimir Putin gave his seal of approval for Russia's crucial backing of the Kyoto Protocol, clearing the way for the U.N. environment pact aimed at curbing global warming to come into force early next year."
"The Kremlin said Putin signed a parliament bill late on Thursday confirming Russia's ratification of the protocol. Both chambers of Russia's parliament approved ratification of the pact last month after Putin pointed the way."
The Wall Street Journal on October 22, 2004, in an article also stated, "The treaty is meant to slow the rapidly accelerating release into the atmosphere of so-called greenhouse gases, chiefly carbon dioxide. CO2, produced by the burning of fossil fuels such as oil and coal, forms an atmospheric layer that reflects the sun's heat back toward Earth, heating the planet in a process known as the greenhouse effect, or global warming."
Joseph LaStella, president on GSPI, stated, "The use of biodiesel reduces CO2 emissions by 78% and that a study done by the National Biodiesel Board indicates that biodiesel is the lowest cost alternative to reduce exhaust emissions from diesel engines, which includes global warming gases."
These past few weeks have been great news for the planet Earth, the Kyoto Treaty was ratified and President Bush signed HR 4520 in law, which provides both biodiesel and ethanol an excise tax refund. Both these events will greatly increase biodiesel and ethanol production in the US and worldwide.
An article printed in Biodiesel Magazine (Oct.-Nov. 2004) states: "India wants to launch a major biodiesel effort, but they have not been able to lock in on a consistent source."
The article further states, "The only real hope (for India) today lies is non-edible tree oils, such as jatropha and pogomia. These oil trees are hardy plants that require minimum water and can grow in nearly all soil types...Plants like jatropha, which produce non-edible oil seeds, can grow very well in varied regions of India." These oil trees have only one hitch; it takes three to five years to produce full yields.
Joseph LaStella stated, "India is only one part of a huge market in a world that suddenly realizes that they may have to import alternative fuels while gearing up their own production of alternative fuels through technology transfers."
The Biodiesel Magazine article also states, "California-based American Biofuels...recently announced that it had shipped a container load of U.S.-produced biodiesel to Asia. The shipment is believed to be the largest order of biodiesel ever shipped from the United States to Asia. The company shipped approximately 6,000 gallons of biodiesel packaged in over 100 barrels. The company called the shipment - 'a major step in opening Asian markets to U.S.- produced biodiesel and biodiesel technology.'"
Presently, almost every country is scrambling to increase their production of biofuels to wean off the high cost and instability of crude oil and become more energy independent.
American Biofuels is not only planning its expansion in the US but also its exports abroad and to construct plants on a joint venture basis in several foreign countries, which have contacted American Biofuels.
Green Star Products, Inc. is an environmentally friendly company dedicated to creating innovative cost-effective products to improve the quality of life and clean up the environment. GSPI is involved in the production of renewable clean-burning biodiesel and other products including lubricants, additives and devices that reduce emissions and improve fuel economy in vehicles, machinery and power plants. For more information, see GSPI's Web site at http://www.GreenStarUSA.com or call Investor Relations at 619-864-4010, or fax 619-789-4743, or email info@GreenStarUSA.com. Information about trading prices and volume can be obtained at several Internet sites including http://www.bloomberg.com and http://www.bigcharts.com under the ticker symbol "GSPI."
Forward-looking statements in the release are made pursuant to the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Investors are cautioned that such forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, including without limitation, continued acceptance of the company's products, increased levels of competition for the company, new products and technological changes, the company's dependence on third-party suppliers, and other risks detailed from time to time in the company's periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Big fuel plans for little seeds
A new avenue of commercial farming is opening up for rural people. A tree that yields cleaner, cheaper energy has the potential to pull thousands from the poverty trap.For more than 50 years, rural South Africans have grown the jatropha carcus tree, known to thousands of KwaZulu-Natalians as maluku, for medicinal purposes. Little did they know that the tree's seeds bear bio-diesel, with the capability to run any diesel car, truck or generator without the engine needing modification. The fuel, once extracted from the seed, is thought to produce up to 80 percent less carbon-dioxide than conventional diesel.Some environmentalists and scientists have hailed the plant. The trees' potential has also attracted the attention of private investors. 'Although jatropha is considered invasive' However, questions about the commercial viability of cultivating the tree, its toxicity, and the environmental impact of growing what is an alien species, remain unresolved.In June, KwaZulu-Natal Minister of Agriculture and Environmental Affairs Gabriel Ndabandaba appointed a jatropha task team to research the production of the crop in the province.Team Chairperson Ben Korateng said that since the 20-man team was formed concern about the tree's commercial viability, its impact on the environment, and doubts about which regions were suitable for cultivation, have surfaced.Task team Assistant Manager Sandile Mhlongo said, "We've had investors wanting to get involved because they know about the commercial gain of this tree, but the government has set guidelines so that there's social upliftment and poverty alleviation within marginalised communities."But Korateng cautions that "the department doesn't want to be irresponsible when planting this crop. Maybe during 2006 the government will start allowing it to be widely grown."We are working with universities, government departments, non-governmental organisations and