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All rights reserved. No part of this PROJECT may be republished in any form whatsoever, electronic, or mechanical — without expressed written consent from the promoter, the company Etanolsa S.A., Antepara 1005 y Velez, Suite 3, Guayaquil, Ecuador, finangallardohotmail.com. Telephones: (593)42422511 and (593)42433825, Cellular: (593)9499874
Disclaimer And/Or Legal Notices
The information presented herein represents valuable and proprietary information for developing biofuel projects in Ecuador only under the patronage of Etanolsa S.A., Wellington Gallardo, President.
Etanolsa S.A. is an Ecuadorian corporation exclusively engaged in developing agro-industrial projects to convert carbohydrates into ethanol and biodiesel in Ecuador, using sugarcane, cassava roots, agriculture waste of banana crops, and Jatropha Curcas as feedstock.
The production and use of fuels using vegetable oils has been with man since the days of Rudolph Diesel when he first demonstrated biodiesel derived from peanut oil. Today’s world of Global Warming and Climate Change, high fuel prices, at this moment the barrel of oil is over US$150.00 dollars, and uncertain political realities has created a new and intensified interest in Biofuels.
Etanolsa S.A. has been actively working in gathering fertile lands to develop the cultivation of jatropha curcas under the best geographically conditions, mainly in the Peninsula of Santa Elena, and also in the near future operating and maintaining jatropha nurseries and jatropha plantations throughout the Peninsula of Santa Elena. Upon maturity of the Jatropha seedlings and a successful harvest of the oil bearing seeds, we will process and refine the oil to produce biodiesel that can be used pure or mixed to create a biodiesel blend.
The Jatropha oil and Jatropha biodiesel can be used in a number of applications ranging from automotive fuel to electric generation using a diesel generator. Auto manufacturers like Mercedes and Daimler-Chrysler are already trial running cars on Jatropha biodiesel with great results.
Aside from our large scale activities Etanolsa S.A. is actively involved in a number of local community based micro generation projects in the intercrop plantation. By enabling small local communities to get involved in various stages of the biodiesel process we are assisting them in growing towards economical independence and bringing the freedom and safety of a reliable power supply to areas that previously had none.
We are ready to ensure sustained use of water supplies, land and natural resources, the development of biofuels must be planned, managed and maintained. Ecosystems and Rainforests through out the world, that are being destroyed for the sake of biofuels, must be stopped. Other major considerations are land competition for food vs. biofuel production, considerations on habitat destruction and animal species, availability of water, pollution of lands with fertilizers which can lead to soil erosion, safety of people who harvest phytoproducts for biofuel production and issues of developing large massive plants instead of small localized plants near the crops that will be used to manufacture biofuels.
Our Executive Summary
Bio-fuels, particularly bio-diesels are emerging to become cleaner options for meeting the ever increasing energy demand. Countries with tropical and subtropical climates like our case – The Coastal Region of Ecuador - can benefit from renewable energy resources such as Jatropha cultivation which has been identified clearly as an area for the initiation of major projects. Besides productively utilizing the lands, this agro based initiative is likely to be adaptable for the communities, because could ensure a good regular sustenance income.
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Jatropha being a perennial crop it can be used for carbon capture and to alleviate soil degradation, desertification and deforestation. As any other crop, Jatropha plants absorb. nutrients from the soil. The oil from Jatropha seeds it can be used for production of soap, bio-pesticides and bio-diesel. Jatropha plants grow on medium and low fertility soils, and in low and high rainfall areas. Jatropha seeds have high oil content (35% to 50%). The plant can produce seeds between the 1st and 2nd years under very favorable conditions as it would take remarkably in our project. Seed production become stable after 4 to 5 years on soil fertility and rainfall as are the geographical/weather conditions of the Peninsula of Santa Elena. The plants will produce seeds during 40 years approximately. The oil from seeds can be transformed into bio-diesel through esterification. The by-products from bio-diesel are glycerine and press cake from oil extraction which can be used as biomass for combustion or as organic fertilizer.
The Jatropha System creates a positive reciprocity between raw material / energy production and environment / food production; i.e. the more energy Jatropha hedges produce, the more food crops are protected from animals and erosion. Also additional income is created, mainly for women to do the harvesting of the seeds. Jatropha plant is not a Biodiesel miracle tree. It can be grown on poor soils, but marginal yields would be obtained in poor soils. All crops need fertile soils with adequate moisture to be productive. Biodiesel enterprises need constant supply of oil to amortize machinery, operation costs and make profit. Therefore, the equipment for Biodiesel elaboration should be versatile to process not only oil from Jatropha seeds which are harvested once or twice per year, according to our project.
ABSTRACT : Jatropha curcas is a multipurpose, drought-resistant, biofuel tree originating from Central and South America, but now growing pantropic. The tree produces seeds containing 40-50% inedible oil, depending of the kind of technology to be applied, which is easily convertible into biodiesel. Our qualitative sustainability assessment, focusing on environmental impacts and strengthened by some socio-economic issues considered in this project, is highly favorable into Jatropha curcas cultivation. Preliminary lifecycle energy and greenhouse gas (GHG) balances are positive, but the GHG balance is expected to be much dependent on the type of land use which is converted to J. curcas. The cultivation intensity and the distance to markets are expected and considered -in our project- to have a significant impact on the GHG balance as well. Similar reasoning applies for the impact on soil, water, vegetation structure and biodiversity, although the latter will always depend on local circumstances. Next to biodiesel production, J. Curcas also hosts socio-economic development potential to be develop in the Coastal Region of Ecuador. The multipurpose character of the plant and the labor-intensive production chain are thought to be the main drivers for rural development. In order to achieve best results with respect to both environmental and socio-economic issues, decisions will be based on local environmental, economical, cultural and social characteristics.
Biodiesel could be an important renewable and the best alternative to substitute for fossil fuels. And, in certain parts of the world, same as in Ecuador, governments and some corporations consider the jatropha plant, common in hot climates, one of the most promising sources of biodiesel. The biodiesel plants are going to be located in the lands of the rural communities of the Peninsula of Santa Elena , and their yield more than four times as much fuel per hectare as soybean, and more than ten times that of corn. But the commercial-scale cultivation of jatropha, which has not previously been grown in Ecuador as an energy crop, raises several significant challenges.
This year, Etanolsa S.A. is promoting to cultivate 50,000 hectares of lands in the Peninsula of Santa Elena, representing an investment of US$20,000.oo per hectare, including the Biorefinery, the whole cultivation process and system to produce over 5,000,000 metric tons of jatropha seeds to generate 400 millions gallons of oil to mix wit ethanol and produce biodiesel that means all related issues involved in taking jatropha from seed to fuel filling station domestically and internationally.
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The Etanolsa S.A.’s project is working among the rural Communities of Santa Elena, collaborating with international financial institutions to develop loan guarantees to fund and developing the complete biofuel project, including seed purchases; it’s also collaborating with insurers to back the farmers against potential losses. In addition, we are also promoting to educate the farmers on how to cultivate the plant and provide new jobs for thousands of people.
So far, the project has gathered more than 50,000 hectares of land. The goal is to have 15,000 hectares under cultivation of jatropha curcas and sugarcane by May 2009 for the first plant, and there are a lot of enthusiasm among the farmers, private owners, and communities. By the end the end of 2010, we are planning to have a production facilities producing biodiesel from jatropha. Eventually, it aims to produce 80 million gallons of biodiesel annually per each plant or biorefinery.
The first refinery should be producing biodiesel in the Rural Communities of Santa Elena Province, by the end of 2010.
*This project can gainfully use more than 50,000 hectares for energy crops across the entire Peninsula of Santa Elena and help alleviate rural poverty by generating thousands of rural jobs and offering farmers an additional source of income. The 80,000 hectares we are planning to plant in Ecuador this year could generate up to 15,000 jobs among the rural communities.
Etanolsa S.A. is introducing a US$200 million investment/program to encourage biofuels development and production, and is also in the process of mandating the blending of biodiesel with vegetable diesel. A 5% blend is expected to be introduced shortly, rising to 20% by 2010.
We are considering to promote the cultivation of jatropha and the oil extracted from its seeds is often used for soap, paint, cosmetics, and fuel for traditional oil lamps. Jatropha is also planted as fencing to prevent animals from grazing crops.
Cultivation of Jatropha curcas L (Family: Euphorbiaceae)In the recent past, bio-diesel derived from plant species has been a major renewable source of energy. Among various plants Jatropha curcas and Pongamia pinnata have been chosen as most potential species for varying situations. Between these two species Jatropha curcas is considered most potential not only to the growers but also to the processors and end users. To the rural society, the crop can create regular employment opportunities, as it provides never ending marketing potential.
Due to potential demand and better marketing opportunities, cultivation of Jatropha appears very viable. Jatropha may not replace other important food crops since it is meant for flood free wastelands and unutilized fallow lands / less productive lands and in turn will not have a major impact on cropping pattern.
Among the many species, which yield oil as a source of energy in the form of biodiesel, Jatropha curcas. has been identified as most suitable oil seed bearing plant due to its various favorable attributes like hardy nature, short gestation period, adaptability in a wide range agro-climatic conditions, high oil recovery and quality of oil etc. It can be planted on degraded lands through Joint Forest Management (JFM), farmer’s field boundaries, road sides, both sides railway track, fallow lands and as agro forestry crop. It grows up to a height of 5 m. and can be maintained to a desired height and shape by trimming and pruning. By Etanolsa S.A.’s Planning Commission, We has identified two species for mass production of seeds for biodiesel viz., Jatropha and Pongamia. Jatropha is suitable for upland while Pongamia found adaptive for both uplands as well as wetland conditions.
Among these two species the following differences made Jatropha superior if otherwise the conditions are not unsuitable for it.
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Some other advantages of Jatropha:
1. Environmental friendly biodiesel to combat the petroleum shortage
2 . Can cure the Environment Damages done due to petroleum.
3. jatropha cakes( residues ) can be used to produce grease, candel, fertilizer, medicines.4 . needs only one ton of organic fertilizers per hectare per year, Refining crude jatropha oil into biodiesel produces glycerine.
5. which is in high demand as a raw material for a very wide range of cosmetic, medical and food products. Glycerine byproducts from biodiesel production offer a valuable additional income stream to refiners. once fully grown, it needs no additional maintenance. one crop can yield seeds for up to 50 years.
6. We are promoting the small farmers to come back to their fields and produce jatropha and depend again on agriculture under secure working and financial conditions, backed by an international agriculture trust where the farmers will place the land and the financiers will also place the funds to develop all their lands to produce biodiesel to exports.
7. Rural poverty and unemployment are widespread; the need for sustainable agricultural development remains great.
8. In Ecuador conditions can produce 12 tons of seeds per hectare, and gallons of biodisel can to extracted from it.
TRANSPORTATION IN OUR PROJECT
We consider very highly a key factor to develop our project of the biofuels industry with an increasing role in our nation’s energy supply as a cost-efficient, reliable and flexible collection and distribution network for our ethanol and biofuels. At Etanolsa S.A., our distribution strategy is designed to enable us to better meet the needs of our customers and optimize returns from market demand for domestic and international markets.
Our distribution strategy begins with site selection where the plants, storage systems, and terminal of biofuels. Just as important as locating our facilities near abundant JC seeds supply, is choosing sites with direct access to transportation. Our biorefineries will be located in the Peninsula of Santa Elena and each biorefinery will have access to multiple highways, allowing us to reach the most favorable markets throughout the country and through the seaport terminal for international distribution managed by a contracted well-qualified international marketer that accounts with all strategic infrastructure to deliver on a timely basis the biofuels.
Our distribution strategy is also focused on the most efficient movement of our product to those markets. Due to our production scale, we are able to utilize unit - tractor trucks systems – inside essentially in a perimeter of 50 miles from the storage systems to the terminal forming a “virtual pipeline” of 50 to 100 tractor trucks fleet delivering the biofuels nonstop from origination to destination.
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Jatropha trees
Jatropha seeds
THE PLANT- PROFILE
Jatropha curcas is the plant to be used to produce oil, it 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 50%. 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 Ecuador 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 from the first to five years when we will have a permanent and full yield per each plant . The annual nut yield ranges from 0.5 to 12 tons. The kernels consist of oil to about 50 percent; this can be transformed into biodiesel fuel through esterification.
Jatropha Biodiesel
Biodiesel is an alternative to petroleum-based diesel fuel made from renewable resources such as vegetable oils or animal fats. It is one of the best alternative cultivation to replace fossil fuels as the world’s primary transport energy source, because it is a renewable fuel that can replace
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petrodiesel in current internal combustion engines and can be transported and sold using the same today’s infrastructure which represent a huge investment of millions of dollars.
The Jatropha curcas oil plant is a physic nut with multipurpose and drought resistant large shrub or small tree. It is a native of tropical America, and this has been thriving around with more that 150 species it thrives in sub-tropical regions of the world and can be grown in areas of low rainfall and problematical sites. Jatropha is easy to establish, grows relatively quickly and is hardy. Being drought tolerant, it can be used to reclaim eroded areas, be grown as a boundary fence or live hedge in the arid/semi-arid areas. But on fertile lands the yields of seeds has a significant increase as is the case for the Biodiesel Projects of Santa Elena.
The wood and fruit of Jatropha can be used for numerous purposes but for our project to produce biodiesel as a fuel. The seeds of Jatropha contains (50% by weight) viscous oil, which can be used for manufacture of candles and soap, in the cosmetics industry, for cooking and lighting by itself, but I n our project will be used to extract oil to be converted into biodiesel.
Ecuador has tremendous potential as a producer of jatropha biodiesel, we are going to work together with close relations with our Central Government to be included in Ecuador’s national biofuels program emphasizing jatropha production. Our project is to employ and implement more than 50,000 hectares of non used and marginalized lands, representing an important percent of the total national area, lay barren or under-utilized. Such lands have been for many years without financial supports to develop these lands although they account with one of the biggest investment in the constructions of Daule-Peripa system of damps, including 4 (four) supplementary damps located and affecting more than 200,000 hectares in the Peninsula of Santa Elena. This investment has provided a substantial added value cost to these lands, and increased the potential agricultural value at this present historical moment. We are considering to cover more than 50,000 hectares of this area and bringing fresh private and international resources of US$200 Million dollars per plant, including the developing energy crops of 10.000 hectares per plant that would be suitable for growing jatropha.
Distribution and habitat
It is still uncertain where the center of origin is, but it is believed to be Mexico and Central America. It has been introduced to Africa and Asia and is now cultivated world-wide. This highly drought-resistant species is adapted to arid and semi-arid conditions. In the Santa Elena project this current distribution shows that introduction has been most successful in the drier regions of Ecuador, including the Peninsula of Santa Elena, being a typical tropical zone with annual rainfall of 300-1000 mm. It occurs mainly at lower altitudes (0-500 m) in areas with average annual temperatures well above 20°C but can grow at higher altitudes and tolerates slight frost ( Santa
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Elena’s lowest temperature is only 12 Celsius degrees). JC will be cultivated in a large-scale system where It will grow on well-drained soils with good aeration and is well adapted to marginal soils with low nutrient content.
Flower and seed setting
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.
Flowers unisexual, monoeceious, greenish yellow in terminal long, peduncled paniculate cymes. The central flowers in the cyme or in its forks usually female. Male flowers- Calyx segments 5, nearly equal, elliptic or obvate; Corolla Campanulate, labes 5, connate, hairy inside, exceeding the calyx, each lobe bear inside a gland at the base, stamens 10 in two series, outer five filaments free, inner five filaments connate, anthers dithecous erect, opening by longitudinal slit. Female flowers- Calyx as in male, corolla scarcely exceeding the calyx lobes united, villous inside, carpets connate into a 3-celled ovary, styles 3 connate at base, stigma bifid, ovules solitary in each cell. Pollinationis by insect.
After pollination fruit is usually a three chambered and schizocarpic capsule splitting into three one-seeded cocci. The exocarp remains fleshy until the seeds mature. It may produce more than one crop during a year, or produce continuous flowering and fruiting under irrigated conditions if soil moisture and temperatures are good. Each inflorescence yields a bunch of ovoid fruits. The seeds albumeneous, tesla crustaceous. It is a diploid species with 2n=22 chromosomes.
Seeds resemble castor in seed shape, ovoid oblong and black in color. The seeds become mature when the capsule changes from green to yellow, after two months of fruit setting. The nut is a violent purgative. Each fruit bears three seeds. The seeds contain 40-50 % oil. The oil can be used in soap manufacture, but in our project will used it exclusively in conversion into biofuels blended with ethanol. The seeds become mature when the capsule changes from green to ellow, after two to four months in our project.
Flowering and fruiting habit
The Jatropha 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 humid regions as is our case, 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.
Leaves
It has large green to pale-green leaves, alternate to sub-opposite, three-to five-lobed with a spiral phyllotaxis.
Fruits
In our project JC fruits will be produced when the shrub is leafless, and it will produce several crops during the year because the soil moisture will be good and temperatures are sufficiently high in the Peninsula of Santa Elena. 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.
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Soil and climate:
It is a tropical species and grows well in subtropical conditions. It can tolerate extremes of temperature but not the frost and water stagnation.. It grows almost everywhere- even on gravely, sandy, acidic and alkaline soils having pH ranging from 5.5 to 8.5. It can thrive in poorest stony soils. It grows even in the cracks and crevices of rocks on all types of soil except one subjected to water inundation. If the rising water table engulf the major root system and continues for a considerable period plant will die. The plant is undemanding in soil type and even does not require tillage.
Climate
Although JC can withstand severe heat. And Likes heating and doing well in warmer areas such are the lands of the Peninsula of Santa Elena and when chilly weather will drop its leaves and It can withstand light frost but not for prolonged periods which never happens in the Coastal Region of Ecuador with lowest temperature in 10 Celsius degrees during the dry season. The older the tree the better it will withstand.
Quality of the soil
It established that best for JC cultivation is in sandy well-drained soils, but it can withstand very poor soils and grow in saline conditions All the actors in the Jatropha sector suggest, anyway, using organic fertilizer in order to obtain higher yield. But all soils to be used in Peninsula of Santa Elena will be well-drained and with permanent water irrigation either using our own deep water wells to be constructed along the Peninsula of Santa Elena or from the water secondary distribution channels constructed along the Daule-Peripa Damp System at a low water cost per cubic meter for our historical project that will change the social-economic infrastructure in the agriculture of Ecuador.
Soil type: The Peninsula of Santa Elena’s lands will be well-drained soils with good aeration, but the Jatropha 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 even very poor and dry sites. We expect one of the highest yield crops in our areas of virgin fertile lands covering more than 50,000 hectares in the Peninsula of Santa Elena. We are sure that our Jatropha Cultivation in the Peninsula of Santa Elena will enable the quality improvement of the soil and acting as a binding agent to be substantiated in different Jatropha growing regions in the Coastal region of Ecuador. We are also considering in mega derivative biofuel project at large scale clearances the impact on soil quality to be long term mainly.
Irrigation
Even Jatropha can handles dryness very well and it is possible to live almost entirely of humidity in the air, the Peninsula of Santa Elena has rainfall as low as 300 mm a year. Differences are expressed in what is optimum rainfall as some readings say 600 mm and some say 800 mm while some areas in the Peninsula of Santa Elena report good crops with rainfall of 1000 mm. Under irrigation 1 500 mm will be given by using the distribution water channels from the Daule-Peripa Water Dumps System. Although, 500 - 600 mm of rainfall is the limit. Below it the production depends on the local water condition in the ground. It will also stand for long periods without water - up to 2 years – and then grow again when rains occur again.