students from the Owen Sithole College of Agriculture, in Empangeni, to advance our research," said Korateng, but added that a shortage of funding remained a problem.He said the team had found that thousands of rural communities had been growing the plant for medicinal purposes for more than 50 years."Once we told them about the other by-products, they wanted to grow more and get involved in the commercial side... although they were growing one or two trees," he said.The department is buying seeds from growers at R1 a kilogram but is anxious that production of the seed should not be at the expense of food."We have urged them to grow it in their marginal soil that is not used to grow edible crops," said Korateng. He said the team had established links with people who use the tree for a variety of other purposes, elsewhere in the world. In Mali the tree has a number of uses. They "press the bio-diesel out and use it as a source of energy for electricity, and with the by-products they make feeds, soaps, insect-repellent and candles", said Korateng. Its by-products also yield glycerol sediment, a cosmetic ingredient. Mhlongo said jatropha is considered preferable to many other crops in South Africa as a source of bio-diesel because it has already been growing in Africa for years and is therefore thought to pose less of an ecological risk."Although jatropha is considered invasive, we have been tasked to prove this because there is no concrete evidence," he said.To make bio-diesel from jatropha, its small seeds are collected and, after two years of maturing, are crushed. The seeds can easily be picked by hand.The trees need only about 500mm of rain a year to survive "so they will not interfere with the country's scarce water resources", said Korateng.He conceded that jatropha is invasive and poisonous "but like most plants, if its planting is controlled, as we are trying to do, it will never be harmful to the environment or living species", he said."The plant is poisonous. It produces a pungent smell to protect itself against animals, but the toxicity levels are very low and harmless - that is where the plant gets its pesticide properties," said Korateng. He was responding to findings put to him that the plant is among the 10 plants most often blamed for poisoning people, mainly children, in South Africa.Martin Magwaza, a nurse at the Poison Centre at St Augustine's Hospital, in Durban, said the plant was moderately toxic, but its seeds were "very toxic and deadly depending on the number of seeds you've ingested".Poisoning symptoms, which include convulsions, difficulty in breathing, corrosion of the mouth and stomach, vomiting and nausea, are treatable with antacids.The Agro Forest Bio Energy Association, a Section 21, not-for-profit, company, is investigating other bio-diesel-bearing trees such as the moringa oleifera, the ximenia caffra, and the pappea capensis, but these need more water than jatropha and jatropha can grow almost anywhere, even in dry, rocky areas.The association has said it was possible for a family of four to six people to earn a profit of R2 000 to R4 000 a month from the bio-diesel produced from a 25ha plot.Apart from its potential to cut fuel bills, interest in bio-diesel is being stoked by a global campaign to reduce emissions from the burning of fossil fuels that contribute to global warming.On Thursday, Russia formally ratified the Kyoto Protocol on global warming, clearing the way for the environmental pact to come into force in February 2005. The move means that from February 16, industrialised nations that are signatories to the pact will be legally bound to meet quantitative targets for reducing or limiting emissions of so-called greenhouse gases.The protocol was signed by the then US president Bill Clinton's administration, European Union member states and Japan in 1997. But in March 2001, US President W George Bush announced his government did not support it and pulled his country out of the deal. According to the protocol, industrialised nations will have to pay for the pollution they cause in carbon credits. Countries that plant and sustain trees will be able to sell carbon credits to industrialised nations that are short of these credits.Korateng said South Africa could profit from this, as low-emission fuels, such as bio-diesel, are environmentally-friendly.
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
New alternative fuel diesel from cultivating jatropha
There is a bush which has grown across the Americas, Africa and Asia for centuries.Jatropha has many used.
It has been used to make soap and candles, or as a remedy for constipation, high fevers and even malaria.
There is a bush which has grown across the Americas, Africa and Asia for centuries.Jatropha has many used.
It has been used to make soap and candles, or as a remedy for constipation, high fevers and even malaria.
It is also highly toxic. Just four seeds from its plum-sized fruit is enough to kill, while the milky sap from its bark can stain the skin and irritate it for days.
But the wild jatropha bush - spread across the world from Central America by Portuguese settlers in the 16th century - is now being seen as one solution to the world's desperate search for new sources of energy.
Energy giant BP has just announced it is investing almost £32m in a jatropha joint venture with UK biofuels firm D1 Oils.
Diesel plans
India is leading the way when it comes to cultivating jatropha on an industrial scale.
"There is no doubt about it," says Sanju Khan, a site manager for D1 Oils.
"Those who are working with jatropha, are working with the new generation crop, developing a crop from a wild plant - which is hugely exciting."
Although Indians have known about jatropha's more day-to-day uses, and its dangers, for years, the interest now is in its potential to transform the lives of millions of poverty-stricken farmers who are struggling to survive.
The key is in growing jatropha to be used as a biofuel. Once dried out and crushed, these poisonous seeds yield oil which can be burned in almost any diesel engine - with no modification.
Growing anywhere
With the impacts of global warming becoming ever more apparent, countries all over the world are seeking out alternatives to fossil fuels.
Biofuel plants like jatropha absorb carbon-dioxide while they are growing, effectively cancelling out the carbon dioxide they release when they burn.
What's more, they could allow developing countries like India - where more than a million new cars were sold last year - to be self-sufficient rather than depending on oil and gas imports in a politically unstable world.
India invests more than $300m a year in researching biofuels - more than many developed nations. - and Jatropha is just one of a number of possible biofuel plants.
But the bush's attraction lies in the fact that it can grow anywhere, even in the poorest soil, needs very little water to survive and will yield seeds for more than half a century.
Even jatropha's keenest supporters acknowledge that there remains much work to be done to find out which varieties of jatropha will thrive best in a whole range of climatic conditions.
But the most optimistic assessments suggest that one day, as much as half India's 63 million hectares of wasteland could be suitable for the plant.
Export hopes
Already in India, 11 million hectares have been earmarked for jatropha growing.
Some see a danger that in a country where subsistence farming - growing food to eat - is still a widespread activity, jatropha could replace much-needed food crops, turning India into a monoculture.
The Indian government believes not. Its plans call for cutting down conventional diesel use over the next six years by blending the fuel with 13 million tonnes of biodiesel.
That would be enough to power half a million cars to drive the length of India. With jatropha, officials believe that might be possible. Moreover, it might help India become a leading world producer of biodiesel - although that would depend on whether India's farmers could grow enough for both domestic use and for export.
Ambitions
Jatropha's proponents have no doubt that the potential is there.
The European Union, for instance, wants 5% of all fuel sold for use in transport to be biofuels by the end of this decade.
D1 Oils chairman Lord Oxborough believes that jatropha will be part of this.
When does he think we will be using jatropha biodiesel in our cars?
"In two years," he says - just in time to meet the EU's target.
Jatropha the wonder plant is on BBC Radio 4 at 2100 BST on Monday 9 July, then online for seven days at Radio 4's Listen
Author
Alinson Hinds
Monday, July 9, 2007
Jatropa Curcas: The Bio Diesel Medicinal Plant
Jatropa Curcas: The Bio Diesel Medicinal Plant
Jatropa Curcas or locally known as Tuba in our country has been used by our ancestors as a folkloric medicine for rheumatic pains, snake bites and also insecticide. The leaves are used as medicine for muscle ailments like rheumatic pains. Simply by applying oil on the leaves and heated by flames and then applied to the skin on where the ailments are. Although it has medicinal properties, the fruit and seed is not edible and poisonous when ingested. The leaves have anti-inflammatory properties but toxic when excessively used internally. The pounded leaves when pounded and made into a poultice can be used to aid in snakebites and also effective as an insecticide.
This shrub is erect and the leaves have a usually somewhat rounded at the base, pointed at the tip and toothed at the margins. Distributed though out the Philippines and neighboring Asian countries.
Although this is an important addition to the many medicinal herbs (which you can also find some Philippine medical plants in my site on the resource box link below), it is now been discovered as a good bio diesel alternative or additive. Very cost effective and very close the properties of (fossil) diesel fuel we are using today. Unlike the coconut oil or alcohol additive, which are expensive to produce, Jatropa curcas or tuba is much cheaper. A liter of pure coco bio diesel would cost over P120 or US$2.50, which is why only small amounts of it can be mixed with regular diesel fuel to produce a competitively priced alternative.
Since there are no much demand for tuba, and very easy to propagate the plants, it is cost effective. And imagine you can extract 1 liter of oil from 3 kilos of seeds. There are no complicated processes of extracting oil from the seeds unlike coconut oil and alcohol bio diesel. Seeds are sun dried and grounded to extract oil from it.
India now leads in the development of Jatropa curcas bio diesel fuel and now people in our country are becoming aware with the help of media. And hoping that the government will push through in promoting this bio diesel fuel. Research on jatropha biodiesel production in the Philippines is being undertaken by the research and development facility in Diliman, Quezon City, of PNOC Energy Development Corp.
In India they are talking about planting jatropha in as much as 33 million hectares of wasteland. The proponents envision plantations that can produce enough oil seeds from which biodiesel could be extracted to meet India's current diesel fuel requirement of 40 million tons annually. Five tons of jatropha oil seeds can produce two tons of biodiesel.
The Indian proponents of jatropha biodiesel point out, among others, that the plants "grow on poor degraded soils and are able to ensure a reasonable production of seeds with very little inputs. [They are] not grazed by animals [and are] highly pest and disease resistant."
About the Author
About the author: Manolito Montala is a webmaster and one of his interests is collecting local medicinal plants information which can be found in Filipino Herbs Healing Wonders. You can visit his site in http://www.filipinoherbshealingwonders.filipinovegetarianrecipe.com/
Jatropa Curcas or locally known as Tuba in our country has been used by our ancestors as a folkloric medicine for rheumatic pains, snake bites and also insecticide. The leaves are used as medicine for muscle ailments like rheumatic pains. Simply by applying oil on the leaves and heated by flames and then applied to the skin on where the ailments are. Although it has medicinal properties, the fruit and seed is not edible and poisonous when ingested. The leaves have anti-inflammatory properties but toxic when excessively used internally. The pounded leaves when pounded and made into a poultice can be used to aid in snakebites and also effective as an insecticide.