If Rainfall is 500-600 mm and Temperature is Avg. 32-35 c, Highest 44 c, Lowest 12 c. with sandy soil. The yield results will be achieve according if we are going to be getting If it is with Irrigation or If it is without Irrigation. 500 - 600 mm of rainfall is the limit. Below 600 mm there is more or less no more production, but this depends on the local water condition in the ground. The Santa Elena lands are cover by a good vegetable lay of nutrients, so the JC is not limited by
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this reason. Additional, we will have proper irrigation, that will not limit of the yield to fertilize the soil. So, we may get the full production of about 5-kg per plant, which will be between 10 and 12.5 tons of seed per hectare. As alternative it is Interesting the irrigation with wastewater, because of the nutrients. Even in the Egyptian desert they have a plantation with waste water irrigation
Water usage : the critical component
Jatropha can grow well in low rainfall regions as the lands in the Peninsula of Santa Elena and will be reverted with optimum yields on Jatropha with a higher level of water usage from the Water Damps System named Daule-Peripa. We are going to develop intercrop system to higher yields that will drive the use of large scale irrigation which will enable multiple harvests such watermelon, melons, citrus, papaya, passion fruits, among the fruits and vegetable such as tomatoes, peppers, anions, garlic, etc.. We are contemplating, evaluating and taking good care on near and long term impacts of depletion of ground water resources from the water damps system of the Peninsula of Santa Elena; all of them being planned in ecologically fragile zones. Thus rising level of shortage of water and projections for further reduction will prove to be a major limiting factor in Jatropha production.
Our future farming programs will have also to produce a Guide to Farmers Development, packed with information and resources to help the farmers take charge of their food crops in the future. Farmers development can serve many goals: economic development, electrification, self-sufficiency, clean air, etc., and also manage and coordinate the international development and operations for Production Mini-plants in mobile containers from SCINET CORPORATION, the list is as long as you wish to make it. In order to respond to the 120,000 requests of Miniplants per year from 240 countries, SCiNet Corporation implemented a worldwide network of small Assembly plants to be installed in the location, country or region of the world where needed to manufacture Production Mini-Plants in series housed in portable containers. To cover all needs of farmers to industrialize their agricultural products in our inter-cropping cultivation system there about 700 kinds of different plants assembling by SCINET Corporation. Outlining a process of strategic inter-cropping cultivation system for our farmers interested in improving their energy security, sovereignty and local economy; and providing a gateway to renewable energy, and energy efficiency information for farmers decision makers and staff it is one of our goals in the SEA-Santa Elena Agreement.
Canopy management (Pruning and trimming)
To give a bushy shape the plant should be trimmed during the dry season up to 5 years including one pruning when the plants attains 1.5 m height or utmost 2 meters. The terminal-growing twig is to be pinched to induce secondary branches. Likewise the secondary and tertiary branches are to be pinched or pruned at the end of first year to induce a minimum of 25 branches at the end of second year. Once in ten years, the plant may be cut leaving one foot height from ground level for rejuvenation. The growth is quick and the plant will start yielding in about a year period. This will be useful to induce new growth and yield stabilization there on.
Dormancy and pretreatment
Freshly harvested seeds show dormancy and after-ripening is necessary before the seeds can germinate. Dry seed will normally germinate readily without pre-treatment. Thus, we will remove the seed coat before sowing. Although it speeds up germination there is a risk of getting abnormal seed-lings.
Biophysical limits
The Peninsula of Santa Elena has an altitude: 0-700 m, Mean annual temperature: 20-28 deg. C, Mean annual rainfall: 300-1000 mm or more. These areas are affected by the best irrigation
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water damps system in Ecuador with an investment made by Central Government totaling up to today US$2.3 Billions dollars to provide water for cultivations during the whole year.
Use of fertilizer
Although Jatropha is adapted to low fertility sites and alkaline soils, in our project in order to obtain the best yields by employing fertilizers containing small amounts of calcium, magnesium, and Sulfur will be used. We have obtained vast experienced among grain associations in other developing countries like Ecuador have been observed with Jatropha and are known to aid the plant’s growth under conditions where phosphate is limiting. Though, for best result in yield It is recommended that 1 kg of farmyard manure/ plus 100 g of Neem waste for every seedling, with a recommendation of 2,500 plants per hectare. This comes up to 2.5 tons organic fertilizer per hectare. Besides it after transplantation and the establishment of the plant fertilizer such as N, P and K should be applied. Twenty gram urea + 120 g SSP and 16 g MoP should be applied annually.
The possibility to return the press-cake (or part of it) to Jatropha fields is going to be carefully considered and apply for our all soil lands.
Pruning
Pruning – 1st prune
The plants need to produce side shoots for maximum sprouting and maximum flowers and seed. Between 90 and 120 Days top of all plants at 25 Cm. Cut the top off cleanly and cut top to produce 8 – 12 side branches. It is considered good practice. In order to facilitate the harvesting, it is suggested to keep the tree less than 2 meters.
Inter-cropping
Specific intolerance with other crops was not detected. On the contrary the shade can be exploited by shade-loving herbal plants; vegetables such red and green peppers, tomatoes, etc.
When two or more crops are grown simultaneously in the same field, this is called intercropping. According to the topography, soil profile and prevailing agroclimatic conditions in an area, Jatropha can be combined with other suitable species comprising the agricultural, horticultural, herbs, pastoral and/or silvicultural components to result in an ecologically viable, economically profitable and socially acceptable agroforestry system. By evolving, promoting and adopting Jatropha based intercropping systems it is possible to improve the socioeconomic conditions in rural areas and to transform the National energy scenario and the ecological landscape.
Picking
We have developed the harvest methodology between wet and dry seed crush costing applicable has been compared.
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Germplasm management
Seeds are oily and will not be store for long. Because seeds older than 15 months show viability below 50%. High levels of viability and low levels of germination shortly after harvest indicate innate (primary) dormancy. Oil extraction from seeds will be carried out with a very short time storage and they will be immediately press for obtaining the best oil yields.
Processing and handling
After collection the fruits are transported in open bags to the processing site. Here they are dried until all the fruits have opened. We are not going to expose the seeds to direct sun because it has a negative effect on seed viability and that seeds should be dried in the shade. When the seeds are dry they are separated from the fruits and cleaned.
Storage and viability
The seeds are orthodox and should be dried to low moisture content (5-7%) and stored in air-tight containers. At room temperature the seeds can retain high viability for at least one year. However, because of the high oil content the seeds cannot be expected to store for as long as most orthodox species. In our case seeds will be processed almost immediately getting at the right point of dryness to obtain the best oil yields.
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.
According to our large-scale cultivation regarding climate, Jatropha curcas will be found in our tropics and subtropics zones, because it likes heat, and it will be perfectly adapted in our selected lands of the Peninsula of Santa Elena in Ecuador, it an ideal place to growth them. But, although it does well even in lower temperatures and can withstand a light frost which never happens in the Coastal Region of Ecuador. 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 that is happening in some zones of the Peninsula of Santa Elena.
Aftercare
Two to three weeding are necessary; it does not require supplementary irrigation if planted in onset of rain. Jatropha is deciduous in nature and the fallen leaves during winter months form mulch around the base of the plant. The organic matter from fallen leaves enhances earthworm activity in the soil around the root zone of the plants, which improves the fertility of the soil.
Light harrowing is beneficial during early growth stage. Pinching the terminal is essential at six months age to induce laterals. Application of GA @ 100-PPM spray induces early flowering and capsule development.
Manuring
At the time of planting compost @ 2 kg /pit should be applied. Afterwards depending on soil type manuring @ 3-5 kg/plant along with and NPK should be applied near the crown following ring method before monsoon.
In general application of super phosphate @ 150kg/ha and alternate with one dose of 20 :
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120 : 60 kg NPK/year from second year improves yield. From 4rth year onwards 150 kg super phosphate should be added to the above dose.
Diseases
Collar rot may be the problem in the beginning that can be controlled with 0.2% COC or by application of 1 % Bordeaux Mixture drenching.
Planting in field
The land should be ploughed once or twice depending upon the nature of soil. In direct planting system the seed/cuttings should be planted in the main field with onset of monsoon as a spacing of 3m x 2m. In hilly areas where ploughing is not possible, after clearing jungles, pits of size 30 cm x 30 cm x 30 cm is dug at required spacing, refilled with top soil and organic manures (500 g FYM + 100 g Neem cake or Jatropha oil cake + 100 g super phosphate) and then planted.
Smaller spacing would be preferred if growing the plant as a hedgerow, for a fence, or for soil conserving purposes. Actual spacing will be determined based on end-use, soil quality / condition, humidity, rainfall, intercropping, etc. On the side slope of embankment 2m x 2m is advisable.
Weeding
Standard cultural practices are timely weeding (4 times a year), proper fertilization, surface ploughing and pruning. With these management practices a yield around 15-20 kg of fruit per tree can be obtained even if the plants did not reach full maturity.
Propagation:
Jatropha is usually propagated on mass scale both by seed as well as stem cuttings. For commercial cultivation normally it is propagated by seeds. Well-developed plump seeds are selected for sowing. Before sowing, seeds are soaked in cow-dung solution for 12 hours and kept under the wet gunny bags for 12 hours. Our lands pf the Peninsula of Santa Elena enjoy hot and humid weather during most part of the year which is preferred for good germination of seed. Germinated seeds are sown in poly bags of 15 x 25 cm size filled with soil, sand and farm yard manure in the ratio of 1:1:1 respectively.
Seeds or cuttings can be directly planted in main field. But pre-rooted cuttings in poly bags and then transplanted in the main field give better results.
Harvesting
The flowering is induced in rainy season and bears fruits and matures in winter. Pods are collected when they are turned yellowish and after drying seeds are separated mechanically or manually. Flowering is less and delayed when grown in shady conditions. In sunny condition flowering is more and early (July – September). Seedlings produce flowers 9 months after sowing. However, plants established through cuttings produce flowers from 6 months onwards. But economic yield starts from 3rd year-end. The dried pods are collected and seeds are separated either manually or mechanically. Seeds are dried for 4-5 days to reduce moisture level 10% before packing.
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Botanical description of Jatropha curcas
Jatropha derived from the Greek word ‘Jatros’means ’Doctor’ and ‘trophe’ means ‘Nutrition’. Botanically this is known as Jatropha curcas L. and belongs to the family Euphorbiaceae. It is a multipurpose shrub and is found throughout the tropics and is known by nearly 200 different names, indicating its occurrence in various countries.
Jatropha is a deciduous large shrub or small tree 3-5 m in height with smooth gray bark, which exudes watery and sticky latex, when cut. The cut branches sprout readily and grow rapidly which makes it suitable for fencing.
The genus is cosmopolitan in distribution except in the arctic region; they are distributed in the tropical and sub-tropical Himalayas, the mountains of Western and Eastern Ghats and plains of South India.
The leaves simple, angular, deeply palmatelly 3-5 lobed with long petiole. Ciliate glands usually represent the stipules. The venation is palmate. The leaves are green to pale green broad and glabrous. Phyllotaxy is spiral.
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 favorable conditions but for harvest high yield effective proportion during the whole year we will be able to control the height no more than 3 meters high.
We will plant jatropha through:
1. Directly planting through seed. 2. Planting through Cutting. 3. Planting through Sapling.
The best result is saplings from seeds (raised in a nursery in polybags, about 3 - 4 months) to be imported from Central America. These should be planted just before the rainy season. Plants from cuttings are not so resistant to drought, because they don‘t develop a taproot, which reaches far into the depth of the soil. If we put the seeds directly into the soil, they might be attacked by cattle (they step on them, they eat them, because the repellant is not yet developed.
Plants should be in one plant to other in respect of better yield as follows:
Distance between the plants of a row should be 2,5 meters, we first develop the cutting in poly-bag like saplings and after certain time translate it, is its result are as good as plants pre-cultivated from seeds, more or less. The plants from these saplings (cuttings) will develop faster and get seeds right away, but the plant itself will not develop a taproot. Under normal circumstances, this is not important, but in a situation of extended drought, plants with taproot (elevated from seeds) are more resistant.
Normally, the JC seeds are stored for 6 months in normal conditions.
The Jatropha seeds are oily and do not store for long. Up dated research on viability of Jatropha seeds shows a decrease due to term of storage. Seeds older than 15 months show viability below 50 % (Kobilke 1989). Thus, Six months storage will not effect the oil content. In our case the large-scale cultivation system the seeds are going to be process after they reach the right dryness point to extract all oil content in each seed for best result for the conversion into oil.
The JC germination needs between 5 and 7 days, depending on the ambient temperature. And
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There are no chemicals, which might accelerate this process. It is not necessary. In our project we are going to pre-planting the JC in tree nurseries though can accelerate the development of trees substantially.
Land use patterns: a neglected domain and resource management and usage pattern is, perhaps, the most critical parameter in Jatropha production in developing economies, including Ecuador. Though Jatropha is reported to grow on marginal lands it is noted that it does need good quality land to give the level of yields which can make the project viable in the long term. Experiences in India, South East Asia and Africa have been varied leading to much debate on its viability. In our project we have take good care by gathering the most appropriate lands to use the Jatropha Cultivation System with virgin lands have not been used, except with short cycle circles cultivation, in not significant extent for near 100 years.
Although during the last 20 years the Central Government of Ecuador has invested during the last 20 years with more than US$2.3 Billions Dollars in Developing the Low Cuenca of Guayas with the biggest water damp system in Ecuador, but the numerous rural communities located along the Peninsula of Santa Elena have not received the necessary financial resources to cultivate proper farm products and still today all of them are facing the poverty with a lot of difficulties to live well. Our project is the best alternative through developing the Biofuel Project whose main factors are: a) Covering more than 50,000 hectares of fertile lands, b) using the best international technology to produce ethanol and biodiesel, c) Contracting the best marketers of biofuel, d) obtaining fresh private funds to develop the full and complete biofuel project in Ecuador.
Increasing pressure from commerce to optimize yield per hectare have also tended to force food production off the best land to make way for Jatropha. Our lands for jatropha cultivation has been evaluated against food or other productive uses of land in the Peninsula of Santa Elena.
GHG balance
We are also ware in terms of best GHG balance the choice of the crop and the technology pathways play a key role as the one for Jatropha cultivation JC. Additional, net balance of carbon dioxide savings depends on the amount of energy used for cultivating, harvesting, transporting and converting Jatropha into the plants. It is also noted that production of Jatropha pressed into Straight Vegetable Oil allows for maximum carbon dioxide savings as compared to conversion into biodiesel which involves some chemical inputs. In our project It is essential to carry out a detailed LCA of all the pathways at planning stage itself to ensure sustainability.
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Biodiversity loss
It is a reality that decrease in biodiversity is a natural fall out of biofuel crop production as is exemplified by experiences with Palm oil and Soy, where large forested areas have been cleared for energy crops. Besides, large energy crop farms resort to monoculture cropping thus replacing valuable biodiversity. Resolutions to these issues are being sought through crop mixing, rotation schemes, and scaling down the magnitude of cultivation. Inter-cropping is the best choice to specific intolerance with other crops was not detected. On the contrary the shade can be exploited by shade-loving herbal plants; vegetables such red and green peppers, tomatoes, etc.
Some shade loving crops like Rouvolfia serpentina, Asparagus racemosus, Kaempferia galanga, Homalomena aromatica, Tulsi and Smilax china etc and also short duration pulses like blackgram and vegetables like tomato, bitter gourd, pumpkin, ash gourd, cucumber can be profitably grown under Jatropha for the first two years. Patchouli –a shade loving aromatic herb could be a suitable intercrop for Jatropha plantation that gives first harvest of leaves after 4 months of planting. Vanilla can also be cultivated under it successfully.
Jatropha Cultivation RequirementsAltitude 0-1000Meters. Precipitation 300 to 1800 mm., 300 a 1000 mm. Annual AverageTemperature 20°C a 28°CSoil Type Sandy, Well Drained, Ventilated, PH 5 – 7, Deep Minimum 0.50mSoil Fertility Medium-Low
Irrigation 500 mm. 1200 mm.
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Press Cake can be prepared for fertilizing soils or to be sold as fertilizer or bio-fuel (combustion).
Jatropha Seed Content Estimate
Product Mass 60% Shell 40% MealCrude protein 25.6 4.5 61.2 Lipids (crude oil) 56.8 1.4 1.2Ash 3.6 6.1 10.4Neutral detergent fiber 3.6 85.8 8.1Acid detergent fiber 3.0 75.6 6.8Lignin acid detergent 0.1 47.5 0.3Gross energy (MJ/Kg.)
30.5 19.5 18.0
PROPERTIES OF BIO-DIESELIgnition Point 130 °CSulphur (% of weight) 0.00 to 0.0024Calorific Value High (btu/lb.) 16,978 TO 17,996Calorific Value Low (btu/lb.) 15,700 TO 16,735Specific Weight 0.870 TO 0.890Viscosity 40°C
Bio-Diesel properties are similar to Conventional Diesel
Formula for Experimental Elaboration of Biodiesel
Jatropha Oil Alcohol Ethanol 95% Pure Sodium Hydroxide (caustic soda)One Liter 200 millimeters Five Grams
Procedures:• Mix the sodium hydroxide with the alcohol (ethanol) to dissolve the sodium hydroxide.• Add the solution alcohol-sodium to the oil heated at 60°C and mix gently.• Leave the solution at rest until the biodiesel is in the upper part and glycerine at the bottom.• Take out the bio-diesel and glycerine.• Wash the bio-diesel gently with water (aspersion) 2 or 3 times to eliminate the soapy part.
First Step – Initial Operations
Obtain soil samples, 2 to 5 months before planting, to determine soil suitability, chemistry and fertilization requirements, particularly for lime/dolomite and superphosphate.
Check on water availability for irrigation, considering 1 liter per second of water per hectare. And check for Check on electric energy availability for water pumping.
Elaborate Plans of the Plantation including: a) Greenhouse.b) Irrigation Systems.c) Plantation.d) Houses (manager & vigil-keeper).e) Soil, Manure, and Sand Storage.
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f) Machinery & Equipment Storage.g) Office.h) Seeds & Chemicals Storage.i) Water Deposits.j) Water Harvesting.k) Wind & Solar Energy.l) Fences.
Construction of the Aforementioned.
Purchase Machinery and Contract Personnel under the legal status of the SEA-Santa Elena Agreement.
Second Step – Greenhouse
Fertile Soil 1/3; Sand 1/3; Manure 1/3Seed High Quality 83 to 85% DMPoly-Bags 15 x 25 cmSeeds/Bag: 3 (replace unviable & death plants).Seed Dept: 2-3 cmCareful consideration to soil & seed management at sowing time.Irrigation: 4 Times/Week (dry season)Irrigation: 2 Times/Week (rainy season)Germination: 6-10 DaysFertilization 17:17:17 (6 gr./week)
Third Step – Field’s Preparation
Clean the Area (bushes, weeds, rocks, etc.)Sub-Soil/Chisel Ploughing at 50 cm. minimum.Disk Leveller/Disk or Spike Harrow at 25 cm. minimum.