This shrub is erect and the leaves have a usually somewhat rounded at the base, pointed at the tip and toothed at the margins. Distributed though out the Philippines and neighboring Asian countries.
Although this is an important addition to the many medicinal herbs (which you can also find some Philippine medical plants in my site on the resource box link below), it is now been discovered as a good bio diesel alternative or additive. Very cost effective and very close the properties of (fossil) diesel fuel we are using today. Unlike the coconut oil or alcohol additive, which are expensive to produce, Jatropa curcas or tuba is much cheaper. A liter of pure coco bio diesel would cost over P120 or US$2.50, which is why only small amounts of it can be mixed with regular diesel fuel to produce a competitively priced alternative.
Since there are no much demand for tuba, and very easy to propagate the plants, it is cost effective. And imagine you can extract 1 liter of oil from 3 kilos of seeds. There are no complicated processes of extracting oil from the seeds unlike coconut oil and alcohol bio diesel. Seeds are sun dried and grounded to extract oil from it.
India now leads in the development of Jatropa curcas bio diesel fuel and now people in our country are becoming aware with the help of media. And hoping that the government will push through in promoting this bio diesel fuel. Research on jatropha biodiesel production in the Philippines is being undertaken by the research and development facility in Diliman, Quezon City, of PNOC Energy Development Corp.
In India they are talking about planting jatropha in as much as 33 million hectares of wasteland. The proponents envision plantations that can produce enough oil seeds from which biodiesel could be extracted to meet India's current diesel fuel requirement of 40 million tons annually. Five tons of jatropha oil seeds can produce two tons of biodiesel.
The Indian proponents of jatropha biodiesel point out, among others, that the plants "grow on poor degraded soils and are able to ensure a reasonable production of seeds with very little inputs. [They are] not grazed by animals [and are] highly pest and disease resistant."
About the Author
About the author: Manolito Montala is a webmaster and one of his interests is collecting local medicinal plants information which can be found in Filipino Herbs Healing Wonders. You can visit his site in http://www.filipinoherbshealingwonders.filipinovegetarianrecipe.com/
Biodiesel The Alternative Fuel
Biodiesel The Alternative Fuel
What Is Biodiesel?
Biodiesel is a fuel made from vegetable oils. Rapeseed and soybean oils are the most commonly used, although other vegetables oils such as mustard, palm oil, hemp and jatropha have been tried and seem to show a lot of potential. These are listed or called Virgin Oil Feedstock.
Then we have the waste vegetable oils which are byproducts from animal fats like tallow, lard and yellow grease. It is suggested by many that waste vegetable oil is the best source of oil to produce biodiesel.
Biodiesel is an environmentally friendly alternative to the petroleum diesel we use today which as higher emissions that pollute our towns, cities and environment.
Biodiesel however is old news in one sense because Dr Rudolf Diesel the inventor of the diesel engine was showing his newly invented engine at the Paris exhibition, it was running on peanut oil.
During a speech at the same exhibition he was quoted as saying "the diesel engine can be fed with vegetable oils and will help considerably in the development of the agriculture of the countries which use it." So it seems that the diesel engine was designed to run on biodiesel fuel right from the beginning.
Biodiesel is a clean burning fuel which would reduce the carbon dioxide emissions of todays vehicles by up to 100%. Biodiesel is also biodegradable and non-toxic.
The use of biodiesel is definitely becoming more popular in America and the UK, more and more petrol stations are beginning to sell biodiesel in the UK. Even celebrities like Willy Nelson, is not only using it to run his tour buses, he as also opened a chain of petrol stations to sell biodiesel too.
So to summarize some of the benefits of using biodiesel:
1. Biodiesel is an environmentally friendly fuel. 2. It is a clean burning fuel. 3. It will reduce carbon dioxide emissions 4. Biodiesel is made from waste vegetable oils
About the Author
Malcolm Moorhouse www.biodiesel-site.com info@biodiesel-site.com
What Is Biodiesel?
Biodiesel is a fuel made from vegetable oils. Rapeseed and soybean oils are the most commonly used, although other vegetables oils such as mustard, palm oil, hemp and jatropha have been tried and seem to show a lot of potential. These are listed or called Virgin Oil Feedstock.
Then we have the waste vegetable oils which are byproducts from animal fats like tallow, lard and yellow grease. It is suggested by many that waste vegetable oil is the best source of oil to produce biodiesel.
Biodiesel is an environmentally friendly alternative to the petroleum diesel we use today which as higher emissions that pollute our towns, cities and environment.
Biodiesel however is old news in one sense because Dr Rudolf Diesel the inventor of the diesel engine was showing his newly invented engine at the Paris exhibition, it was running on peanut oil.
During a speech at the same exhibition he was quoted as saying "the diesel engine can be fed with vegetable oils and will help considerably in the development of the agriculture of the countries which use it." So it seems that the diesel engine was designed to run on biodiesel fuel right from the beginning.
Biodiesel is a clean burning fuel which would reduce the carbon dioxide emissions of todays vehicles by up to 100%. Biodiesel is also biodegradable and non-toxic.