Step Fourth - Plantation of Seedlings in the FieldsSowing at the Beginning of the 1st Rainy Season.Seedlings Age: 30-45 days.Digging Pits for Planting: 40x40x40 cm.If Bare Root Planting, Keeps Roots Humid.Seedlings Per Hectare: 34 x 34 (1,156 seedlings).Press the earth after planting to take air out.Seedling 5 cm. below ground level.Apply 0.25 kg. of Manure Per Seedling.Apply 20 gr. Per Plant of Fertilizer 20:120:60Make the Drainage System.Install the Irrigation System.Irrigation Immediately After Planting.Humidity in Soil at Least 20 cm. Deep.Avoid Excessive Humidity for Long Periods.Irrigation every 7 days during the 1st dry season.Irrigation every 14 days during the 2nd dry season.Weeds, Pests & Disease Control.Replacement of Unviable & Death Plants.
Step Fifth - Conservation of the Plantation
Manure 2.5 Kg./Plant/Year.
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Fertilizer 20:120:60/Plant 40 gr. 2nd & 3rd Years.Weeds, Pests & Disease Control.Top Pruning at 35-45 cm. at the beginning of the 2nd rainy period to induce lateral branch growing.Pruning at the beginning of the 3rd rainy season to induce bush formation in an umbrella pattern.Irrigation every 14 days during the 3rd dry season.Nutrient Monitoring (soil & plant tissue).Shallow Cultivation Yearly.Pruning at 10 Years Old to 1 m. to Rejuvenate.Maintenance of the Irrigation System and Well.Dry Fruits Collection During the Dry Season.Bees housing maintenance and bee feeding when there are not enough flowers in the plantation.
Plant Profile• Size: up to 6 or 8 meters high.• Productive life: 40-50 years.• Stem straight, thick branches.• Green leaves: 6-15 cm. long & wide.• Fruit: oval 40 mm. long. approx.• Each fruit contains 2-3 seeds.• Seeds Color: black.• Seeds: average long 18 mm.(11-30).• Seeds average width 10mm. (7-11).• 1000 Seeds: 0.750 a 1.0 Kg. approx.• Oil in seeds: more than 40%.• Branches contain whitish latex.• Normally 5 roots in germinated seeds.• One central root & 4 laterals in seed.• Without leaves in drought & winter.• Plant without leaves remain latent.• Do not stand cold or frost.• 80% of oil is unsaturated.• Oleic & Linoleic mainly.
CULTIVATION TECHNOLOGY : THE PRODUCTIVE PLANTATION OF JATROPHA CURCASThe practices that will be undertaken by the Jatropha growers in the Coastal Region of Ecuador is going to be scientifically managed for better growth and production. The growth and yield of Jatropha is going to be improved through effective management practices during the whole life of this project during the next 50 years.
Good Results will be Obtained when Jatropha is maintained properly.
Our project is based in RELIABLE information to achieving good with funding resources, expertise plantation management, and good knowledge of understanding of the Jatropha Curcas plant, thus, we are sure to perform at optimal productivity.
Our Jatropha Curcas project includes to consider in properly manner the following technical steps to assure the success of this energy crop cultivation system:
Plantation Consulting Soil testing and audit Site Inspection / Assessment Nursery Establishment and Management
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Plantation Establishment and Management (including advanced pruning techniques) Financial Feasibility study (capital, running costs, cashflow projections) Advanced Jatropha pruning / harvesting techniques Enhancing production in presently poorly producing plantations Management techniques to achieve highest percentage of oil recovery Location and assessment of profitable biofuel investment projects Development of Jatropha biofuel, biomass, and renewable energy strategies
Knowing where to place our Jatropha project is critical, and requires a holistic view of certain key criteria for site selection. These include agro-climatic conditions, availability of labor, logistical consideration and local legislation utilizing close relations with local authorities.
The Jatropha Curcas plant is an ‘energy species’, but it needs to be domesticated as a ‘tree crop’ for widespread commercial cultivation and application. In order to achieve maximum commercial performance, it is crucial to understand the crop’s requirements, predict its possible interactions with the environment and develop practices for industrial cultivation.
The key factors that could effect an influence the oil yield of Jatropha Curcas in the lands of the Peninsula of Santa Elena are:
Climate, Quality of the soil, Irrigation, Weeding, Use of fertilizer, Crop density,Genotype, Use of pesticide, and Inter-cropping
PROPAGATION METHODS- GENERATIVE PROPAGATION-EFFECTING FACTORS
Direct seeding-Quality of seeds Seeding depth Date of sowing
Transplantation of pre-cultivated plants
Seeds beds(bare roots)
Poly bags-Type of pre-cultivation Length of pre-cultivation Age of pre-cultivation
VEGETATIVE PROPAGATION (cuttings)
Direct planting-Right time Transplanting of pre-cultivated plants Seeds beds(bare roots) Poly bags-Right size Right age Right strain Right source
SUCCESSFULL PRECULTIVATION IS CHARACTERIZED BY-HIGH GERMINATION RATES OF SEEDS
High sprouting rates of cuttings High survival rates
Basing the propagation method on rainfall conditions plays a decisive role in the survival and properties of the plant in field.
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Method of cultivation should be chosen on the basis of Maximum survival rates
Intended utilization of the plantation
For quick establishment of hedges and plantation for erosion control, directly planted cuttings are best.
For long-lived plantations for vegetative oil production, plants propagated by seeds are better.
With better rainfall conditions, the plantations could also be established by direct seeding.
According to each zone to be employed, we are going to utilize direct seeding, pre-cultivation of seedlings, easily propagates the Jatropha transplanting of spontaneous wild plants and direct planting of cuttings. Our seed should be collected when capsules split open. Use of fresh seeds improves germination. Intervals of presoaking and drying, or partial removal of the testa, are more successful than presoaking alone. With good moisture conditions, germination takes 10 days. The seed shell splits, the radicula emerges and 4 small peripheral roots are formed. Soon after development of the 1st leaves, the cotyledons wither and fall off. Further growth is sympodial. Seeding collection will be implemented using generous labor force by employing thousands of people and eliminating poverty inside these regions.
CROP YIELD
In our project “Yield” is a function of water, nutrients, heat and the age of the plant and other. Many different methods of establishment, farming and harvesting are possible. Yield can be enhanced with right balance of cost, yield, labor and finally cost per Mt
Seed production ranges from about 2 tons per hectare per year to over 12.5t/ha/year, after five years of growth. Although not clearly specified, this range in production may be attributable to low and high rainfall areas.
Without irrigation: MT/HA. DRY
Year -LOW -NORMAL -HIGH1 0.10 0.25 0.402 0.50 1.00 1.503 0.75 1.25 1.754 0.90 1.75 2.255 1.10 2.00 2.75
With irrigation : MT/HA IRRIGATEDYEAR LOW NORMAL HIGH1 0.75 1.25 2.502 1.00 1.50 3.003 4.25 5.00 5.004 5.25 6.25 8.005 5.25 8.00 12.50
Crop yield in kilos
YEAR KILOS/HA. 10,000 HAS./KILOS
1 500 5,000,000
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2 2,500 25,000,000
3 5,000 50,000,000
4 10,000 100,000,000
5 12,000-15,000 120,000,000-150,000,000
Harvesting can be done manually only.
No. Men 1 Day 30 Days/Kls.
1 10-25 Kls. 300-750 Kls
1,000 10,000-25,000 Kls 300,000-750,000 Kls
10,000 100,000,000-250,000,000 300,000,000-750,000,000 Kls.
Rapid increase in the scarcity of fossil fuel has caused an eventual drive to find alternative and renewable sources of fuel from common vegetable oils like soybean, corn, etc., Recently, oil from the seeds of the jatropha fruit has been converted to JC biodiesel, which can be directly used in diesel engines. Jatropha Curcas has now arisen as a very good source of plant based biodiesel source, with more than 32 percentange of oil content in its dicot seed with white cotyledons inside the dark brown colored testa.
Curcas is one among the 175 members of the Jatropha genus. The plant, seeds and oil of this biodiesel crop are non-edible and it is considered to be poisonous to some degree, which keeps of the cattle from it. In olden days, it is mostly used as live fencing crop due to the toxic nature of this plant.
The oil which is obtained by crushing the Seeds of Jatropha Curcas, with the help of an expeller is then subjected to a process called as transesterification in which the triglycerides are converted into methyl esters to get the biodiesel and the by-products separately.
Crop density
We are going to apply highly/tested recommend spacing for hedgerows or soil conservation of 15cm - 25cm x 15cm-25cm in one or two rows respectively and 2m x 1.5m to 3m x 3mm for plantations. Thus there will be between 2,500 plants per hectare for a single hedgerow and double that when two rows are planted.
Satisfactory planting widths are 2 x 2 m, 2.5 x 2.5 m, and 3 x 3 m. This is equivalent to crop densities of 2500, 1600 and 1111 plants/ha, respectively. DISTANCE OF 2MX2M BE KEPT FOR LARGE SCALE CULTIVATION
In our project It appears not difficult to estimate the yield of a plant that is able to grow and the
crops in very different zonal conditions along the Peninsula of Santa Elena. It is in the field of Bio
Diesel fuel, however, that Jatropha’s properties are the most exciting. At same power output,
Jatropha curcas oil specific consumption and efficiencies are higher than those of diesel fuel.
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Tests conducted show that out of these various vegetable oils including copra, palm, groundnut,
cottonseed, rapeseed, soya and sunflower - the lowest exhaust gas emissions were obtained
with copra and Jatropha Curcas crude oil.
It is a reality that yield is a function of water, nutrients, heat and the age of the plant and other elements as the quality of the vegetable layer of the soil to be cultivated with JC. We will establish many different methods of establishment, farming and harvesting to be possible. We account with the best conditions so yield can be enhanced with right balance of cost, yield, labor and finally cost per metric ton, but one thing is very sure that we are going to sue our own with two crops during the whole year to extract oil to be converted into biodiesel.
Once again we emphasize that Jatropha Curcas prefers temperatures averaging 20-28 degrees Celsius (68-85 degrees Farenheit). It can, however, withstand a very light frost which causes it to lose all its leaves and may produce a sharp decline in seed yield but not this will not happen in Ecuador because our lowest temperature is 12 Celsius degrees in the Coastal Region of Ecuador, located near the Equator line.
From year-3 it yields pods and production is a mature average of 160kG per tree per year from year-10, through to its life of 100 years. A tree can yield 10 gallons of oil, 120 kg of fertilizer grade oil cake and 250 kg of biomass as green manure per year.
Yield in Gallons per tree per yearNos. Trees Oil Gallons Kg. Fertilizer Kg. Biomass
Green Mature1 10 120 2502,500/1Ha. 25,000 300,000 625,0001,000 Has. 25,000,000 300,000,000 625,000,00010,000 Has. 250,000,000 300,000,000 Tons(?) 625,000,00 Tons50,000 Has. 1,250,000,000 1,500,000,000 Tons 3,125,000,000 Tons
One ton of Jatropha Curcas seeds will produce up to 150 gallons of bio-diesel with proper management in this SEA-Santa Elena Agreement.
We are going to plant rates of Jatropha Curcas at 2,500 plants per hectare (2.5 acres) in this cultivation project.
One person can professionally plant, manage and harvest 5-8 hectares of Jatropha Curcas.
30kg of Jatropha Curcas fruit can be harvested per person, per hour. In order to
have a good idea about the yield of the JC seed, please consider the following charts:
Referring to the table, the yield per hectare per year is up to 24 tons of Jatropha seed with two
crops during a year, which contain over 50% oil. At $320 (US$) per ton, this will translate into
sales of Jatropha crude oil of $5,400 per hectare per year. Of potentially equal or greater value is
the yield from Jatropha seeds of glycerin. Up to 10% of Jatropha seeds are made up of glycerin,
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which sells for up to $2,000 per ton. This translates into glycerin sales of up to $1,120 per year
per hectare, or total sales of up to $4,800 per year per hectare. This means to generate
US$10,200, including the production of oil and glycerin only.
Jatropha Oil in Comparison with Diesel FuelParameter Diesel Jatropha OilEnergy content (MJ/kg 42.6 - 45.0 39.6 - 41.8Spec. weight (15/40 °C) 0.84 - 0.85 0.91 - 0.92Solidifying point (°C) -14.0 2.0Flash point (°C) 80 110 – 240Cetane value 47.8 51.0Sulphur (%) 1.0 - 1.2 0.13
Yield and Harvesting Chart : 1 Hectare = 2,500 Plants
Number Crops per Year : 2
Nos. Hectares Yield/Ton/Seeds Second Crop Tons Total Tons 150 /Gallons/Tons 1 Ha. 12 12 24 3,60010,000 Has. 120,000 120,000 240,000 36,000,00020,000 240,000 240,000 480,000 72,000,00030,000 360,000 360,000 720,000 108,000,00040,000 480,000 480,000 960,000 144,000,00050,000 600,000 600,000 1,200,000 180,000,000
Man/hour/harvest = 30 Kilos of Seeds
Nos. Man/Hours 1 Man/Kilos 100 Men/Kilos 1,000 Men/Kilos 10,000 Men/Kilos8 hours/day 240 24,000 240,000 2,400,00040 Hours/Week 9,600 960,000 9,600,000 96,000,000Hours/Month 38,400 3,840,000 38,400,000 384,000,000Hours/Year 4,608,000 46,080,000 460,800,000 4,608,000,000
Charts of conversion from kilos/seeds to tons and oil yield, cultivating 10,000 hectares
MEN/HOUR 10,000 men/kilos Metric Tons 50% Oil YieldHours/day 2,400,000 2,400 1,200Hours/week 96,000,000 96,000 48,000Hours/Month 384,000,000 384,000 192,000Hours/Year 4,608,000,000 4,608,000 2,304,000
Charts of Conversion from Kilos/Seeds to tons and oil Yield, cultivating 50,000 hectares
50,000 Hectares/men/Kilos Metric Tons 50% Oil Yield Tons12,000,000 12,000 6,000
480,000,000 480,000 240,000,000
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384,000,000 1,920,000,000 960,000,000
23,040,000,000 23,040,000,000 11,520,000,000
JATROPHA GENERATE REVENUE PER YEAR/HECTARE
Total production of Glycerin and Sales price
Nos. Hectares Total Tons 10% Glycerin US$2,000/Tons.
1 Ha. 24 2.4 US$4,800
10,000 Has. 240,000 24,000 US$48 Millions
20,000 480,000 48,000 US$96 Millions
30,000 720,000 72,000 US$144 Millions
40,000 960,000 96,000 US$192 Millions
50,000 1,200,000 120,000 US$240 Millions
Production of Biodiesel Gallons/Price and Glycerin Sales/Year
Nos. Has. 150 /Gallons/Tons
US$1.50/ Gallon
Biodiesel
US$2,000/Tons.
Glicerin
Total
1 Ha. 3,600 US$5,400 US$4,800 US$10,200
10,000 Has.
36,000,000 US$54 Millions US$48 Millions US$102 Millions
20,000 72,000,000 US$108 Millions US$96 Millions US$204 Millions
30,000 108,000,000 US$162 Millions US$144 Millions US$306 Millions
40,000 144,000,000 US$216 Millions US$192 Millions US$408 Millions
50,000 180,000,000 US$270 Millions US$240 Millions US$510 Millions
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We are consider to cultivate 50,000 hectares with a yield of 24 tons per hectare per year with two
crops and an oil content of 50% some 600,000 tons of Jatropha crude oil would be produced per
year. The glycerin content at 10% of the 1,200,000 Metric. tons would produce an additional
120,000 Metric. tons. Glycerin is indeed a valuable by product at US$2,000 per ton.
In terms of annual revenues, if only 30% (50,000 Hectares) of the potential Jatropha growing
regions in the Peninsula of Santa Elena will be planted with Jatropha according to our cultivation
project, based on a Jatropha Biodiesel gallon of $1.50 and with glycerin selling at $2,000 per ton
a total sales value of $510,000,000,000 millions per year would be generated. Processing the
crude oil into Bio Diesel on average in the Coastal region of Ecuador will add a further 15% to the
sales value. This sales value excludes other byproducts of Jatropha.
Productivity Estimate Per Plant & Hectare Under Favorable ConditionsProduct Years Years Years Years Years Years Average Ha./Kg.
Years 1 to 2 3 to 4 5 to 6 7 to 8 9 to 10 11 to 30 1,156 Plants
Seeds .10–0.80 2.00-4.00 4.50-.50 6.00-7.00 7.50-8.50 9.00-10.0 5.40 6,242Plants
Oil 35% .035–.280 0.70– 1.40 1.60-1.90 2.10-2.45 2.60-3.00 3.15– 3.50 1.90 2,200Plants
Bio-Diesel
.034–.270 0.67– 1.36 1.55–1.85 2.03– 2.38
2.522.90 3.06– 3.40 1.84 2,127Plants
Glycerin .003-.0250 .060– .130 150-.170 180-.230 250-290 300 - .340 0.180 208Plants
Co2 Capture
1.60–3.20 4.80– 6.40 8.00 8.00 8.00 8.00 6.00 6,936Plants
Press Cake
0.05-.45 1.5 – 2.0 2.5– 3.0 3.5 – 4.0 4.5 – 5.0 5.5 – 6.0 3.17 3,664Plants
Jatropha farming could be an incredible contribution to economic development in Ecuador and
for sure it will transform the social-economic infrastructure for the next 50 years to come with the
carbohydrate era. Thus, In our project we have overcome the difficulty for sourcing suitable
financing. The two main reasons to success in the source funding are:
1) Lands in our project are owned by small, medium and large rural farmers who will become
partners in our project up to 15% of Etanolsa S.A.’s shares; and communities’ lands could be
leased by the owners on a 20 years-term contract. This effectively assure land being used as
own energy crops for our project with an investment of US$20,000 per hectare, including the
construction of each Biorefinery and the development of 10,000 hectares of energy crops
system. US$200 Millions Dollars loan will be converted as added-value cost to our lands and
soils.
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2) Start up agriculture energy projects to produce biofuels are generally among the most
available and feasible projects for which to obtain funding.
Moreover, financial models show that an assured supply of feed stock is required from a central
area to ensure a viable project such is our case with more than 50,000 hectares of fertile and
mostly virgin lands along the Peninsula of Santa Elena. Only when this is assured – as the SEA-
Santa Elena Agreement will do - could out our growers be considered to supplement the main
supply chain. Our cultivation JC projects are using fertile and virgin land to be used financially
succeeds in developing our project. Good JC cultivation yields on our projects along the
Peninsula of Santa Elena’s lands are highly likely to be obtained among fresh/private resources.
Other uses of Jatropha curcas : A petrocrop, Whole plant-Roots-Leaves-Latex-Seeds-Bark-Twig
*Planted to prevent water erosion and for conservation-*Used as ethno medicine-* Used as ethno medicine-*Resembles shellac-*Source of oil (30-40%) suitable as fuel for diesel engine-*Yields tannins (37%)-*Used as medicine
*Promising live fence- -*Yield a dye used to give tan & brown-
*Used for making ink-*Useful as illuminants, lubricant, in soap and candle making- -*Used as Dataun (Herbal tooth brush)*useful as green manure- *Useful as botanical-*Used as ethno medicine-*Used as medicine both internally and externally- -*Young one cooked and eaten-*useful in controlling sand drift *possess Alleopathic properties
Important information about Jatropha oil extracted from seeds could be used in the vehicle
It depends on the engine. If we have a diesel engine with a pre-combustion chamber, we can use the oil directly (after good filtering). If we have a modern diesel engine with direct injection, we have to modify the engine. The best is, to start the engine with diesel, then switch to plant oil (when the engine is hot), and to stop the engine by using diesel again for some few minutes.
Mobiles, Cars, trucks and other Diesel Engine can use as direct fuel Without Modify. Jatropha oil can be used as fuel directly in stationary diesel engines and in mobile ones (cars, trucks, busses), but you have to modify the diesel engine. You can also use Jatropha oil in some diesel engines with a pre-combustion chamber without modification.
Pre-combustion Chamber and Direct Injection are suitable for Bio-diesel : Bio-diesel is a chemically modified plant oil. It behaves like diesel and can be used in any diesel engine (DI or pre-combustion chamber) directly. Since bio-diesel is a strong organic solvent, it attacks joints and tubes from organic material (plastic, rubber). So you have to make sure, that your engine has bio-diesel proof joints and plastic parts.
The JC cultivation project is going to be plant into a macro scale to achieve the following benefits:
1.increase an added value cost to the land price 2.To obtain a lower harvest cost, and processing 3.A higher-yield compare with other oil plant. 4.To reduce the biodiesel plant investing.
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5.Obtain a much lower price than the fossil crude oil price. Which seems to be going to reach US$200 per barrel of oil in the middle-term future.
The above factors indicates the excellent chances of obtaining biodiesel from JC about this future of green energy. Our project will assure the success without any obstacles in plantation of Jatropha Curcas (JC). The crucial key economic factor is the harvesting of the seeds that it takes about 1 hour to pick 30 kgs. seeds under normal conditions or better. In our project we cover the whole scope field or model and that is: where farmers are growing Jatropha, harvesting the seeds and extracting the oil in our facilities logistically located in the Peninsula of Santa Elena. We will cultivate JC in our lands, then recollect the seeds, and finally convert them into oil, and in the final stage converted into Biodiesel to be marketed domestically and worldwide by expertise companies.
INTER-CROPPING TO BE APPLIED IN OUR ENERGY CROP CULTIVATION SYSTEM
Our project contemplates the use of jatropha inter –cropping technology to obtain the best results from the land and soil conditions for the rural communities without diminishing the production of food among them. When two or more crops are growing simultaneously in the same field, this is called intercropping. Which is according to our topography, soil profile and prevailing agroclimatic conditions in our area in the Peninsula of Santa Elena, Jatropha can be combined with other suitable species comprising the agricultural, horticultural, herbs, pastoral and/or silvicultural components to result in an ecologically viable, economically profitable and socially acceptable agroforestry system. By evolving, promoting and adopting Jatropha based intercropping systems it is possible to improve the socioeconomic conditions in rural areas and to transform the national energy scenario and the ecological landscape.
These are the social & economic advantages of multiple cropping systems:
Dependence on only crop is avoided. Less needs to import energy. Reduction in the outlay for fertilizers. There is much greater flexibility of the distribution of labor. Possible to recover investments in much less time. Availability of harvest over a much longer period of time. Can occupy much more labor. The farmer of little economic resources can produce a large variety of useful products. Promote a return to the land. Components can constitute a type of “savings” for the future.
In our Historical project we will be tried, applied and developed some inter cropping systems for both wastelands and cultivable lands as outlined below:
FOR WASTELANDS:
Model (i) Hedgerows of Jatropha with tropical fruits such as passion fruits, melon, watermelons and mongoes
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Model (ii) Jatropha intercropped with grasses, tubers and vegetables Model (iii) Jatropha mixed with fruit trees Model (iv) Jatropha in mixed plantation with Teak and Subabul
FOR CULTIVABLE LANDS On irrigated farmlands
In our project for this purpose Jatropha curcas is the ideal plant to give shade to shade loving plants and provide a base for the climbers. Selection of the climber is done according to the climatic condition of our regions. Mainly, the following climbers are common for every/region:
ECONOMICS:
JATROPHA BIODIESEL: OVERVIEW
Although, the Biodiesel industry is still young and relatively small, so as it grows to a larger scale and when an infrastructure is being well-developed and to be carried out in this project, the costs of producing is declining against the demand and marketing biodiesel is increasing, mainly based in the low cost of production of JC oil in Ecuador, under US$1.00 per each gallon of biodiesel as the total net cost. As well as, in the new future new cost-saving technologies will likely be developed to help producers use energy more efficiently, increase conversion yields and convert cheaper feedstocks into high-quality biodiesel. However, in the longer term, the biggest challenge may be the ability of the feedstock supply to keep up with growing demand as we are considering very seriously in our project.
As such the key to the future of Biodiesel is finding inexpensive feed stocks that can be grown by farmers on marginal agricultural land, and Jatropha is one of many plants that hold a great deal of promise. Jatropha proves to be a promising Bio Fuel plantation and could emerge as a major alternative to Diesel thus reducing our dependence on Oil imports and saving the precious Foreign Exchange besides providing the much needed Energy Security. Jatropha oil displacing conventional fossil fuel makes the project fully eligible as a CDM project, i.e. recipient of CO2 credits.
COST BENEFITS SCENARIO
Cost benefits scenario will depend on various factors such as seed yield, area of Production, its gestation period, and raw oil yield during various stages of bio-diesel production-plantation, extraction, and transesterification.
Our integrated Jatropha Biodiesel Project has three stages:
The first stage of the production process of bio-diesel from the seeds of Jatropha is the plantation stage.
Extraction stage of bio-diesel production
The final stage of bio-diesel production is the transesterification stage in which raw oil is transesterified to bio-diesel.
The combination of three stages of bio-diesel production and the role of each player in these stages have to be objectively defined as they can affect the economics of bio-diesel production Therefore, we have carried out Economic analysis considering all above three stages as separate entities.
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ECONOMICS: FARMING ECONOMICS: EXTRACTION ECONOMICS: BIODIESEL
This presentation is divided in 5 points:
1.- Introductory remarks 2.- Description of the plant, distribution, ecology 3.- Description of the Jatropha System 4.- Economic Aspects 5.- Strategies to disseminate the know how of the Jatropha System1.
1.- Introductory remarks
The project is well concerned in “the Jatropha System”, to help mainly its potential to contribute to rural development by its utilization. The economic evaluation of the Jatropha activities in this project in the Coastal Region of Ecuador are based on real data. In other countries the Jatropha activities also show positive economic results, as far as soap making is concerned. The economic use of Jatropha oil as fuel (direct or as biodiesel) depends very much on the level of our rural labor costs, as well as on the price of diesel fuel domestic and international. In our real case, please see our Cash Flow of rural labor cost, but the selling cost of biodiesel gallon will given by the International Stock Market Exchange, because we focusing the international market worldwide.
2.- Description of the plant, distribution, ecology
Jatropha curcas L. (JCL) is a tall bush or small tree (up to 5 m hight) and belongs to the euphorbia family. The genus Jatropha contains approximately 170 known species. The genus name Jatropha derives from the Greek jatrós (doctor), trophé (food), which implies medicinal uses. The plant is planted as a hedge (living fence) by farmers all over the world around homesteads, gardens and fields, because it is not browsed by animals.
2.1 Botanical description
Jatropha curcas L., or physic nut, has thick glabrous branchets. The tree has a straight trunk and gray or reddish bark, masked by large white patches. It has green leaves with a length and width of 6 to 15 cm, with 5 to 7 shallow lobes. The leaves are arranged alternately.
2.3 Ecology
Jatropha curcas is not a weed. It is not self propagating. It has to be planted. It grows well on marginal land with more than 250 mm of rainfall per year, and it withstandslong drought periods. With less than 600 mm it cannot grow except in special conditions likeDormancy is induced by fluctuations in rainfall and temperature/light. But not all trees respond simultaneously. In a hedge you may have branches without leaves and besides ones full of green leaves. The branches contain a whitish latex, which causes brown stains, which are very difficult to remove. Normally, five roots are formed from seeds: one tap root and 4 lateral roots. Plants from cuttings develop only lateral roots. Inflorescences are formed terminally on branches. The plant is monoecious and flowers are unisexual. Pollination is by insects. After pollination, a trilocular ellipsoidal fruit is formed. The exocarp remains fleshy until the seeds are mature. The seeds are black and in the average 18 mm long and 10 mm wide ). The seed weight (per 1000) is about 727 g, this are 1375 seeds per kg in the average. The life-span of the Jatropha curcas plant is more than 50 years.
2.4.- Varieties
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There are 3 varieties. Costa Rica, Guatemala and Nicaragua, this latest variety is the ones which is spread all over the world. It has fewer, but larger fruits. The yield per ha seems to be the same. A non-toxic variety exists in Mexico which is used for human consumption after roasting. It does not contain Phorbol esters. (“This non-toxic variety of Jatropha could be a potential source of oil for human consumption, and the seed cake can be a good protein source for humans as well as for livestock.”, Becker et al, 1999).
3. Description of the Jatropha System
3.1 The Jatropha System The Jatropha System is an integrated rural development approach. By planting Jatropha hedges to protect gardens and fields against roaming animals, the oil from the seeds can be used for soap production, for lighting and cooking and as fuel in special diesel engines. In this way the Jatropha System covers 4 main aspects of rural development:
promotion of women (local soap production); poverty reduction (protecting crops and selling seeds, oil and soap); erosion control (planting hedges); energy supply for the household and stationary engines in rural areas.
The obvious advantage of this “Jatropha System” is that all the processing procedure, and thus all added value, can be kept within the rural area or even within one village. No centralized processing (like in the cotton industry) is necessary.
3.2 Possible Uses of the Jatropha Plant
The Jatropha plant is used as a medicinal plant:
The seeds against constipation; The latex / sap for wound healing; The leaves as tea against malaria; etc.
Jatropha is planted in the form of hedges around gardens or fields to protect the crops against roaming animals like cattle or goats; Jatropha hedges are planted to reduce erosion caused by water and/or wind; Jatropha is planted to demarcate the boundaries of fields and homesteads; Jatropha plants are used as a source of shade for coffee plants (on Cuba); In Comore islands, in Papua New Guinea and in Uganda Jatropha plants are used as a support plant for vanilla;
4.- Economic Aspects
This will be an example of a successful project in Ecuador. The Jatropha plant is already known by the population since a long time, but its utilization was limited to the use of the plant as protection hedge around homesteads and gardens. The seeds were not used. The most important economic aspect in our project it is the conversion of JC seeds into oil and at the final stage into biodiesel with a huge demand worldwide that it will last for the next 50 years to come. And an important economic contribution of glycerin as a by-product of our process to the final stage of biodisel.
The SEA-Santa Elena Agreement and the Task Force Team of Etanolsa S.A., the promoter’s project have convinced men and women living in The Peninsula of Santa Elena and outside people looking for sources of jobs of the interesting economic potential of these 5 plants to produce biodiesel. As well as especially the medicinal property of the soap makes it interesting for the rural population.
The estimation including transport costs, storage etc. are considered and shows, that the production and sale of Jatropha oil as diesel substitute is economically feasible.
Using state-of-the-art technology from the JC cultivation system to the final stage of conversion of jatropha oil into biodiesel, including our labor salary of US$500 per month is fairly low to produce the oil at a good price below the biodiesel price at the pump.
Our project will include the creation of a Jatropha network for mutual support and exchange of know how, including workshops, seminars and visits of different projects with different
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approaches and in a different socio-economic environment (capacity building); Publication of Jatropha information. In order to keep the Jatropha network alive, regular workshops on zonal level should be held, accompanied by some central seminars (capacity building).
Supply of tools & blueprints & contacts with experts;
The “Jatropha Promotion Center” to be created inside our territory will also identify research topics and coordinate the work on these topics by different organizations / universities and distribute the results. Such topics could be:
Selection of high yield Jatropha plants (seeds, cuttings); Selection of high oil yield Jatropha plants; Selection of a pure line of the non toxic variety from Mexico (edible oil, press cake as animal feed);
Establishment of a seed bank to provide Jatropha projects / initiatives with high yield and / or non toxic seeds;
Looking for export / import possibilities on international markets will be handled and managed by Roy Wale’s companies, who has the best international knowledge to carry out all exports of ethanol and biodiesel worldwide with the necessary logistic infraestructure;
BEST PRACTICES FOR LONG-TERM JATROPHA DEVELOPMENT IN THE SANTA ELENA AGREEMENT
Jatropha: in need of sustainability STANDARDS
In the SEA-Santa Elena Agreement there are growing concerns about climate change, energy security and rural development are key drivers pushing innovative solutions to an equitable socio economic model in developing economies such Ecuador. Needless to say that biofuels are an inherent part of these processes.
Our nation, Ecuador, as other Nations that have embarked on a biofuel driven model for economic development need to evolve the right protocols and systems to plan and implement such initiatives in a sustainable manner to be used in our project. This would mean factoring the impact of competition for other land uses, such as production of food or other crops at the concept stage itself. Feedstocks for biofuel remain at the core of any biofuels venture.
Among all the oil bearing crops, Jatropha has emerged as the focal point for the biofuel industry with rapid R&D investments flowing into its cultivation, processing and conversion into biodiesel. With growing emphasis on the sustainability of the biofuels value chain from feedstocks to
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consumer, there have been pressures on regulators and governments to set in place sustainable models for Jatropha cultivation and use as a biofuel feedstock.
There are three key issues concerning Jatropha in this project:
*Plant agronomy demands, production complexities and ways to resolve them
*Business models suitable for small and medium land holders to become as partners in this project
*Environmental and social benefits inside our territory
This project ensure sustainability standards for Jatropha projects to be develop in the Peninsula of Santa Elena, particularly in developing our economy involve a detailed assessment of economic, ecological and social dimensions at the planning and pre-project stages. Though heralded as the most preferred non food crop, Jatropha is yet to deliver on its promises. This project considers the initiatives in developing a sustainable position in Jatropha production and the need for sustainability criteria to be developed for all large Jatropha biorefineries to be located in the Coastal region of Ecuador. Jatropha production and its use need comprehensive sustainability criteria just as other food crops.
We also consider Economies of scale as all changes the economics of any energy crop based project and also bring about environmental impacts. It is essential to modify traditional approach of cost benefit analysis to develop better models for judging project profitability and sustainability.
Besides, land resource management, water management and cultivation practices need better understanding in light of reported variations in Jatropha practices in the Peninsula of Santa Elena. Leveraging Jatropha’s other beneficial qualities for improving rural economy is a facet which needs closer scrutiny with mega ventures being planned by Etanolsa S.A. in developing our economies.
Primary issues favoring Jatropha over other crops are its non food nature, reported ability to grow on marginal lands and the need for limited rainfall. There are also claims of Jatropha assisting in preventing deforestation and desertification, and improving soil fertility. However, experiences across the developing world have been quite varied reflecting complexities in local practices, soil, water and climatic factors. This topic is well-considered in the Soil Economy item further ahead.
Our Jatropha projects is characterized by new agronomical and technological challenges posed by new production and conversion processes employed. But not only Jatropha but emergence of new rural business models and novel environmental and social models are related issues impacting the long term sustainability such as the use of a new currency of money of barter-bond and our own credit card system, in order to obtain all what we need for a good living, including food, wearing apparels, educational materials, medicines, etc.
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Our large Jatropha projects and their potential impact on land, water, soil, and GHG balance have been raised by leading multilateral agencies, corporations as also social organizations. Though amenable to growing on marginal land, commercial pressure to maximize yields are likely to result in best lands being appropriated for Jatropha. Similarly pressure for irrigation to be intensified as also the accompanying impacts of indiscriminate extraction of ground water in fragile zones will have to be dealt with.
It is evident that the choice of the crop and the technology pathways affects the carbon dioxide balance of crops grown for biofuels. Nett balance of carbon dioxide savings from Jatropha projects will depend on the amount of energy used for cultivating, harvesting, transporting and converting the plants. To assess this a detailed Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) for different pathways needs will be carried out in our project. It is equally critical to determine the suitability of each Jatropha type for the Coastal region of Ecuador covering more than 50,000 hectares of fertile and mostly virgin lands.
By end 2014, the early stage Jatropha projects would have attained maturity of 5-6 years. In Ecuador our Jatropha projects is being planned with a variety of types of Jatropha plants, with different oil content, yields, maturity periods, resistance to drought and pests, and rainfall requirements. The data collected from these projects will prove useful to assess the overall sustainability of Jatropha projects for the SEA-Santa Elena Agreement, our legal frame to carry out successfully these energy projects.
Other developing sustainability criteria for Jatropha
There are other key factors to be evaluated in our Jatropha project. These are:
a.- Integrating socio economic perspectives into large projects b.- Creating local value chains c.- Finance most products and services for local communities’ needs,d.- Leveraging carbon finance potential e.-Application and agronomy research on Jatropha
Despite the potential qualities of Jatropha as a sustainable feed stock for biofuel there are specific issues pertaining to translating it into commercial and social benefits. Jatropha projects are very location specific and it has been noted that experiences are not transferable across our own borders outside the Peninsula of Santa Elena.
Critical sustainability components for Jatropha: Key issues determine the sustainability of such projects are:
1.-Adopting best practices in production systems 2.-Planting, harvesting and processing3.-Socially and environmentally sound protocols4.-Policies synergizing with the needs of local area5.-Carrying capacity of the land 6.-Optimizing jatropha value chain processes 7.-Yields, conversion efficiencies, value added products
Key factors driving sustainability criteria : Sustainability of biofuel feedstock production is not a given, and critical focus on the following factor form key criteria and need to be addressed.
Land use patterns Water usage Soil impacts GHG balance Biodiversity loss Social dimensions
Social dimensions in Ecuador
Perhaps, the most significant factor in ensuring sustainability lies in developing a correct model of our socio economic systems related to rural employment and economy. Options to funnel fuel revenues back into the community, inequities in land tenure and poorly implemented resettlement plans pose further challenges for sustainable Jatropha production.
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Yet another aspect determining sustainability is to ensure the rights of indigenous people facing displacement from their habitats. It is imperative to set in place properly designed value sharing models in the initial stage itself. Emergence of 2nd generation biofuels will impact the 1st
generation fuel feed stocks and long term viability of Jatropha based projects will also need to be evaluated from a socio economic angle.
Developing sustainable economic models in Ecuador
As Jatropha cultivation is practiced around the world and comprises a variety of business models ranging from small to large scale with involvement of smallholders, smaller and small-scale production to mega ventures as is our project which will the biggest of its kind in South America to be develop by Etanolsa S.A. and a group of leader international companies to be contracted according to each specialized fields of its kind.
Optimizing economies of scale will alter the environmental impacts. In the case of Jatropha, yields will be higher on good quality soil and with sufficient watering than on marginal arid lands and low water usage. As discussed earlier economic viability will demand better quality land and higher water usage when based on traditional cost benefit analysis. Once other benefits are integrated there is more likelihood of small scale projects on marginal lands being more economical. Apparently traditional approach of cost benefit analysis needs a reassessment to evolve a comprehensive tool for determining project profitability and sustainability.
Environmental benefits need to be considered in our project as a new means of evaluation, including increased productivity from intercropping and the creation of a better more humid microclimate, reduced soil erosion, protection against desertification, and availability of press cake which is also a good quality organic fertilizer.
In countries where Jatropha based biofuel could be produced, there is often a lack of appropriate policy support to small-scale Jatropha development at the local level but not in our case because all Rural Communities, small and large land owners or concessionaries will become partner in our project with a 15% of the shares, and besides they will be contracted as our employees and workers by thousand under the legal figure of the SEA-Santa Elena Agreement.
Future challenges in mega Jatropha projects
We are sure that developing sustainable Jatropha projects do pose challenges of varied nature and some critical ones are discussed below.
Agronomic challenges
Plant agronomy poses key challenges to the viability of Jatropha projects and key among them is the diversity in Jatropha types in each zones inside our territory, mainly cover by the Peninsula of
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Santa Elena. In most Jatropha driven zones there exists a wide variety of Jatropha plants. Each of these is defined by differences in oil content, yields, maturity periods, resistance to drought and pests, and rainfall requirements. It is critical to make the right choice of Jatropha type for any given region and assess its overall suitability to ensure long term sustainability.