The use of biodiesel is definitely becoming more popular in America and the UK, more and more petrol stations are beginning to sell biodiesel in the UK. Even celebrities like Willy Nelson, is not only using it to run his tour buses, he as also opened a chain of petrol stations to sell biodiesel too.
So to summarize some of the benefits of using biodiesel:
1. Biodiesel is an environmentally friendly fuel. 2. It is a clean burning fuel. 3. It will reduce carbon dioxide emissions 4. Biodiesel is made from waste vegetable oils
About the Author
Malcolm Moorhouse www.biodiesel-site.com info@biodiesel-site.com
Biodiesel v Ethanol - Making the Right Choice
Biodiesel v Ethanol - Making the Right Choice
I'm sure that you have noticed that there has been a surge in interest in Ethanol as an alternative to regular fuel, especially in the USA. Bill Gates invested the better part of $40m in ethanol production and distribution; this month in SHELBY the town Planning Board granted site plan approval and issued a special use permit to Western New York Energy LLC on Monday, paving the way for construction of a major ethanol plant.
There seem to be ethanol plants going up all over the place. I can't help but feel a little nostalgic - after all, when Henry Ford started out his cars were designed to run on ethanol (oil hadn't really made it onto the scene by then) and in fact he invested considerable sums in ethanol production and distribution. It was only the bully boy tactics of the new oil barons that made petrol and petro diesel the no. 1 fuels in the market at that time.
Nostalgic though I am, I have to also admit to being a skeptic. I mean why ethanol and not biodiesel? After all biodiesel recycles used oil that would otherwise end up in landfill into useable clean fuel. Better yet it's simple for anyone to make biodiesel, with very basic equipment and instructions.
A recent study, done by researchers at the University of Minnesota and at St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minn., points to the environmental benefits of biodiesel over ethanol (in this case made from corn), stating that ethanol provides 25 percent more energy a gallon than is required for its production, while soybean based biodiesel generates 93 percent more energy.
The study also identified that ethanol, in its production and consumption, reduces greenhouse gas emissions by 12 percent, compared with fossil fuels; however biodiesel, they found, reduces such emissions by 41 percent, compared with fossil fuels.
Moreover the study acknowledged that in order to produce a sufficient quantity of ethanol from crops like corn, food production would inevitably be compromised. On the other hand oil rich crops like jatropha will happily grow in marginal soil not suitable for other forms of agriculture.
So it begs the question again - why ethanol? Could it possibly be that in most parts of the civilized world you need a government license to run a still to produce any kind of alcohol?
It's possible to make biodiesel at home with little more than a soda bottle, and some basic hardware store chemicals. If you are not mechanically minded you can by simple to use, prefabricated biodiesel kits to make large quantities of home made fuel. On the other hand to make ethanol you need a still and thus a license, you're traceable and if unlicensed you are committing a criminal offence. Could it be that governments prefer a fuel that they can more tightly control, and tax?
As we work towards a greener, more sustainable future it's equally important that we choose the right kinds of fuels and for the right reasons. I for one do not wish to see any loss of personal freedom or rigid tax driven price control of the fuel I use.
About the Author
Mike is a self taught expert on alternative energy and runs www.ultimate-biodiesel-guide.com amongst other alternative energy web resources.
I'm sure that you have noticed that there has been a surge in interest in Ethanol as an alternative to regular fuel, especially in the USA. Bill Gates invested the better part of $40m in ethanol production and distribution; this month in SHELBY the town Planning Board granted site plan approval and issued a special use permit to Western New York Energy LLC on Monday, paving the way for construction of a major ethanol plant.
There seem to be ethanol plants going up all over the place. I can't help but feel a little nostalgic - after all, when Henry Ford started out his cars were designed to run on ethanol (oil hadn't really made it onto the scene by then) and in fact he invested considerable sums in ethanol production and distribution. It was only the bully boy tactics of the new oil barons that made petrol and petro diesel the no. 1 fuels in the market at that time.
Nostalgic though I am, I have to also admit to being a skeptic. I mean why ethanol and not biodiesel? After all biodiesel recycles used oil that would otherwise end up in landfill into useable clean fuel. Better yet it's simple for anyone to make biodiesel, with very basic equipment and instructions.
A recent study, done by researchers at the University of Minnesota and at St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minn., points to the environmental benefits of biodiesel over ethanol (in this case made from corn), stating that ethanol provides 25 percent more energy a gallon than is required for its production, while soybean based biodiesel generates 93 percent more energy.
The study also identified that ethanol, in its production and consumption, reduces greenhouse gas emissions by 12 percent, compared with fossil fuels; however biodiesel, they found, reduces such emissions by 41 percent, compared with fossil fuels.
Moreover the study acknowledged that in order to produce a sufficient quantity of ethanol from crops like corn, food production would inevitably be compromised. On the other hand oil rich crops like jatropha will happily grow in marginal soil not suitable for other forms of agriculture.
So it begs the question again - why ethanol? Could it possibly be that in most parts of the civilized world you need a government license to run a still to produce any kind of alcohol?