Technological challenges
Existing technological utilities for Jatropha needs closer attention. Most technologies for biofuel have been based on rape seed or palm. However, very few of these technologies have been extended for Jatropha. In our project we will contract with a leading company in the jatropha curcas field, including for further research on process technologies and design of equipment to scale up the Jatropha projects and by contracting the most advance companies in the world, we will achieve in our endeavor to successfully develop the Biofuel Project in the Coastal region of Ecuador.
Policy barriers
In countries where Jatropha based biofuel could be produced, there is often a lack of appropriate policy support to small-scale Jatropha development at the local level. We have worked with the current government’s officals and authorities to obtain and issue the most appropriate policies to ensure that local households, businesses, and communities receive the benefits of energy services from Jatropha based biodiesel development, as well as associated income and job opportunities. It is essential to engage small farmers and producers in the policy formulation discussions.
Policy support will need to consider a range of issues. These are: Feedstock production methods, transformation
Jatropha biofuel quality standards and testingEnsuring quality product Evolve guidelines for suitable available technology, logistics, etcPricing mechanismIncentives biofuels usageFavorable tax regimes Capacity building in executive bodies
Guidelines for sustainable Jatropha projects
A set of guidelines are suggested by our expertise for Jatropha projects for ensuring sustainability. Some key ones are discussed below.
1. Setting minimum standards
Since the beginning several years ago, our Jatropha projects has taken into account the ecological and sociological complexities involved in these large ventures. We have also consider several large scale investments in jatropha based biofuel plants and are in our budget of investment in accordance with our funds providers. Since Jatropha grows mostly in developing economies ensuring their rights becomes a key component. It is important to decide on minimum standards for large scale investments in Jatropha that are shared and agreed upon by all stakeholders. These minimum standards are expected to protect local population and their environment for sure.
2. Developing local value chains
A large variety of technologies makes use of Jatropha oil such as local diesel electricity generators that run on jatropha oil, jatropha stoves and lamps. However, no systematic approaches to link these technologies to jatropha production have been negligible. Linking the production of these goods to the local production of Jatropha allows generation of regional value chains that expand employment opportunities.
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3. Community based initiatives
Social enterprises require some initial support during start-up, but become financially sustainable after this phase. Social enterprises at the community level offer income opportunities for those in desperate need. This income is spent locally creating positive feed-backs for the local economy. It is important to make existing decentralized Jatropha activities and grassroots enterprises fit for the market to allow their up-scaling.
The regulatory framework in different parts of the world determine the profitability of specific Jatropha uses. Ecuador is not the exception as potential producer of energy products such as the biofuels we are for sure counting with the support and encouraging with the corresponding taxation, subsidies, quality standards. At this moment the Central Government has issued an executive degree to exonerate of income taxes for the first 10 years of operation to all potential producers of energy biofuel products in Ecuador.
4. Leveraging Jatropha Carbon Finance
It is important to identify conditions afforestation and fossil fuel substitution with Jatropha oil may be included in carbon finance schemes. It is also essential to develop Jatropha projects by identifying carbon co-financing opportunities.
5. Agronomy research on Jatropha (by-products)
In comparison to other cash crops Jatropha has a huge untapped potential. Potential for Jatroha cake as organic fertilizer, as pellet to burn, as fodder for animals is equally high.
It is critical to increase the profitability of Jatropha projects through improved, high-yielding Jatropha crops and through the sales of by-products based on Jatropha press Cake.
6. Regulatory framework and Jatropha ventures
The regulatory framework in different parts of the world (taxation, subsidies, quality standards) determine the profitability of specific Jatropha uses. These frameworks will determine whether it is more profitable to export Jatropha or to sell it on the home market or whether to refine Jatropha oil into biodiesel or whether it is more profitable to use the oil to run diesel engines for off-grid energy services. It is essential to understand how national policies impact on the profitability of Jatropha investments. Based on this understanding, it is imperative to derive recommendations regarding best policy practices for specific Jatropha related development objectives.
Currently, Ecuador is adopting a large variety of policies that provide a sound basis for future policy development to make the small farmers to go back from the big cities to their lands and encouraging to cultivate energy cultivation such as is the case for Jatropha.
7. Sustainability assurance system for growing Biofuel feedstocks
In the International field UNEP, in close cooperation with partners in governments, industry and civil society, is in the process of defining sustainability criteria and recommendations for decision-
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makers in industry and governments that should help reduce the risks while the bioenergy market continues to develop. These criteria need take into account and build on criteria used in existing national and commodity-based systems such is our project.
UNEP is working with the Roundtable of Sustainable Biofuels (RSB), an initiative set up by the Ecole Polytechnique de Lausanne. The RSB process brings together a large variety of stakeholders to develop the criteria of sustainable biofuels production. UNEP will provide the link between the technical findings of the RSB and the GBEP and other intergovernmental processes.
We are taking into account – in the SEA-Santa Elena Agreement - the lifecycle benefits and costs of biofuel production as well as the global production potential, particularly in developing countries such Ecuador’s case.
Jatropha oil and Jatropha biodiesel can bring many benefits for developing countries such Ecuador mainly by providing access to clean energy services. In this context, Ecuador through our project is attempting to maximize their biofuel potential. To ensure sustained use of natural resources, the development of biofuel needs to be carefully planned and managed in our project,. Including future contracting with international companies, each one specialized in their respective industry and agricultural field. We also include the important issues such as agricultural land competition, scarce water resources, soil erosion, biodiversity concerns, food versus fuel competition issues, equity concerns of large versus small-scale biofuel development, and biofuel trade issues need closer attention.
We are going to work with close relation to the respective government authorities through coherent and responsible policies and legislation, capacity building, technology transfer and technological development that are going to be needed to ensure that a part of the Coastal region of Ecuador with their growing energy needs can be met through sustainable production of Jatropha biofuels. Biofuel projects, which are driven by Etanolsa S.A. and SEA-Santa Elena Agreement, in which small and medium size farmers will produce fuel for their own use or for community use, appear likely to produce and sustained benefits for a rural community and in addition to export biofuels to the national and international markets.
The economics of bioenergy production are site- and situation-specific, and each regional zone and even location will need appropriate policies. Take into account the lifecycle benefits and costs of biofuel production as well as the global production potential, particularly in developing countries such Ecuador.
Integration with agricultural, land use and energy planning policies.
Development of International set of standards to facilitate international trade. There is well-established biodiesel trade market can benefit both importing and exporting countries worldwide.Participation of stakeholders is key to sustainable development and should be taken into account in policy formulation and development of policy instruments.
Sustainability standards have to be developed tailored to Jatropha, based on general sustainability principles for bioenergy.
Different business models -small scale and large scale production.
Ensuring participation of small farmers into large scale production through participatory concepts.
Involvement of the local population to reduce social or environmental risks related to feedstock production.
CULTIVATION TECHNOLOGY : THE PRODUCTIVE PLANTATION OF JATROPHA CURCAS
The practices being undertaken by the Jatropha growers currently will need to be scientifically managed for better growth and production in our project. The growth and yield of Jatropha could be improved through effective management practices.
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PROPAGATION METHODS-
GENERATIVE PROPAGATION-EFFECTING FACTORS
Direct seeding-Quality of seeds Seding depth Date of sowing
Transplantation of precultivated plants
Seeds beds(bare roots)
Poly bags-Type of precultivation Length of precultivation Age of precultivation
VEGETATIVE PROPAGATION(cuttings)
Direct planting-Right time Transplanting of pre-cultivated plants
Seeds beds(bare roots)
Poly bags-Right size Right age Right strain Right source
SUCCESSFULL PRECULTIVATION IS CHARACTERIZED BY-High germination rates of seeds High sprouting rates of cuttings High survival rates
Basing the propagation method on rainfall conditions plays a decisive role in the survival and properties of the plant in field.
Method of cultivation should be chosen on the basis of Maximum survival rates
Intended utilization of the plantation
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For quick establishment of hedges and plantation for erosion control, directly planted cuttings are best.
For long-lived plantations for vegetative oil production, plants propagated by seeds are better.
With better rainfall conditions, the plantations could also be established by direct seeding.
Direct seeding, pre-cultivation of seedlings, easily propagates the Jatropha transplanting of spontaneous wild plants and direct planting of cuttings. Seed should be collected when capsules split open. Use of fresh seeds improves germination. Intervals of presoaking and drying, or partial removal of the testa, are more successful than presoaking alone. With good moisture conditions, germination takes 10 days. The seed shell splits, the radicula emerges and 4 small peripheral roots are formed. Soon after development of the 1st leaves, the cotyledons wither and fall off. Further growth is sympodial
Uses of Jatropha curcas : A petrocrop
Whole plant
*Planted to prevent water erosion and for conservation*Promising live fence*useful as green manure*useful in controlling sand drift*possess Allelopathic properties
Roots
Used as ethnomedicine
Leaves
Used as ethnomedicine *Yield a dye used to give tan & brown *Useful as botanical
Latex
*Resembles shellac*Used for making ink*Used as ethnomedicine
Seeds
*Source of oil (40-50%) suitable as fuel for diesel engine*Useful as illumitant, lubricant, in soap and candle making*Used as medicine both internally and externally
Bark
*Yields tannins (37%)
Twig
*Used as medicine*Used as Dataun (Herbal tooth brush)*Young one cooked and eaten
For successful plantation we have developed Jatropha Production Technology for which our TOTAL CULTIVATION PACKAGE can be had.
Jatropha as a plantation crop offers the following advantages:
Easy to establish, grows quickly, hardy and require little care.
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It can grow in poor soils, in wastelands except flood prone and waterlogged areas. Reclamation of wasteland and degraded land is possible through its plantation. In fertile land it gives higher yields
Plantation of Jatropha, oil extraction and nursery raising, can be rural based, hence promoter of rural economy besides ensuring energy security.
It is suitable for preventing soil erosion including Jhum fallows. Jatropha is not a competitor of any crop rather it increases the yield. Due to my corrhizal value in Jatropha roots it helps in getting phosphate from soil boon for
acid soil. Improves the soil fertility throughout their life cycle. Possesses medicinal as well as other multiple uses. Generate net income for 40-55 years, reaching highest crop yield upon maturity from 4th year. Providing local jobs, lessening the need for local villagers to migrate to cities to find
employment.
In Ecuador, Jatropha curcas will be found in the Peninsula of Santa Elena covering more than 50,000 hectares of mainly communities’ lands.
Cultivation scope
Due to potential demand and better marketing opportunities, cultivation of Jatropha appears viable. The crop is suitable particularly for garden land situations yet less productive, no irrigation facilities. Besides the crop must not replace other important food crops and in turn will not have a major impact on cropping pattern.
Jatropha adapts well to marginal lands as well as live fence, as farm animals do not browse it. All parts of the shrub are used in traditional medicine and as raw material for pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries. The use of Jatropha oil in the production of soap in rural areas gives direct benefit, where as indirectly this will help to save edible vegetable oil. The large scale cultivation of Jatropha curcas on wastelands with poor soils and low rainfall in drought prone areas could provide regular employment and could improve their living conditions by providing additional income. Use of bio-diesel at the village level for operating oil engines for pumping water and operating small machinery are another good opportunity, which will be a boon to the farmers. Jatropha is not an alternative to agriculture or plantation but it is an addition to it.
Scope of Jobs for all
Jatropha is economically viable not only to the growers but also to the processors and end users. To the rural society, the crop can create regular employment opportunities, as it provides never ending marketing potential .
The crop can easily be raised without any difficulty; the rural women can be engaged in all kinds of activities like raising seedlings, collection of seeds, de-shelling etc. This will be a great boon to the development and enhancement of the quality of life of the rural women. We estimates that around 15,000 workers and employees will be working in the 5 biorefineries and in developing 50,000 hectares of energy crop system with direct and indirect labor activities, and considering each of them as head member of each family (5 member each) that represents a total of 60,0000 people.
Economic life
The economic life of Jatropha is 35-40 years. The plant survives up to 50 years if root zone does not come in contact with rising water table and continues for longer time.
Yield: There will be about 1675 plants /ha at 3m x 2m spacing. Grown up Jatropha from
6th year onwards yield 3-6 kg per plant under good management. The average productivity can be projected as follows:
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Jatropha stacks up nicely compared with other feedstocks, as soybeans and rapeseed have a relatively low oil yield compared with Jatropha — 375 kilograms per hectare for soybeans in the United States (280 gallons per acre) and 1,000 kilograms per hectare of rapeseed in Europe (740 gallons per acre) to 3,000 kilograms per hectare of Jatropha (2,226 gallons per hectare in Ecuador.
Year of planting Per plant yield Per hectare yield in kg2nd. Year 0.5-1.0 kgs. 1500 kg.3rd. Year 1.0- 3.0 kgs. 2,500 kgs.4th. Year to 6th. Year 3.0 – 5.0 kgs. 6,000 kgs.7th. Year to 10th. Year 3.5 – 5.5 kgs 6,500 kgs.
Economics per hectare basis (Rs):1000 INR Indian Rupee1 INR = 0.0194 USD = 19.4439 USD United States Dollar1 USD = 51.43 INR
Live mid-market rates as of: March 04, 2009 - 3:14:00 PM EST
10000 INRIndian Rupee
1 INR = 0.0194 USD =194.439 USDUnited States Dollar1 USD = 51.43 INR
http://www.gcitrading.com/currency.htm
Jatropha for enrichment of soil
The oil cake is rich in nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium finds very good organic fertilizers. The leaves provide plentiful organic matter and increase the microbial activity including earthworms, which is an indication of ecological improvement of site.
As a non-conventional energy crop
Jatropha oil is environmentally safe cost effective and renewable source of no conventional energy as a promising substitute to hydel power, diesel, kerosene, LPG, coal and firewood. The protein content of Jatropha oil cake may be used as raw materials for plastic and synthetic fibers. This no-conventional source of energy will help in removing regional imbalance in energy use by making energy available in a decentralized manner. It is a crop with low capital investment, short gestation period, long productive period, unlimited employment potential in the rural areas. Potential for creation of productive assets boosting of village based industries. Potential of wastelands developments.
Generation employment and capital formation to increase nation’s income and quick greening of the country.
Jatropha Oil Extraction CostParameter 1 t/day cap 1 t/hour cap 2 t/hour capInstallation cost Rs. 70,000 Rs. 3,00,000 Rs. 5,00,000Power consumption 45 KWH 30 KWH 24 KWHCost of power consumption Rs 225 Rs.125 Rs. 120Steam 600 kg/ton 150 kg/ton 125 kgCost of steam Rs. 180 Rs. 45 Rs. 37.50Man Power 3 day 3 day 6 dayCost of manpower Processing cost/ton
Rs. 450/ton Rs. 20/ton Rs. 20/ton
Processing cost/ton Investment Rs. 885 Rs. 215 Rs. 177.5
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Depreciation Rs. 45 Rs. 7.5 Rs. 6.5Total cost of Processing/ton Rs. 900 Rs. 222.5 Rs. 184
BIO DIESEL FROM WASTELANDS JATROPHA CURCAS CULTIVATION
Assessment of the impact of the dissemination of “the Jatropha System” on the ecology of the rural area and the social and economic situation of the rural population in a selected country: Coastal region of Ecuador
Poverty reduction
By promoting the integrated utilization of the Jatropha plant, the Jatropha System can provide direct financial benefits to the rural economy and their communities. All owners or concessionaries of land could openly become part of this SEA-Santa Elena Agreement by placing their lands into the project and will receive the following benefits:
Reducing crop losses caused by wandering livestock or wind damage; Increasing rainfall infiltration, resulting in less work/irrigation water needed for local gardens; Increasing soil fertility by use of press-cake as fertilizer; Increasing use of inexpensive local resources rather than expensive external resources; Reducing disputes between farmers and livestock owners regarding crop damage, as well as
among farmers themselves regarding the boundaries of their fields; Providing local jobs, lessening the need for local villagers to migrate to cities to find
employment;*Complete financing from international sources to develop the full project from the preparation of lands to the conversion of oil into biodiesel;
*Adoption of the state-of-the-art technology to obtain the best yield from the JC crops to the gallons/per metric tons;
*To contract the most strategic international marketer to sell the ethanol and biodiesel under the best conditions in the international markets
Because of its economic value our rural people will be planting new Jatropha hedges in a large extent with more than 50,000 hectares in whole Peninsula of Santa Elena, where all 5 biofuel plants will be established for our Jatropha cultivation project, including the production of biodiesel and ethanol.
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We are sure that the results of the Jatropha Cultivation Project to convert the seeds into Biodiesel using all factor in our benefits such the best technology, enough international funds, vast appropriate lands to be cultivated, huge good demand for biodiesel, sales price according international stock exchange, and finally economic labor salaries will be successfully implemented into our own system, including all facilities for our workers and employees to live under the best standards of living inside our territory.
To summarize, the Jatropha system is characterized by the many positive ecological, energetic and economic aspects which are attached with the commercial exploitation of the JC plants to be cultivated in the Coastal region of Ecuador. Resulting the more these JC plants are going to exploited, the better for the environment and for food production.
FIGHTING DESERTIFICATION & CREATING WEALTH IN THE PENINSULA OF SANTA
ELENA
Jatropha curcas is a tough perennial tree could survive even in the desert, and could actually
stabilize soil and combat desertification, at the same time as its beans could be refined for diesel
fuel.
In Ecuador by employing and developing this cultivation project seems to be hopeful momentum
towards increasing use of biofuels worldwide and replacing the traditional derivative fossil diesel.
The selected area of the Peninsula of Santa Elena has been devastating by high level of
deforestation during the last 50 years. Over 60% of The Peninsula of Santa Elena’s land has the
right climate for growing Jatropha
Precisely in our JC cultivation project It is in the field of Bio Diesel fuel our main focus, however,
that Jatropha’s properties are the most exciting. At same power output, Jatropha curcas oil
specific consumption and efficiencies are higher than those of diesel fuel. International Tests
conducted show that out of these various vegetable oils including copra, palm, groundnut,
cottonseed, rapeseed, soya and sunflower - the lowest exhaust gas emissions were obtained
with copra and Jatropha Curcas crude oil.
CHALLENGES TO JATROPHA’S COMMERCIAL VIABILITY
There are still some inherent problems with Jatropha and research work is still required. We are
learning more and more about the properties of Jatropha. These potential problems include:
1) Jatropha oil is hydroscopic - absorbs water and needs nitrogen blanketing on steel tanks. One
issue that is quite clear is because Jatropha is high in acid, it has the tendency to degrade
quickly, particularly if not handled properly through the supply chain. This will be well treated in
our project
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2) Right from the time of expelling, the oil needs to be kept in storage conditions that prevent
undue degradation. Exposure to air and moisture must be minimized - hence the need for
nitrogen blanketing on the tanks. Our technology will be implemented to prevent degradation.
3) The range of fatty acids present in the various seeds will differ but the oil and biodiesel that is
produced must be acceptable. However, this assumes that that oil is fully degummed. The
degumming may well be more of a problem than making biodiesel. Our technological contractors
are fully specialized to overcome this important issue.
4) Seeds degrade as soon as they are picked and so careful storage and handling is required. In
the warm humid atmosphere in countries the degradation of seeds can be rapid. Even in the U.K.
seed storage is a problem. The free fatty acid must not increase above 2% according to our
expertise.