It's possible to make biodiesel at home with little more than a soda bottle, and some basic hardware store chemicals. If you are not mechanically minded you can by simple to use, prefabricated biodiesel kits to make large quantities of home made fuel. On the other hand to make ethanol you need a still and thus a license, you're traceable and if unlicensed you are committing a criminal offence. Could it be that governments prefer a fuel that they can more tightly control, and tax?
As we work towards a greener, more sustainable future it's equally important that we choose the right kinds of fuels and for the right reasons. I for one do not wish to see any loss of personal freedom or rigid tax driven price control of the fuel I use.
About the Author
Mike is a self taught expert on alternative energy and runs www.ultimate-biodiesel-guide.com amongst other alternative energy web resources.
What Vegetable Can Be Made Into Biodiesel?
What Vegetable Can Be Made Into Biodiesel? by Mark Allen
What Vegetable Oils Can Be Made Into Biodiesel? By Mark Allen
Biodiesel is a fuel comparable to petroleum based diesel fuel, but is made from vegetable oil. A wide variety of vegetables can produce the quality of vegetable oil that the Biodiesel conversion process needs. This wide variety of fuel sources gives hope that Biodiesel can be helpful as an alternative-fuel, not just in the more developed wester countries, but the underdeveloped countries as well.
A partial list of the kinds of vegetable oils that can be used in Biodiesel manufacturing:
* Peanut Oil * Cottonseed Oil * Rapeseed Oil * Soybean Oil * Mustard Oil * Sunflower Oil * False Flax Oil * Rice Bran Oil * Radish Oil * Safflower Oil * Palm Oil * Corn Oil * Coconut Oil * Tung Oil * Hemp Oil * Jatropha * Radish Oil * Algae * Castor Oil
Biodiesel can also be made from WVO (waste vegetable oil), which is previously used vegetable oil, like that which would be discarded from restaurants and delis. When using WVO to make Biodiesel there is an additional process that has to be undertaken to remove all the impurities, while this process would add to the overall cost of the fuel, it would not be prohibitive. It can be financially profitable to use WVO as a source for Biodiesel, but there are already other established industries using WVO in their manufacturing process, namely soap products.
Animal fat can also be used to produce Biodiesel in a very similar process to that of vegetable oil conversion. Because of the limited supply of animal fat this is rarely undertaken.
The combination of waste vegetable oil, vegetable oil, and animal fat is not even close to sufficient enough to replace liquid fossil fuel as the main form of fuel used in transportation. Some environmentalists, although supporting of the use of Biodiesel as a viable fuel option, are not in favor of raising production of the vegetation needed to manufacture more Biodiesel. The argument being that if natural vegetative growth is removed to make room for the growing and harvesting of plants intended to be used in the manufacturing of Biodiesel, then in the end the Earth would suffer in spite of it's well intentioned efforts.
Biodiesel, as a fuel, has many sources or raw materials but none so plentiful that it could challenge the current standardized petroleum based oil industry.
About the Author
Mark Allen is an avid supporter of the continuing search for an alternative fuel. More info at BiodieselPlans.info
What Vegetable Oils Can Be Made Into Biodiesel? By Mark Allen
Biodiesel is a fuel comparable to petroleum based diesel fuel, but is made from vegetable oil. A wide variety of vegetables can produce the quality of vegetable oil that the Biodiesel conversion process needs. This wide variety of fuel sources gives hope that Biodiesel can be helpful as an alternative-fuel, not just in the more developed wester countries, but the underdeveloped countries as well.
A partial list of the kinds of vegetable oils that can be used in Biodiesel manufacturing:
* Peanut Oil * Cottonseed Oil * Rapeseed Oil * Soybean Oil * Mustard Oil * Sunflower Oil * False Flax Oil * Rice Bran Oil * Radish Oil * Safflower Oil * Palm Oil * Corn Oil * Coconut Oil * Tung Oil * Hemp Oil * Jatropha * Radish Oil * Algae * Castor Oil
Biodiesel can also be made from WVO (waste vegetable oil), which is previously used vegetable oil, like that which would be discarded from restaurants and delis. When using WVO to make Biodiesel there is an additional process that has to be undertaken to remove all the impurities, while this process would add to the overall cost of the fuel, it would not be prohibitive. It can be financially profitable to use WVO as a source for Biodiesel, but there are already other established industries using WVO in their manufacturing process, namely soap products.
Animal fat can also be used to produce Biodiesel in a very similar process to that of vegetable oil conversion. Because of the limited supply of animal fat this is rarely undertaken.
The combination of waste vegetable oil, vegetable oil, and animal fat is not even close to sufficient enough to replace liquid fossil fuel as the main form of fuel used in transportation. Some environmentalists, although supporting of the use of Biodiesel as a viable fuel option, are not in favor of raising production of the vegetation needed to manufacture more Biodiesel. The argument being that if natural vegetative growth is removed to make room for the growing and harvesting of plants intended to be used in the manufacturing of Biodiesel, then in the end the Earth would suffer in spite of it's well intentioned efforts.
Biodiesel, as a fuel, has many sources or raw materials but none so plentiful that it could challenge the current standardized petroleum based oil industry.