Alternative feedstock in our project
The emerging industry worldwide is facing a lack of feedstock supplies and rising crude palm oil /soy oil prices and also the debate of crops for food versus fuel and needs initiatives in crop cultivation technologies and competitive sourcing of appropriate feedstock - all of which can alter the biofuel economics. As such the greatest challenges to the widespread deployment and use of biofuels is developing a dedicated energy crops that are cost-effective, easy to sustain and can produce greater yields. JC cultivation as energy crop that produces biofuels and holds particular promise for sustainable development and a sustainable environment, Jatropha has been selected as the one and other intercropping food crops.
Sustainability
Jatropha cultivation 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-sustainability and alleviate poverty for women, elderly, men, rural communities, small farmers and finally large farmers. It can as well help to increase income from plantations and agro-industries.
There are various trees that are suitable for bio-diesel production. Out of all these trees, Jatropha must be regarded as a sure inclusion and the foundation around which a good plan can be built if for nothing but its pure hardiness and stress handling ability. It is just a tree that has enough credentials. That is why many developing countries has been nominated JC cultivation as ideal plant for biodiesel.
Carbon Savings
Biodiesel produced from jatropha is one of the most promising solutions for tackling the growing carbon emissions from transport.
Breaking the cycle of poverty
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Consider that oil priced is too high per barrel has had a disproportionate impact on the poorest countries, 38 of which are net importers and 25 of which import all of their oil; Developing countries consume roughly twice as much oil per dollar of GDP as the United States
All the while, the high cost and Inaccessibility of fossil fuels, leaves approximately 2 billion people worldwide without reliable energy sources, without refrigeration, basic communication, heat, or even light.
For developing countries, then, climate change and world’s energy policies are a source of oppression, a source of sickness and a source of human suffering.
Since the two-thirds of the people in the developing world who derive their incomes from agriculture and Jatropha based biodiesel as the Santa Elena project has enormous potential to change their situation for the better and poverty can be broken by Jatropha Cultivation as this dedicated crop has a huge potential for replication world -wide, improving the livelihood of many more. In our project more than 15,000 head member of families will employed for all stages of JC cultivation including into its conversion of Biodiesel to be marketed domestically and worldwide and other derivative sub-products will an enormous impact on benefits of all our people in the Coastal Region of Ecuador.
At the community level, farmers that produce dedicated energy crops can grow their incomes and grow their own supply of affordable and reliable energy backed by our international project by means of investing US$200 Millions per Biofuel plant and 15,000 hectares of fertile lands along the Peninsula of Santa Elena.
Our project at regional level, producing more biofuels will generate new industries, new technologies, new jobs and new markets. At the same time, producing more biofuels will reduce energy expenditures and allow our nation to put more of their resources into health, education and other services for their neediest citizens inside our territory, covering more than 50,000 hectares.
In our project bio-diesel will be “cultivated
Ecuador as other developing countries have 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 their main earnings to live under very reasonable standard of living as the one offered in our SEA-Santa Elena Agreement with good salaries, and in addition of 15% of participation in the shares of our promoting company.
Farmers need to know that there is going to be a good domestic and international market for what we will produce as energy crops. We – in Etanolsa S.A.’s Task Team - are very keen to
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build that confidence and promote Jatropha cultivation by assisting in the whole process from planting, buying the seeds for refining and providing the refining technology to enable growers, workers and employees to make our own biodiesel.
We’ve been privileged to represent Etanolsa as the Task Team, promoting sustainable farming for biodiesel production and looking for international research findings and on-hand field experiences in respect of various technical, agronomical/silvicultural aspects of plantations of Jatropha and we will contract the best expert companies that have resulted in significant improvements in knowledge and technical background related to Productivity, profitability and sustainability of commercial production of Jatropha oil crop worldwide.
Our plant will be cultivating these energy-producing plants, processing them and finally producing biodiesel, we are creating new sources of income for the rural farmers. Etanolsa S.A. the project’s promoter Task Team is happy and proudly presents its commitment to exploring, developing and establishing the correct process, procedures and systems for growing, crushing refining and use of Bio Diesel from seed oil, Jatropha curcas in particular under the respective international off take contracts.
We will contract the best companies specialized in each stage of the process who are fully equipped with Technical knowledge and plant science expertise, process engineering and operational expertise to plan, design and Create Fuel Farms; deploy and commission Non-food vegetable oil refining and design and construct biodiesel plants
Jatropha plant - Biodiesel and so much more
The seeds of the Jatropha contain high percentages (40%-50%) of oil, which can be extracted easily for further processing (transesterification) and refinement. This processed oil can then be used in diesel engines after minor modifications. To avoid engine modifications the bio-diesel can also be blended with convention-al diesel. On average, each mature tree produces about four kilograms of seed per year during the first 4 years.
The byproducts of the bio-diesel processing plant are nitrogen-rich press cake and glycerin, which are said to have good commercial value as fertilizer and as a base for soap and cosmetics respectively. The leaves, root and bark could also have potential for numerous other industrial and pharmaceutical uses Because of its growing requirements this tree could easily be growing in the south, especially the south west
It was learned that three kilos of jatropha seeds can produce one liter of bio-diesel fuel. It reportedly can also produce oil from which ethanol, a gasoline additive, can be derived.is seen by many to be the perfect biodiesel crop. It can be grown in very poor soils actually generating top soil as it goes, is drought and pest resilient, and it has seeds with up to 50% oil content.
Here are some facts and figures about Jatropha relating to its growth as an oil product:-
Jatropha grows well on low fertility soils however increased yields can be obtained using a fertilizer containing small amounts of magnesium, sulphur, and calcium.- Jatropha can be intercropped with many cash crops such as coffee, sugar, fruits and vegetables with the Jatropha offering both fertilizer and protection against livestock.- Jatropha needs at least 250mm of rain annually to thrive however it can survive three years of drought by dropping its leaves.- Jatropha is excellent at preventing soil erosion, and the leaves it drops act as a wonderful soil enriching mulch.- Jatropha prefers alkaline soils.- The cost of 2500 jatropha saplings (enough for one hectare) in Ecuador is around or equivalent
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to US$100- The cost of 1kg of jatropha seeds in Ecuador is around or equivalent to - Each jatropha seedling should be given a 2m x 2m area to grow into.- 20% of seedlings planted will not survive.- Jatropha seedlings yield seeds in the first year after plantation.-After the first five years, the typical annual yield of a jatropha tree is 3.5kg of beans- Jatropha trees are productive for up to 40-50 years in Ecuador.- 2,500 trees can be planted per hectare.- 1 hectare should yield around 24 tons of seeds per year with two crops.- The oil pressed from 4kg of seeds is needed to make 1 liter of biodiesel.- 91%+ of the oil can be extracted with cold pressing.- 1 hectare should yield around 2.2-2.8 tons of oil.- Press cake (seedcake) is left after the oil is pressed from the seeds. This can be composted and used as a high grade nitrogen rich organic fertilizer (green manure). The remaining oil can be used to make skin friendly soap.
- One job is created for each 4 hectares of jatropha plantation.- The average Ecuadorian agricultural worker earns less than $200 per month, but in our project they will earn more than US$500 per month.- Biodiesel costs around US$0.90 per gallon to grow and refine in Ecuador.- Glycer in , a biproduct of biodiesel refinement, can be sold in India for around US$2,000 per ton.- One hectare of jatropha plantation yields US$5,800/ year in Ecuador, including oil and glycerin.
The following stats come from D1 Oils - the UK’s biggest biodiesel company:- Crushing 1 ton of Jatropha seeds costs around $40.- 1 ton of (the leftovers after pressing) can be sold for $100.- The transport costs of shipping 1 ton of jatropha from Ecuador to Pacific Rim of USA is US$________.- Filtered jatropha oil can be used as is in many diesel vehicles (as SVO) with only small modifications required to the engine.- Jatropha oil can be used as a kerosene substitute for heating and lamps.- Jatropha oil burns with a clear smokeless flame
About Jatropha Curcas
Jatropha Curcas is a non edible oil crop predominately used to produce bio-diesel.
In addition to bio-diesel production, the by-product of Jatropha Curcas’ transesterification process can be used to make a wide range of products including high quality paper, energy pellets, soap, cosmetics, toothpaste, embalming fluid, pipe joint cement, cough medicine and as a moistening agent in tobacco.
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Jatropha Curcas Seeds & Seedlings
Our Superior high yielding Jatropha Curcas seeds and seedlings will:
Reach first harvest within 7 months with full production in their 4th year Have a life-span of 50 years, while producing seed for up to 40 years Be freshly harvested and professionally packed & shipped Exceed guaranteed 90% germination rate Produce fruit with high oil content (60%) - far exceeding industry average Have selected genetics from plants that have produced over 10 Tonnes of Oil per Hectare,
per Year. (10 - 15kgs per tree at maturity)
Projected growth rates of our high yielding Jatropha Curcas seeds
In our project we are going to use the correct growing procedures, soil nutrient and adequate moisture our seeds will achieve the following yields planted at 2,500 plants/Ha :
Year 1 - 3kg/tree Year 2 - 6kg/tree Year 3 - 9kg/tree Year 4 - 10-12kg/tree Year 5 - 10-15kg/tree
Achieving Outstanding Jatropha Curcas production
Jatropoha Curcas plants inoculated with MYCORRHIZAE will likely survive stressful conditions and give higher yields since the Funghi increases the volume of roots hence increasing drought tolerance of plants by facilitating the transport of moisture to and within the root system. The uptake of other nutrients essential for plant growth is also facilitated by mycorrhizae, and it has the ability to convert normally unavailable forms of Phosphorous to forms available for plant uptake.
Jatropha Biodiesel – plant based biofuel from seeds.
The Jatropha Curcas is a drought resistant oleaginous bushy shrub/tree belongs to the family of Euphorbiaceae and its oily seeds can produce 5–10 times of oil that is got from the common vegetable oil sources like soy bean and corn. One hectare of Jatropha plantation can produce
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around 500 gallons of biodiesel per year from its physic nuts along with more than 3,500 kilograms of waste biomass.
Hectares 1 1,000 15,000 60,000
Oil Gallons 500 500,000 75,000,000 300,000,000
Waste Biomass Kilos 3,500 3,500,000 52,500,000 210,000,000
Jatropha Curcas – tropical crop with minimal water source.
The scientific name of Jatropha Curcas is Jatropha Curcas L and its origin is believed to be Central America, which currently found in huge densities in the Asian and African countries. Physically, Jatropha Curcas grows like a small tree or shrub with 2 – 8 meters high and has large green leaves with three to five lobes.
Jatropha Curcas is a long term crop, which starts providing its effective harvest after 18 – 24 months depending upon the soil and the climatic conditions. The Jatropha Curcas plant grows like a small tree or shrub and has a long lifetime of 40-50 years. The plantation can be grown in waste lands and requires a minimum maintenance and when compared to other crops.
The plant doesn’t take much water to survive and requires minimal of water source equivalent to 250 mm of annual rainfall, which enables us to grow jatropha curcas plantations marginal land or even in arid regions, where other common plantation crops cannot be grown.
Jatropha curcas is grows well in tropical and subtropical climatic conditions. Even when Jatropha adapts with lower temperatures it cannot withstand a frost and grows well at 20-32 deg mean annual temperature and its ideal altitude ranges from 0 to 500 m.
Jatropha Oil to Biodiesel – by the process of transesterification.
The following chart shows the process of converting the jatropha oil into biodiesel:
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Advantages of Jatropha – as a promising biofuel crop.
Jatropha Curcas needs very less amount of water for survival - only about 10 inches (250 mm) of rainfall per year - thus can be grown in arid regions and will grow well on marginal lands.
Once grown, it has a long life, about 40-50 years and needs very minimal maintenance when compared to other crops.
It can stop land degradation and reverse deforestation.
Intercropping can be done with various food crops and won’t compete.
Biproducts of Jatropha – additional products from the crop.The efficiency and profitability of the jatropha curcas bio-fuel industry, increases with the commercial usage of by-products like jatropha cakes and glycerol generated during the process of oil extraction. The Jatropha cake left after oil extraction is an excellent organic fertilizer and can also be burnt for power generation..
These cakes contain proteins and carbohydrates as major constituents and several bioactive compounds as minor constituents. There is a lot of potential to use these cakes for production of biogas, producer gas, briquettes and several products like surfactants and lubricants.
The by-product glycerol can be used for production of Propylene Glycol, which can be used for making unsaturated polyster resins, poly ether polyols, functional fluids, cosmetics and toiletries flavor.
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Propanediol produced from glycerol has a number of applications in laminates, composites novel polysters solvents, and special polymers. Liquid phase hydrogenolysis of glycerol can result in the formation of propylene glycol and ethylene glycol for manufacture of polyster fibre and synthetic cloth.
Jatropha Plantation – tomorrow’s oil fields.
Jatropha Curcas is hardy drought resistant and grows well in tropical and subtropical regions in a band around the earth between latitudes 30 degrees north and south of the Equator. Jatropha Curcas Trees have a lifespan of up to 40-50 years.
Jatropha Curcas grows on a wide range of land types, including non-arable, marginal and waste land, and need not compete with vital food crops for good agricultural land. Jatropha can be intercropped with various crops including vegetables, tubers, medicinal plants.
The first stage to establish Jatropha Cultivation System will be to buy the necessary tonnage of seeds available in bulk quantities from the international market to fit our needs for our large scale projects to install and construct 5 biofefineries to be develop in the Coastal Region of Ecuador.
Biodiesel Unit – oil extraction and conversion machinery.
The biodiesel unit consists of an expeller and a transesterifier reactor. The oil is extracted from the jatropha curcas seeds with the help of an oil expeller and then converted into biodiesel with the help of a chemical process called transesterification, which can be then blended or directly used in diesel engines. Several automotive companies have found their vehicles successively running over the pure biodiesel.
Biodiesel unit with the expeller and the transesterifier are available with various processing capacities. If there are new machineries that need biodiesel with special specifications unit, you can contact us with your processing requirements in terms of liters/day
Jatropha Oil Fields – tomorrow’s oil source.
With apparent shortcomings of other renewable fuels sources, the enthusiasm for initiating today’s jatropha curcas plantations which will be tomorrow’s oil fields have increased among the large and small scale farmers which can also make use poor lands with minimal water sources.
Analysis of the bioenergy market suggests that jatropha, which can be grown in variable conditions with little water or fertilizer, could be used to produce a barrel of fuel for around $43, less than the cost of sugar cane-based ethanol ($45 per barrel) or corn-based ethanol ($83 per barrel). Further, because jatropha isn’t edible and grows on land unsuitable for foods crops, its expansion doesn’t compete with traditional food production.
Unlike soybeans, canola and many other agricultural sources of biodiesel, Jatropha can be cultivated on arid and semi arid non-agricultural land. This means growing Jatropha never has to compete with growing food. Also, on a per acre basis ,Jatropha can yield up to 10 times the amount of oil as other sources of biodiesel. Finally, Jatropha is a perennial, lasting up to 50 years without replanting.
The byproducts like jatropha curcas cake (portion of the seed left over after extraction of the seed’s oil) is full of nitrogen compounds making it an excellent organic fertilizer. After 4 or 5
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years of treatment with this “cake” the soil of this originally non-agricultural land will be suitable for planting food crops or trees for reforestation to help considerable agriculture in Ecuador.
Jatropha in Rural – creating new opportunities.
Our Jatropha curcas plantation systems have the ability to lift many people from poverty to financial independence, from despair to respect and unemployment to business owners and partners in our project to be developed in the Peninsula of Santa Elena. Our project will help and increase in a significant way Ecuador’s economic development and in the energy demand.
It is a real matter that conventional energy sources are the major cause of climate change, leads to understanding that clean renewable energy technologies are to be widely introduced. Thus enables us – SEA-The Santa Elena Agreement - to utilize the large tracts of cheap barren land, large and inexpensive rural workforce to develop alternative energy options. A real alternative for transportation and energy production, which benefits four main aspects of development and secure a sustainable way of life for thousands of people in the Coastal Region of Ecuador.
Jatropha Curcas – tropical crop with minimal water source.
Jatropha is bush that grows in the warm regions of the world as it is sensitive to colder climates. Once it’s planted it grows and produces nuts that contain oil within a few years, and produces these annually for up to 50 years. Jatropha has been grown in developing countries for many years. In fact, it was distributed by Portuguese sailors from Mexico and South America over a hundred years ago to places such as India, Africa, and South East Asia. It’s been used locally for production of oil that was used in local village based industries for soap production. Since the plants are toxic they have also been used to plant hedges and to keep animals out of areas of land.
Jatropha Machinery – oil extraction and conversion.
We are going to use the most efficient, reliable and durable expeller available in the international markets. These large oil expeller will be used to crush jatropha curcas seeds in single pressing operation whereas it is used as final press for other seeds/ nuts up to 500 tons in an hour with the help of the electrical motor. We will also count with the best transesterification machineries that is used convert Jatropha oil to biodiesel that is viable for industrial use in our project.
Its oily seeds can produce 5–10 times of oil that is got from the common vegetable oil sources like soy bean and corn. One hectare of Jatropha plantation can produce around 500 gallons of biodiesel per year from its physic nuts along with more than 3,500 kilograms of waste biomass.
Biodiesel from vegetable oils – alternate to fossil fuels.Vegetable oils and their derivatives (especially methyl esters), commonly referred to as “biodiesel” are prominent candidates as alternative diesel fuels. They have advanced from being
Hectares 1 1.000 10.000 50,000
Oil Gallons 500 500.000 5,000,000 25,000,000
Waste Biomass Kilos 3.500 3,500,000 35,000,000 175,000,000
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purely experimental fuels to initial stages of commercialization. They are technically competitive with or offer technical advantages compared to conventional diesel fuel.
Besides being a renewable and domestic resource, biodiesel reduces most emissions while engine performance and fuel economy are nearly identical compared to conventional fuels. Pure Biodiesel is a clean burning fuel which runs in any unmodified diesel engine. This fuel is an environmentally-friendly alternative to the higher emission petroleum diesel used in large transport vehicles and some cars and trucks. Our biodiesel will be manufactured at an industrial scale near a production of 80,000 gallons per year per plant for diesel engines that can also be run on unmodified vegetable oil like jatropha curcas bio-diesel.
Even we Can extract the Jatropha oil from seeds and directly used in the vehicle. All depends on the engine. If we have a diesel engine with a pre-combustion chamber, we can use the oil directly (after good filtering). If we have a modern diesel engine with direct injection, we have to modify the engine. The best is, to start the engine with diesel, then switch to plant oil (when the engine is hot), and to stop the engine by using diesel again for some few minutes.
This means It Can Be Use Direct As Fuel With Mobile, Car, Or Other Diesel Engine Without to be Modified. Yes, definitely Jatropha oil can be used as fuel directly in stationary diesel engines and in mobile ones (cars, trucks, busses), but you have to modify the diesel engine. You can also use Jatropha oil in some diesel engines with a pre-combustion chamber without modification.
Further explanation and application with Which Diesel Engine Is Suitable For Bio Diesel Precombustion Chamber Or Direct Injection. Bio-diesel is a chemically modified plant oil. It behaves like diesel and can be used in any diesel engine (DI or pre-combustion chamber) directly. Since bio-diesel is a strong organic solvent, it attacks joints and tubes from organic material (plastic, rubber). So you have to make sure, that your engine has bio-diesel proof joints and plastic parts.
Then It is sure possible to plant and develop jatropha biodiesel biorefineries in Ecuador in macro scale as is the case of our project under the following conditions:
1. Good land price
2. Economic harvest cost, and processing 3. High-yield compare with other plant. 4. Availability of funds for biodiesel plant investing. 5. High Price for derivative fossil crude oil.
Based on the above premises there are excellent chances for this future on green energy such as the biodiesel to be produce in our 5 biorefineries to be installed and established in the Coastal Region of Ecuador. We are sure that there is no obstacles in the plantation of Jatropha system. We visualize a model, where farmers are growing Jatropha, harvesting the seeds and extracting the oil. Then in our final stage converting jathropa oil into biodiesel to be sold domestically and internationally with a sustainable demand that will last for at least 50 years. We are ready to go into the new era of carbohydrates.
Central hypothesis: The Jatropha System creates a positive reciprocity between raw material / energy production and environment / food production; i.e. the more energy Jatropha hedges produce, the more food crops are protected from animals and erosion. Also additional income is created, mainly for women.
The Jatropha System
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The Plant (Jatropha curcas L.) is a shrub or small tree which is planted in tropical and subtropical countries as a living fence to protect gardens and fields from animals. It produces small seeds which contain more than 30 % of a nonedible oil.The Products are oil, press-cake and the sediment of oil purification. The oil can be used as fuel in pre-combustion chamber diesel engines and as lubrificant, the oil and the sediment can be used for soap production and the press cake is a good organic fertilizer. The oil contains also an insecticide.
-The Oil Extraction can be done with hand- or engine driven expellers. These are simple machines, which can be operated on village level and built within the country.Socio-economic impacts of the exploitation of the Jatropha curcas plant are very complex: Women promotion Erosion ontrol Income generation Renewable energies 3-dimensional visualisation of this system –The Plant « Jatropha curcas L.»Photos of the Jatropha plant Keeping JCL plant in office--Description of Jatropha curcas L. by Purdue University copy Other oil / fuel plants:Diesel tree or Copaifera langsdorfii Desf. copy Honge oil tree or Pongamia pinnata copy Pongam tree or Pongamia pinnata (L.) copy Jatropha fact sheetBotanical Description Varieties Seed Analysis of Different Origins Genetic of Plants of Different Origins NonToxic Varieties Flowering and Fruit Development Distribution of Jatropha curcas Geographical Distribution Climatic and Soil Conditions Yield
Jatropha curcas L.EuphorbiaceaePhysic nut, Purging nut Source: James A. Duke. 1983. Handbook of Energy Crops. unpublished. Uses Folk Medicine Chemistry Toxicity Description Germplasm Distribution Ecology Cultivation Harvesting Yields and Economics Energy Biotic Factors References UsesAccording to Ochse (1980), "the young leaves may be safely eaten, steamed or stewed." They are favored for cooking with goat meat, said to counteract the peculiar smell. Though purgative, the nuts are sometimes roasted and dangerously eaten. In India, pounded leaves are applied near horses' eyes to repel flies. The oil has been used for illumination, soap, candles, adulteration of olive oil, and making Turkey red oil. Nuts can be strung on grass and burned like candlenuts (Watt and Breyer-Brandwijk, 1962). Mexicans grow the shrub as a host for the lac insect. Ashes of the burned root are used as a salt substitute (Morton, 1981). Agaceta et al. (1981) conclude that it has strong molluscicidal activity. Duke and Wain (1981) list it for homicide, piscicide, and raticide as well. The latex was strongly inhibitory to watermelon mosaic virus (Tewari and Shukla, 1982). Bark used as a fish poison (Watt and Breyer-Brandwijk, 1962). In South Sudan,
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the seed as well as the fruit is used as a contraceptive (List and Horhammer, 1969–1979). Sap stains linen and can be used for marking (Mitchell and Rook, 1979). Little, Woodbury, and Wadsworth (1974) list the species as a honey plant.
Folk Medicine
According to Hartwell, the extracts are used in folk remedies for cancer. Reported to be abortifacient, anodyne, antiseptic, cicatrizant, depurative, diuretic, emetic, hemostat, lactagogue, narcotic, purgative, rubefacient, styptic, vermifuge, and vulnerary, physic nut is a folk remedy for alopecia, anasorca, ascites, burns, carbuncles, convulsions, cough, dermatitis, diarrhea, dropsy, dysentery, dyspepsia, eczema, erysipelas, fever, gonorrhea, hernia, incontinence, inflammation, jaundice, neuralgia, paralysis, parturition, pleurisy, pneumonia, rash, rheumatism, scabies, sciatica, sores, stomachache, syphilis, tetanus, thrush, tumors, ulcers, uterosis, whitlows, yaws, and yellow fever (Duke and Wain, 1981; List and Horhammer, 1969–1979). Latex applied topically to bee and wasp stings (Watt and Breyer-Brandwijk, 1962). Mauritians massage ascitic limbs with the oil. Cameroon natives apply the leaf decoction in arthritis (Watt and Breyer-Brandwijk, 1962). Colombians drink the leaf decoction for venereal disease (Morton, 1981). Bahamans drink the decoction for heartburn. Costa Ricans poultice leaves onto erysipelas and splenosis. Guatemalans place heated leaves on the breast as a lactagogue. Cubans apply the latex to toothache. Colombians and Costa Ricans apply the latex to burns, hemorrhoids, ringworm, and ulcers. Barbadians use the leaf tea for marasmus, Panamanians for jaundice. Venezuelans take the root decoction for dysentery (Morton, 1981). Seeds are used also for dropsy, gout, paralysis, and skin ailments (Watt and Breyer-Brandwijk, 1962). Leaves are regarded as antiparasitic, applied to scabies; rubefacient for paralysis, rheumatism; also applied to hard tumors (Hartwell, 1967–1971). Latex used to dress sores and ulcers and inflamed tongues (Perry, 1980). Seed is viewed as aperient; the seed oil emetic, laxative, purgative, for skin ailments. Root is used in decoction as a mouthwash for bleeding gums and toothache. Otherwise used for eczema, ringworm, and scabies (Perry, 1980; Duke and Ayensu, 1984). We received a letter from the Medicial Research Center of the University of the West Indies shortly after the death of Jamacian singer Robert Morley, "I just want you to know that this is not because of Bob Morley's illness, why I am revealing this ... my dream was: this old lady came to me in my sleep with a dish in her hands; she handed the dish to me filled with some nuts. I said to her, "What were those?" She did not answer. I said to her, "PHYSIC NUTS." She said to me, "This is the cure for cancer." We found this Jamaican dream rather interesting. Four anti-tumor compounds, including jatropham and jatrophone, are reported from other species of Jatropha (Duke and Ayensu, 1984). Homeopathically used for cold sweats, colic, collapse, cramps, cyanosis, diarrhea, leg cramps. ChemistryPer 100 g, the seed is reported to contain 6.6 g H2O, 18.2 g protein, 38.0 g fat, 33.5 g total carbohydrate, 15.5 g fiber, and 4.5 g ash (Duke and Atchley, 1983). Leaves, which show antileukemic activity, contain a-amyrin, b-sitosterol, stigmasterol, and campesterol, 7-keto-b-sitosterol, stigmast-5-ene-3-b, 7-a-diol, and stigmast-5-ene-3 b, 7 b-diol (Morton, 1981). Leaves contain isovitexin and vitexin. From the drug (nut?) saccharose, raffinose, stachyose, glucose, fructose, galactose, protein, and an oil, largely of oleic- and linoleic-acids (List and Horhammer, 1969–1979), curcasin, arachidic-, linoleic-, myristic-, oleic-, palmitic-, and stearic-acids are also reported (Perry, 1980). Toxicity
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The poisoning is irritant, with acute abdominal pain and nausea about 1/2 hour following ingestion. Diarrhea and nausea continue but are not usually serious. Depression and collapse may occur, especially in children. Two seeds are strong purgative. Four to five seed are said to have caused death, but the roasted seed is said to be nearly innocuous. Bark, fruit, leaf, root, and wood are all reported to contain HCN (Watt and Breyer-Brandwijk, 1962). Seeds contain the dangerous toxalbumin curcin, rendering them potentially fatally toxic.
Description
Shrub or tree to 6 m, with spreading branches and stubby twigs, with a milky or yellowish rufescent exudate. Leaves deciduous, alternate but apically crowded, ovate, acute to acuminate, basally cordate, 3 to 5-lobed in outline, 6–40 cm long, 6–35 cm broad, the petioles 2.5–7.5 cm long. Flowers several to many in greenish cymes, yellowish, bell-shaped; sepals 5, broadly deltoid. Male flowers many with 10 stamens, 5 united at the base only, 5 united into a column. Female flowers borne singly, with elliptic 3-celled, triovulate ovary with 3 spreading bifurcate stigmata. Capsules, 2.5–4 cm long, finally drying and splitting into 3 valves, all or two of which commonly have an oblong black seed, these ca 2 x 1 cm (Morton, 1977; Little et al., 1974).
Germplasm
Reported from the Central and South American Centers of Diversity, physic nut, or cvs thereof, is reported to tolerate Slope. There is an endemic species in Madagascars J. mahafalensis, with equal energetic promise. (2n = 22) DistributionThough native to America, the species is almost pantropical now, widely planted as a medicinal plant which soon tends to establish itself. It is listed, e.g., as a weed in Brazil, Fiji, Honduras, India, Jamaica, Panama, Puerto Rico, and Salvador (Holm et al, 1979). EcologyRanging from Tropical Very Dry to Moist through Subtropical Thorn to Wet Forest Life Zones, physic nut is reported to tolerate annual precipitation of 4.8 to 23.8 dm (mean of 60 cases = 14.3) and annual temperature of 18.0 to 28.5°C (mean of 45 cases = 25.2). CultivationGrows readily, from cuttings or seeds. Cuttings strike root so easily that the plant can be used as an energy-producing living fence post. HarvestingFor medicinal purposes, the seeds are harvested as needed. For energy purposes, seeds might be harvested all at once, the active medicinal compounds might be extracted from the seed, before or after the oil, leaving the oil cake for biomass or manure. Yields and Economics According to Gaydou et al (1982), seed yields approach 6–8 MT/ha with ca 37% oil. They calculate that such yields could produce the equivalent of 2,100–2,800 liters fuel oil/ha (see table under Energy). In Madagascar, they have ca 10,000 ha of purging nut, each producing ca 24 hl oil/ha for a potential production of 240,000 hl (Gaydou, et al, 1982). EnergyThe clear oil expressed from the seed has been used for illumination and lubricating, and more recently has been suggested for energetic purposes, one ton of nuts yielding 70 kg
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refined petroleum, 40 kg "gasoil leger" (light fuel oil), 40 kg regular fuel oil, 34 kg dry tar/pitch/rosin, 270 kg coke-like char, and 200 kg ammoniacal water, natural gas, creosote, etc. In a startling study, Gaydou et al. (1982) compare several possible energy species with potential to grow in Malagasy. Oil palm was considered energetically most promising.
Crop production MT/ha Fuel production/ha
Energetic equivalentkwh/ha
Elaeis guineensis 18–20 3,600–4,000 33,900–37,700
Jatropha curcas 6–8 2,100–2,800 19,800–26,400
Aleurites fordii 4–6 1,800–2,700 17,000–25,500
Saccharum officinarum 35 2,450 16,000
Ricinus communis 3–5 1,200–2,000 11,300–18,900
Manihot eaculenta 6 1,020 6,600
Yield per tree per yearNos. Trees Oil Gallons Kg. Fertilizer Kg. Biomass
Green Mature1 10 120 2502,500/Ha. 25,000 300,000 625,0001,000 Has. 25,000,000 300,000,000 625,000,00010,000 Has. 250,000,000 300,000,000 Tons 625,000,00 Tons50,000 Has. 1,250,000,000 1,500,000,000
Tons3,125,000,000 Tons
Quick economics:
A liter of Honge was equivalent in performance to a liter of diesel. If the farmer collected the seeds free from his land, had it milled and sold the oil cake at Rs.3 per kG, the cost of oil to him was Rs.4 per liter. [The cost of diesel is Rs.18 a liter today.] If he bought the seeds at Rs.3.50 per kilo, the cost was Rs.9 per liter and if he bought the ready oil from the market it was Rs.20. The potential to drive the rural economy, make it autonomous and put some cash in its pockets was obvious.
"We are mindlessly increasing food grain production without caring to see how the poor would buy them. That it is why food rots and people go hungry. If the power and fertilizer needs are met by Honge, villages would have cash surpluses," says Dr.Shrinivasa.
In fact the opportunity is enormous for the country's macro-economy too. "...30 million hectare equivalent [planted for biodiesels] can completely replace the current use of fossil fuels, both liquid and solid, renewably. Our oil bill is $6 billion a year; we can put a third of that cash in the hands of rural Indians, have our oil needs met and save the two thirds. Do we have the land? Sure! Currently about 100 million hectares are lying waste
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in India. Cost? About Rs.1000 crores per year for 20 years and we should become self-sufficient forever in oil.
Oil Expellers for Jatropha SeedsDifferent oil expellers for Jatropha seed are build in many countries. Clicking on the picture shows you more details of the expellers, clicking on the logo leads you to the website of the producer (if existing or known). The Sayari expeller has been developed by FAKT consulting engineers Dietz, Metzler, Zarrate for the use in Nepal. Therefore it was designed out of iron sheets instead of cast iron to limit the eight of the heaviest parts to 40 kg. It is nowe built in Tanzania by VYAHUMU Trust, Morogoro, and in Zimbabwe by POPA, Harare (see addresses)
M.S.Kohli (Partner), Sardar Engineering Co 77/148-A-1, Latouche RoadKanpur-208001, U.P., INDIA+91-0512-2367333, 0941-5056183,[email protected]
Komet Expellers of IBGMonforts-Sayari (Sundhara) Oil Expeller, produced in different countries around the world Tanzania, Mali, Zimbabwe, Zambia
-
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Krupp Elastomertechnik
-TäbyPressen from Sweden
-In Kenya and USA - Small Scale Oil Seed Production
Value-Added & Processing Guide- to download the guide as pdf-file
-TINYECH TINY OIL MILL
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-Dong Kwang Korea
description of expellers-OIL PRESS EQUIPMENT from China Xu Wenjie, General Trading Co.,Ltd 4th Floor, Appartment 2, Building 4 Jiankangyuan, Jiankang Rd.Anyang,Henan, China Tel: (86) 372 5953961 Fax: (86) 372 5965148e-mail: [email protected] internet: http://www.ayimpex.com
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-United Oil Mill Machinery & Spares Pvt.Ltd.,D - 133, Okhla Industrial Area, Phase - I,New Delhi-110020, India.Phone: 91-11-26371201 / 26371202 / 26371203Fax: 91-11-26371200Website: www.umas-india.com E-mail: [email protected] also the list of presses of the "Journey to Forever Website"
SCREW PRESSES FOR COLD PRESSING, VEGETABLE OIL PROCESSINGRAPESEED, LINSEED, FLAXSEED, SUNFLOWER SEED, SESAME SEED, PEANUT, GROUND-NUTS, MUSTARD SEED, POPPY, COTTON SEED, JOJOBA, HEMP, RAPSSAAT, SENF, MOUTARDE, GRAINES DE TOURNESOL, COLZA, SONNENBLUMENKERNE, CHANVRE, ARACHIDE, COPRA, POMEGRANATE etc.
Oil press:
NEW Oilpress and kits for older TäbyPress to get 2 screw press in the same oil press and many other new develop.
Fendt 820 Tractor Variogreentec, at the Agritechnica 2007 that runs on rapeseed oil ex works. Deutz tractor engines to run on raw, unprocessed vegetable oil
Oil-press manufactured in Sweden by Skeppsta Maskin LtdType 20 |--- Prospectus Type 40a |--- Prospectus
To see prospectus get PDF Type 55 |--- Prospectus
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Prospectus German Type 70 |--- Prospectus Type 90 |--- Prospectus Type Double |--- Prospectus
Oilpress in comparisonTest of seed resultWatch Guard SMS Retail dealer of oilpress PlantExample Oilplant sediment hopperExample Oilplant sediment.Address of add. drums, silos, burners, etcAdvantages *Type 55 Bauer , Type70 and Type90Terms of sales GuaranteeCurrency Converter Price to USD and other Retail dealersSuggestion of oil-epressning More tipsVideo Type 40aMPG VideoType 90 MPG VIDEO
VIDEO Oilpress Conversions Diesel Engine motors, FairsFilter manufactured in Sweden by Skeppsta Maskin LtdType F70S Prospectus TäbyPress Oil-press on the internet. Jan Greger Persson Nordvestjysk Folkecenter för Vedvarende Energi Fresh Hemp Foods LtdRolf Hellberg på Öland Leonardo da Vinci Elexi Oil OY HALNER GÅRDHerrgårn´s - ProdukterHigh Barn Oil UKClaes LindholmÅs institutetVirestadgårdenNordic FarmimpexWelcome to the Four Leaf Group of CompaniesAlavuden Finlandhttp://www.osel.co.nz/index.aspx
Lin-seed oil manufactured in Sweden by Bengt JonssonLin-seed oilLin-seed oil health foods oilLin-seed -cakeLin-seed-oil paintLin-seed-bun.Reatil dealers of lin-seed-oilOrder
Cultivation Cultivation Lin-seed Tips att förhindra lindningRikslinkonsulent Sven-Erik Larsson
Rape-seedRape-seed cakeGroing of rape-seed RME Manual making biodiesel in a sprayer. Viskosity meter self made
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Conversion of diesel-engine to rape-oil Conversion Rape-Therm4Data of rape-oil FAQHistory of DiselengineAddress of add. drums, silos, burners, etcDrawing of conversionVäxthuseffektenLinks to conversion to (SVO) raw straight rape-oil. Forum about (SVO) Rape-oil to diesel-engine.
Burners Burners Conversion to rapeoil in your own cookers and burner Skeppsta Maskin Ltd Skeppsta Maskin Ltd LatheHardenTest of hardenTermal injection Used Machines Used Machines Fair ExhibitionFair ExhibitionNärkes EnergiföreningNärkes Energiförening
JordbruksverketFakta om svenskt jordbrukPressmeddelande - arkivOdla raps, rybs, solros på uttagen areal med bidrag.Other Translation
"NEW" kit for older Type55 to get 2 screw press in the same oil press. Coming soon for sale.
Screw presses for cold pressing. RAPESEED, LINSEED, FLAXSEED, SUNFLOWER SEED, SESAME SEED, PEANUT, GROUNDNUTS, MUSTARD SEED, POPPY, COTTON SEED, HEMP, RAPSSAAT, SENF, MOUTARDE, GRAINES DE TOURNESOL, COLZA, SONNENBLUMENKERNE, CHANVRE, ARACHIDE, JOJOBA etc. The ideal press for everybody who intends to produce oil, edible oil, tractor oil, chain saw oil, biodiesel, Rapsöl, RME, Pflanzenöl, hemp seed oil, health food, Reformkost etc.You can choose different models of presses. Manufactured by concentrating on reliability, durability, low weight, easy serviceability, simple power supply and a low price.
* Extruded meal, perfect for Feed or Fuel * Operate 24/7 * Simple operation *
OIL-PRESS.