About the Author
Mark Allen is an avid supporter of the continuing search for an alternative fuel. More info at BiodieselPlans.info
Jatropha for Biodiesel
I know all of you are wondering why I am writing about a little known plant called "Jatropha Curcas". Well... it all has to do with making biodiesel and the production of electricity using biodiesel as a fuel. This is to inform you of a source of vegetable oil that is relatively unknown in the United States and North America. The European community has already seen the light as have some Asian, African, Indian, and South American countries. Running engines on vegetable oil is nothing new... did you know that Rudolf Diesel originally designed his engine to run on peanut oil? Maybe the US has not seen the light yet because we are mostly engaged in the growing of food crops and oils like soybean oil, rapeseed oil, sunflower oil, and peanut oil. All these oils are edible and thus fetch high prices. After all, why should US farmers grow a completely inedible plant!? Used cooking oil is great for the "do it yourself" biodiesel enthusiast, but there is not enough supply of used cooking oil to supply a whole nation.
This is where Jatropha comes in...
Jatropha has the following benefits when looked at from the fuel production angle:
* it costs almost nothing to grow * it is drought resistant * it can be grown almost anywhere - even in sandy, saline, or otherwise infertile soil * it is easy to propagate (a cutting simply pushed into the ground will take root) * it is not invasive, or spreading, or damaging like kudzu * it is capable of stabilizing sand dunes, acting as a windbreak, and combating desertification * it naturally repels both animals and insects * it lives for over 50 years producing seeds all the time * it is frost hardy (does not like hard freezes) * it does not exhaust the nutrients in the land * it does not require expensive crop rotation * it does not require fertilizers * it grows quickly and establishes itself easily * it has a high yield (Jatropha can yield about 1,000 barrels of oil per year per square mile - oil content of the seed is 55-60%) * no displacement of food crops is necessary * it is great for developing countries in terms of energy and jobs * the biodiesel byproduct, glycerine, is profitable in itself * the waste plant mass after oil extraction can be used as a fertilizer * the plant itself recycles 100% of the CO2 emissions produced by burning the biodiesel
That's a whole lot of benefit with little or no disadvantages!
The European Union biofuels directive requires a minimum level of biofuels as a proportion of fuels sold in the European Union of 2% by 2005, 5.75% by 2010 and 20% by 2020. Of course, as the President stated recently on TV, we don't have any such energy program yet. And I doubt we will anytime soon. The main green fuels will be ethanol and biodiesel, and demand for biodiesel is expected to be up to 10.5 billion litres just in European countries by 2010.
Folks... this "biodiesel" thing is going to happen whether you like it or not! I know there are a lot of farmers, entrepreneurs, and investors reading this who can cash in on this biodiesl craze. They are already doing it big time in Europe so it's just a matter of time before it happens here. And by "it", I mean using Jatropha to make biodiesel. This industry will grow very quickly - start planting Jatropha TODAY and then start making biodiesel to generate your own electricity!
About the Author
For more information on biodiesel and generating electricity using biodiesel, please visit Bill Anderson's website at http://www.biodieselmake.com
This is where Jatropha comes in...
Jatropha has the following benefits when looked at from the fuel production angle:
* it costs almost nothing to grow * it is drought resistant * it can be grown almost anywhere - even in sandy, saline, or otherwise infertile soil * it is easy to propagate (a cutting simply pushed into the ground will take root) * it is not invasive, or spreading, or damaging like kudzu * it is capable of stabilizing sand dunes, acting as a windbreak, and combating desertification * it naturally repels both animals and insects * it lives for over 50 years producing seeds all the time * it is frost hardy (does not like hard freezes) * it does not exhaust the nutrients in the land * it does not require expensive crop rotation * it does not require fertilizers * it grows quickly and establishes itself easily * it has a high yield (Jatropha can yield about 1,000 barrels of oil per year per square mile - oil content of the seed is 55-60%) * no displacement of food crops is necessary * it is great for developing countries in terms of energy and jobs * the biodiesel byproduct, glycerine, is profitable in itself * the waste plant mass after oil extraction can be used as a fertilizer * the plant itself recycles 100% of the CO2 emissions produced by burning the biodiesel
That's a whole lot of benefit with little or no disadvantages!
The European Union biofuels directive requires a minimum level of biofuels as a proportion of fuels sold in the European Union of 2% by 2005, 5.75% by 2010 and 20% by 2020. Of course, as the President stated recently on TV, we don't have any such energy program yet. And I doubt we will anytime soon. The main green fuels will be ethanol and biodiesel, and demand for biodiesel is expected to be up to 10.5 billion litres just in European countries by 2010.
Folks... this "biodiesel" thing is going to happen whether you like it or not! I know there are a lot of farmers, entrepreneurs, and investors reading this who can cash in on this biodiesl craze. They are already doing it big time in Europe so it's just a matter of time before it happens here. And by "it", I mean using Jatropha to make biodiesel. This industry will grow very quickly - start planting Jatropha TODAY and then start making biodiesel to generate your own electricity!
About the Author
For more information on biodiesel and generating electricity using biodiesel, please visit Bill Anderson's website at http://www.biodieselmake.com
Biodiesel v Ethanol Which is the Best Alternative Fuel
Biodiesel v Ethanol Which is the Best Alternative Fuel by Mike Copinger
Everywhere I read, I read that ethanol is the next fuel to save us from a fossil fuel dependant, over heated, polluted future.
This emphasis seems to be the case particularly in the USA. That's understandable when you consider that the USA is the one great industrial nation that until recently never really embraced diesel engines like Europe. So you can understand their infatuation with ethanol - but that does not make it the right or the only choice.
In September Renault demonstrated its new hydrogen fuel cell powered 207 cabriolet, 28 bhp electric motor, 81 mph and an operating range of 218 miles, producing nothing but water as its sole emission. This month it was BMW with their new hydrogen power 7 series. They already have 3 fuel stations up and running in Germany with more planed. In October another manufacturer announced their hybrid system which converts braking energy not into electricity, but into compressed gas which is then used to help acceleration.
So clearly there are other options - however all of this is rather misses the point. None of these technologies help the power generation industry, nor do they meet the needs of the merchant navy, road hauliers or railway companies, all of whom, at least outside the USA, run on diesel.
Ethanol is a fuel which is complicated to make and thus easy to regulate, it continues to be cost effective only because of the massive government subsidies that it receives, it singularly fails to encourage the use of more fuel efficient diesel engines which simply delays the inevitable.
Which brings us neatly to the next point. The majority of ethanol in the USA is produced from corn - a food crop, a crop which requires good soil if it is to be grown in quantity. Do we face a future where we choose between fuel and food?
As all owners of a betmax video machine can testify, it is not always the best product that wins through. In the 80's Sony's betmax technology finally lost out to VHS, not because VHS was better but because it was better supported. With luminaries such as Bill Gates investing upwards of $84 million in ethanol production and distribution it is almost bound to be a success, if not an exclusive one.
In the US led fossil fuel replacement debate ethanol is clearly gaining ground steadily. However the world at large needs a diesel replacement, and the USA will sooner or later have to grasp the concept of fuel economy.
The only contender in this space is biodiesel, a clean fuel that can been made from crops like Jatropha, grown on the most marginal ground not suitable for food crops, and easily manufactured in plants small enough to fit into most peoples back yards.
What is certain is that whichever way this debate goes there is sure to be a rise in demand for a good, dependable supply of hardy, high yield crops whether for food or fuel production. Undoubtedly good news for Monsanto with their GM seeds.
About the Author
Mike Copinger is an alternative energy enthusiast. Between speaking engagements he runs a number of initiatives including www.ultimate-biodiesel-guide.com and www.biodiesel-secrets-revealed.com
Everywhere I read, I read that ethanol is the next fuel to save us from a fossil fuel dependant, over heated, polluted future.
This emphasis seems to be the case particularly in the USA. That's understandable when you consider that the USA is the one great industrial nation that until recently never really embraced diesel engines like Europe. So you can understand their infatuation with ethanol - but that does not make it the right or the only choice.
In September Renault demonstrated its new hydrogen fuel cell powered 207 cabriolet, 28 bhp electric motor, 81 mph and an operating range of 218 miles, producing nothing but water as its sole emission. This month it was BMW with their new hydrogen power 7 series. They already have 3 fuel stations up and running in Germany with more planed. In October another manufacturer announced their hybrid system which converts braking energy not into electricity, but into compressed gas which is then used to help acceleration.
So clearly there are other options - however all of this is rather misses the point. None of these technologies help the power generation industry, nor do they meet the needs of the merchant navy, road hauliers or railway companies, all of whom, at least outside the USA, run on diesel.
Ethanol is a fuel which is complicated to make and thus easy to regulate, it continues to be cost effective only because of the massive government subsidies that it receives, it singularly fails to encourage the use of more fuel efficient diesel engines which simply delays the inevitable.
Which brings us neatly to the next point. The majority of ethanol in the USA is produced from corn - a food crop, a crop which requires good soil if it is to be grown in quantity. Do we face a future where we choose between fuel and food?
As all owners of a betmax video machine can testify, it is not always the best product that wins through. In the 80's Sony's betmax technology finally lost out to VHS, not because VHS was better but because it was better supported. With luminaries such as Bill Gates investing upwards of $84 million in ethanol production and distribution it is almost bound to be a success, if not an exclusive one.
In the US led fossil fuel replacement debate ethanol is clearly gaining ground steadily. However the world at large needs a diesel replacement, and the USA will sooner or later have to grasp the concept of fuel economy.
The only contender in this space is biodiesel, a clean fuel that can been made from crops like Jatropha, grown on the most marginal ground not suitable for food crops, and easily manufactured in plants small enough to fit into most peoples back yards.
What is certain is that whichever way this debate goes there is sure to be a rise in demand for a good, dependable supply of hardy, high yield crops whether for food or fuel production. Undoubtedly good news for Monsanto with their GM seeds.
About the Author
Mike Copinger is an alternative energy enthusiast. Between speaking engagements he runs a number of initiatives including www.ultimate-biodiesel-guide.com and www.biodiesel-secrets-revealed.com
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