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Motor Kw 3 phase -1,5 Kw Power supply: Type 55 with Bauer or Varmec RCV 252 gearbox and Moeller 322 inverter. Electric motor MT eady to use with the touch of a button.-230/240 volt 1 phase 16Amp 50/60Hz
Plugged into a socket outlet. Capacity litres: approx Dependent on the condition of the seed. -5 - 11 litre / hour 1.32 - 2.904 Gallon seed / hour
Test of seed result. Extraction % OIL: approx Dependent on the condition of the seed. -25 - 37% Capacity kg seed / hour approx: -20 - 36 kg /44-79.2 Pound seed/hourOilproduktion 12 month 8760 hour In a year oil production: Translate to gallon-43 - 78 m3 / 270.8 - 489.84 BarrelLength mm -1020 mm Width mm -350 mmHeight without filling hopper mm -300 mmWeight press kg -64 kgWeight electric cabinet kg -27kg, Electric cabinet (L*W*H) mm -500x300x500
Frequency converter -Yes Type 55 Price ex works Örebro, Sweden, unpacked. - 47 000:-SEK USD DM EUROPrice Sparepart press-screw 3 kg-3500:-SEK USD DM EUROPrice Sparepart presstube 2 kg-1300:-SEK USD DM EUROMoms tillkommer på alla priser i Sverige 25%- Sparepart list, Manual, Type 55 Prospectus Eng Oilpress-comparison To get Acrobat Reader for PDF Exchange the presscrew is very easy look at : Picture1 Picture2 Seed cookie guard Currency Converter Price to USD and other. Rape-oil for diesel-engine. ECO-Tuning of diesel-engine, car and tractor. Dealers PlantTerms of sales Advantages *Type 55 Bauer , Type70 and Type90Guarantee
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BRANDSÄKERHET VID OLJEPRESSNINGBroschyr Svensk Adresser kontakter. Tillsatser, dunkar, silos, fröFörsäljningsvillkor Fördelar för TäbyPressen Typ 55 . 70, 90Bauer GarantivillkorFrökakevakt som stoppar om något går felRaps diesel konvertering SVO SVO Straight Vegetable Oil , Diesel Conversion Kit
The price do not include V.A.T. (Value-added tax)
Gear drive in oil bath for continuous operation. Hardened steel in press tools. Manual starting is required after a power failure. Motor protection. Automatic cut-out if press screw overheats. Startwarmthcollar. Prepared for oxygenfree pressing. Interchangeable nozzles, tools and instruction manual supplied. We reserve the right to make changes to technical data and design without prior notifications.
Skeppsta Maskin AB manufactured also oil-cleaning filterTäbyFilter Type F70 S2-1 Request an offer, price, freight, and date of delivery. Begär pris , frakt, levtid. Skeppsta Maskin AB Bengt Jonsson Täby SkeppstaS-705 94 ÖREBROSWEDENTel: +46-19 22 80 05 Fax: +46-19 22 80 05Products of the exploitation of the Jatropha plant Seeds-» insecticides and molluscicides» traditional medicin against constipation» lighting» production of oilDeshelled seeds-» traditional soap production from ponded almondOil-» natural oil as diesel substitute (Project in Mali)» as fuel for cooking stoves» as fuel for lighting» natural oil as diesel substitute in high tech motors (Elsbett)» natural oil as diesel substitute in high tech motors (Vereinigte Werkstätten)» biodiesel production » oil-methyl-ester as diesel substitute (Project in Nicaragua)» soap production (this is an original document, the file has 440 kb, so it will take some time to be charged) » soap production version without photos» oil as lubrication oil» drilling oil» cosmetics» analysis of fatty acids» analysis of oil
press cake: organic fertilizer
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Leaves: tea against malaria, massage at luxationLiquid: desinfection of childrens mouth infections, stop bleedingseed hulls: waste product, no reported useTrunk: no use as firewood, too soft, high content of water, small boxes for cheese
Integrated Utilization of the Jatropha Plant
Central hypothesis: The Jatropha System creates a positive correlation between energy production and food production i. e. the more energy Jatropha hedges produce, the more food crops are protected from animals and erosion. Also additional income is created, mainly for women.
Promotion of WomenImprovement of the working conditions of women (grain-mills) and income (soap production) through utilization of the Jatropha plantFacilitation of soap production Strengthening of economic independency of womenPayment of milling costs through Jatropha seed salesErosion ControlErosion control through planting of Jatropha hedges and stabilizing small dams
……………………………………………
Living fences Improvement of soil fertiliyImproved fallowReduction of wind and water erosionIncrease of hedge length in expectation of economic profit Jatropha curcas L.
The Jatropha plant is used as a living fence around gardens and fields, since it is not consumed by animals
Yield of oil: 0,2 l per kg of seeds Production: 1 kg seeds per meter of hedge per yearExistence of Jatropha in Mali: about 10.000 km protection hedgesInsecticidal and molluscicidal factors in the seedsPoverty ReductionCreation of income in rural areas through use of Jatropha oil as fuel
and as raw material for soap production
Sale of Jatropha seeds Improvement of rural incomeReduction of cash drain from rural to urban areasProtection of food crops against gazing animalsRenewable EnergyProduction und use of Jatropha oil as fuel in stationary engines
Plant oil engines
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Substitution of diesel by Jatropha oilEnergy production in rural areasRural mechanization
Analysis of seeds of different origin
OriginWeight of 1000 seeds
Length of 1 seed (av. of 20)
Nicaragua 878 g 20,0 mm
Belice 813 g 18,8 mm
Mali (non toxic seeds from Mexico)see photos of the non toxic plants
542 g 17,2 mm
Tanzania 682 g 16,8 mm
Seed density:
1 liter (1.000 ccm) very dry seeds of Cape Verde type
440 grams70 g for 100 seeds =630 seeds for 1 liter
1 liter (1.000 ccm) of selected seeds for planting from Tanzania (Cape Verde type)
549 grams 67,5 g for 100 seeds
Seeds from Mali (left) and Nicaragua (right), size of seeds see below
Biodiesel:Please contact the website www.journeytoforever.org. There you find a lot of biodiesel information: http://www.journeytoforever.org/biodiesel.html
The Jatropha website does not promote biodiesel production. The Jatropha website supports the direct use of plant oil as fuel (SVO = straight vegetable oil).
Biogas using Jatropha presscake:
JCL oil cake is a very good substrate for biogas production because of its high protein and mineral content. You just add the press cake to the cow manure with which you feed your biogas digestor. You should mix it with the cow dung and water, as one usually does, so that it can flow easily into the digestor. You can use both, fresh cow dung or already fermented slurry. The latter is richer is biogas bacteria. You should start with
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small quantities of presscake, so the bacteries can adapt themselves to the new composition of the substrate.
Climatic conditions: Jatropha needs a minimum of 600 mm of rainfall. Or special local conditions like high water table, etc. It does not resist to water logging. It is not frost resistant. It can survive long drought periods of 7 or 8 months.
Engines for Jatropha oil, addresses: The Lister type engines can be used with pure plant oil, without any modification. All these Lister type engines are produced in Rajkot, India. The best ones seem to be the "Fieldmarshal" engines of the company P.M. Diesels Ltd, AJI Industrial Estate, P.O.Box 1003, Rajkot-360 003, India. Pone: +91 281-87401(-2-3-4), Fax: +91 281-87406, e-mail unknown.They produce the engines normally in 3 qualities. But the better quality you can only order at the factory.More details are in the Jatropha website: www.jatropha.org.
Household / domestic energy: Why did'nt you ever looked at Jatropha oil as a source of domestic energy in an African household.
We propose the use of Jatropha oil a domestic energy (see www.Jatropha.org, lamps and cookers). But the technical realization of plant oil lamps and plant oil cookers is not very simple, because of the different combustion properties of the plant oil versus those of petrol (plant oil doesn't evaporate). See lamps and cookers!
Lubrication oil : Is it possible to use Jatropha oil as lubrication oil? Yes, it is. Test were carried out at TMW-engine factory in Germany and showed that pure Jatropha oil can be used as lubrication oil during 400 running hours in a slow turning diesel engine (Indian Lister type). Reference 96.13
Medicinal properties: What are the medical properties of the Jatropha plant? Since botanically Jatropha is an Euphorbiaceae and very closely related to the castor plant, it also has similar properties: its seeds are used against constipation, the white latex serves as a desinfectant of mouth infections of small children, it also stops bleeding, the leaves are used against malaria and for massage of luxations. The soap of Jatropha oil is supposed to be effective agains buttons, the oil is used to treat some scin diseases, like neuodermitis. Reference 86.2-1
Pesticide: Some publications show the oil to be a good general pesticide. If this is so why people are not using it more?
It seems to be quite difficult to make a good formulation of the oil to applicate it to legumes. Our tests were negative, when we used it directly on the plants (the plants showed burning effects because of the oil properties). Ratnadass of ICRISAT Bamako was working with an extract (phorbol esters) of the oil, which was used in an emulsion of different compounds. Reference 98.2
Rainfall: Will Jatropha grow and produce seeds in a region of 500mm rain?The limit of growth for Jatropha is between 600 and 500 mm of rainfall. The exact limit depends much on the local humidity conditions, i. e. in Cap Verde Islands it grows well
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with only 250 mm of rain, but the air is very humid (cloud milking for rain harvesting at some places).
Soap production: How is Jatropha soap made?
The composition used in Mali is as follows (calculated for 1 litre of oil): 1 l of oil, 1/2 l of water, 150 g of pure NaOH (sodium hydroxyd) dissolved in the water. During stirring the oil, the water-NaOH solution is mixed with the oil, until a creamy consistence is achieved (like mayonaise). This is poured into a form, where the soap hardens (in tropical countries over night, in Europe that may take up to a week). After hardening the soap is taken out of the form and may be cut into pieces. Reference 94.10
Water requirements: Jatropha needs a minimum of 600 mm of rainfall. Or special local conditions like high water table, etc. It does not resist to water logging. It can survive long drought periods of 7 or 8 months. It also grows well in rainfall areas of 2000 mm and more.
Yield: The yield of hedges was measured in Mali and an average of 0,8 kg of seeds per running meter of a hedge was found. High (5 - 6 m) and old hedges gave 2 kg per running meter. If one plants these hedges on a hectare with a distance of 3 meters, one has 3.300 meters. And a production of 2.640 kg of seeds. With a hand press this will give you about 660 liters of oil. A modern industrial expeller will give you about 825 liters.
DaimlerChrysler in India calculates with 2.500 kg of seeds per hectare The yield depends very much on the soil and the rainfall and the origin of the plants. There are not yet high yield varieties identified.
Jatropha Oil in Comparison with Diesel FuelParameter Diesel Jatropha OilEnergy content (MJ/kg 42.6 - 45.0 39.6 - 41.8Spec. weight (15/40 °C) 0.84 - 0.85 0.91 - 0.92Solidifying point (°C) -14.0 2.0Flash point (°C) 80 110 - 240Cetane value 47.8 51.0Sulphur (%) 1.0 - 1.2 0.13
IK Notes reports periodically on Indigenous Knowledge (IK) initiatives in Sub-Saharan Africa and occasionally on such initiatives outside the Region. It is published by the Africa Region’s Knowledge and Learning Center as part of an evolving IK partnership between the World Bank, communities, NGOs, development institutions and multilateral organizations. The views expressed in this article are those of the authors and should not be attributed to the World Bank Group or its partners in this initiative. A webpage on IK is available at www.worldbank.org/afr/ik/ default.htm
Using the Indigenous Knowledge of Jatropha
The use of Jatropha curcas oil as raw material and fuel
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Mali is a landlocked country in the middle of West Africa, just at the southern edge of the Sahara desert. The country’s average annual rainfall ranges from 200 mm in the north to 1200 mm in the south. For generations, farmers have protected their gardens with hedges of Jatropha curcas, or physic nut, which is not eaten by animals and thus protects the food crops as a living fence. Jatropha curcas is a plant of Latin American origin which is now widespread throughout arid and semiarid tropical regions of the world. A member of the Euphorbiaceae family, it is a drought-resistant perennial, living up to 50 years and growing on marginal soils. A close relative to the castor plant, its oil has the same medical properties. Jatropha seeds contain about 35% of non-edible oil. The production of seeds is about 0.8 kg per meter of hedge per year, with an oil yield of 0,17 l [1]. Currently, Mali has about 10.000 km of Jatropha hedges with a growth rate of 2.000 km per year, which represents a potential of 1.700.000 liters of oil per year. The average length of these hedges, in those areas of Mali where they are most prevalent, is between 2 and 15 km per village, with a maximum of up to 40 km per village [2]. Jatropha curcas is generally wellknown among the populations of Mali and has long been recognized as a plant of many uses. If carefully planted, Jatropha hedges not only protect gardens from hungry livestock but also reduce damage and erosion from wind and water.
Traditionally the seeds were harvested by women and used for medical treatments and local soap production. As far back as at the end of the 1930’s the oil’s potential as a fuel source was also recognized [3]. Currently, it can be used to substitute for the “gazoil” mixture used in the Indian type diesel engines that drive grain mills and water pumps in rural areas of Mali. The high-quality oil extracted by engine driven expellers or by manual Bielenberg-ram-presses or the sediment of the oil purification process may be used for larger scale soap making in rural areas, giving local women the chance to gain additional income and thus strengthen their economic position. The press-cake as another extraction byproduct can be used as a high-grade organic fertilizer. The Jatropha activities were initiated in Mali in 1987 by German Technical Assistance (GTZ) in the framework of a renewable energy program. The Jatropha Project itself started 1993 and ended in 1997. It worked to combine the above mentioned and other factors into the « Jatropha System ». This system focuses not simply on the use of Jatropha oil as fuel, but rather on the use of this oil as a crucial element to activate a circular system combining ecologic, economic, and income-generating effects, the latter specifically for women [4].
Thus, the Jatropha system promotes four main aspects of development, which combine to help assure a sustainable way of life for village farmers and the land that supports them:• Erosion control and soil improvement• Promotion of women• Poverty reduction• Renewable energy
Erosion control and soil improvement
Jatropha “living fences” in Mali not only control unwanted animal access to the fields; they also reduce wind erosion and, if planted parallel to slopes to fix small earth or stone dams, they help control water erosion. The plant’s roots grow close to the ground surface, anchoring the soil like miniature dikes or earthen bunds. These dikes effectively
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slow surface runoff during intensive downpours, which are common, thus causing more water to penetrate into the soil and boosting harvests.
The press cake which remains after oil extraction by the expellers is a very good organic fertilizer, with mineral composition comparable to that of chicken manure. This has great value for agriculture in the Sahelian countries, since soils there are rapidly depleted of humus and chemical fertilizers are very expensive.
The Malian cotton-growing company, CMDT (Compagnie Malienne de Développement Textile), uses Jatropha hedges to assure a program of improved fallow: the cotton fields are protected with Jatropha hedges to keep out cattle, while the fields are sown with legumes to improve soil fertility.
Promotion of women
Many government and non-government organizations provide rural Malian women with engine-driven grainmills to ease their work of food preparation. However, these grainmills need external resources of fuel, lubrication oil, spare parts and maintenance. Consequently, the introduction of such a grainmill tends to lead to an impoverishment of the village because of the cash required both to buy and to transport these external resources to the village. By using locally produced Jatropha oil as fuel and lubrication oil, some of this cash outflow from the village can be stopped.
Traditionally, rural women used Jatropha curcas for medicine (seeds as a laxative, latex to stop bleeding and against infections, leaves against malaria) and for soap production. The traditional soap-making process is very labor-intensive, producing small amounts of relatively poor-quality soap. When Jatropha oil is used, either alone or in combination with other local plant oils such as shea butter, larger amounts of a more refined soap are produced. The women can easily sell this soap in local markets and nearby towns, increasing their possibilities of earning income with local resources.
Some details of the economy of soap production with the means of the Bielenberg hand press are shown in the following table (prices in US$, 500 FCFA = 1 US$):
Description Quantity Unity Price per Amount unity US$ in US$ InputsSeeds (give 3 l of oil with handpress) 12 kg 0,1 1,20Caustic soda 0,5 kg 1,2 0,60Labor (4 h for pressing,1 h soap production) 5 h 0,2 1,00Depreciation/maintenance(5 years, 10 t/a, 240,-) US$/kg 0,02 0,24Total expenses 3,04 RevenuesPress-cake 9 kg 0,03 0,27White soap 28 pieces (170 g) 0,15 4,20Total revenues 4,47Net Profit 1,43Profit per liter of oil 0,48Profit per kg of soap 0,31Price per kg of soap 0,89
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Poverty reduction
By promoting the integrated utilization of the Jatropha plant, the Jatropha System can provide direct financial benefits to the rural economy. To illustrate this with a rough calculation, assume the average village of the pilot area has 15 km of Jatropha hedges, which represents 12 tons of seeds. These 12 tons of seeds may generate 1.800 US$ of cash income when the oil is extracted and the products are sold:
• 9.000 kg of press-cake for 0.03 = US$270
• 2.400 liters of oil for 0.60 = US$1.440• 600 kg of sediment for 0.15 = US$90
Total US$ US$1.800
If we take the real example of an entrepreneur in a small village near Bamako, who buys the seeds for soap production and hires people for the production process (extraction with Bielenberg ram press, soap production, see table above), the cash income for the village population, including the entrepreneur, amounts to 3.630 US$:
• 12.000 kg of seeds for 0.10 US$1.200
• 5.000 hours of labor for 0.20 US$1.000
• profit of the entrepreneur US$1.430
Total US$3.630
If these figures are extrapolated to Jatropha plantations, a profit in the range of cotton farming is within reach. The “Jatropha System” also helps reduce poverty by: • Reducing crop losses caused by wandering livestock or wind damage;• Increasing rainfall infiltration, resulting in less work/irrigation water needed for local gardens;• Increasing soil fertility by use of presscake as fertilizer;• Increasing use of inexpensive local resources rather than expensive external resources;• Reducing disputes between farmers and livestock owners regarding crop damage, as wellas among farmers themselves regarding the boundaries of their fields;• Providing local jobs, lessening the need for local villagers to migrate to cities to find employment.
Because of its economic value the rural people are planting new Jatropha hedges in a large extent. In Kita, one of the pilot regions of the Jatropha project, the average length of hedges went up from 5 km to 15 km in the last 8 years.
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Renewable energyIn the rural areas in Mali, Lister-type engines are used to drive grainmills and waterpumps. These inexpensive precombustion chamber diesel engines of Indian origin require only the addition of a fuel filter to be able to run on pure Jatropha oil, thus eliminating the need for gazoil entirely. Furthermore, at maximal load conditions the Jatropha oil.gives even better results than gazoil because of its high oxygen content [5]. Based on tests conducted by the Jatropha Project, the oil can also be successfully used as a lubricant in these engines[6].
In equivalent terms, the energy needed to produce Jatropha oil in mechanical presses amounts to about 10% of the oil obtained. Because Jatropha oil can be produced inexpensively [7], it can also be sold at prices lower than gazoil’s official price at the petrol stations. Even more important than the price is the possibility of local energy production, because of the periodic unavailability of gazoil in the rural areas caused by lack of road access during rainy season.
The technology for using natural pure Jatropha oil as substitute for paraffin oil for lamps and cookers is not yet available. Different research centers are working on it.
Conclusions
The results of the Jatropha Project to date show that the chances of this system being successfully implemented are high, provided that a fairly cautious approach is taken by the technical advisory team. Above all, care must be taken to ensure that women retain their traditional responsibilities for harvesting and processing the seeds.
Furthermore, Mali is a typical Sahelian country; its large geographic expanse and climatic variations mirror the ecological conditions found throughout the Sahel. Because of this, the efforts already being made in Mali to derive value from oil-bearing plants can be taken as representative and used to elaborate a “concept for production and use of plant oils as fuel” that is valid for the Sahel region as a whole, and even for other African countries.
To summarize, the Jatropha system is characterized by the many positive ecological, energetic and economic aspects which are attached with the commercial exploitation of this plant. The more this plant is exploited, the better for the environment and for food production.
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