Biodiesel could be an important renewable substitute for fossil fuels. And, in certain parts of the world, governments and some corporations consider the jatropha plant, common in hot climates, one of the most promising sources of biodiesel. The plant can grow in wastelands, and it yields 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 as a crop, raises several significant challenges.
This year, the Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), an Indian research group, launched a 10-year, $9.4 million project to research issues involved in taking jatropha from seed to filling station. One challenge is growing the plant in poor soil.
The first crops of jatropha, planted in what was wasteland, have now flowered, says Alok Adholeya, director of TERI's Biotechnology and Management of Bioresources division. "It proves that we can do this," he says. He and other researchers at TERI spent five years testing different mycorrhiza microorganisms, symbiotic fungi that improve the ability of many plants to grow in poor soil. Adholeya's team found that the most effective was a fungus in the glomus species (he is not currently disclosing the exact fungus), which improves jatropha yields by 15 percent.
The TERI project is working in rural Andra Pradesh, a state in southeast India, collaborating with local financial institutions to develop loan guarantees to fund seed purchases; it's also collaborating with insurers to back the farmers against potential losses. In addition, it had to educate the farmers on how to cultivate the plant.
So far, the project has signed up 5,000 farmers representing 1,000 hectares of land. The goal is to have 8,000 hectares under cultivation by March 2008, and Adholeya says that the success of the first crops has drawn interest from many more farmers. By the end of 2008, TERI plans to have a production facility producing biodiesel from jatropha. Eventually, it aims to produce 90 million liters of biodiesel annually.
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Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Comments
We need in the US to take this kind of action, and apply ourselves to ways to produce our own fuel - Brazil has done it, now India and others will go that route - will we be left still twiddling our thumbs because Big Oil is controlling the direction WE go ? - ok Pelosi and Co this is what US citizens want to see done by our Government - wish we had spent that Iraq money on this effort instead !!
VCRAGAIN
12/27/2006
Posts:35
Sugar would be better, alge could be better, but
corn is the crop that gets the federal assistance.
If we could ban "High frutose corn syrup" and
"partially hydrogenated corn oil" as food additives, we would be healthier and the price of bio fuel would go down.
SirLanse
12/27/2006
Posts:42
Michael Fitzgerald
riparian
12/27/2006
Posts:2
raoch15
12/27/2006
Posts:1
However, biodiesel fuels would allow us to be less dependent on the crazy Middle East.
gabrielg01
12/28/2006
Posts:396
doomang@hotm...
12/28/2006
Posts:2
gabrielg01
12/28/2006
Posts:396
Removing CO2 and sequestering it or the carbon in it would take a lot of enerergy and would be impractical.
BobAlbrecht
12/28/2006
Posts:1
There are plans to pump CO2 into the ground, but some people fear that this would leak out over the long term. Here is one of the stories:
http://www.time.com/time/europe/magazine/printout/0,13155,901040517-634765,00.html
gabrielg01
12/28/2006
Posts:396
doomang@hotm...
12/28/2006
Posts:2
cinxav
08/21/2008
Posts:1
Based on the labor required, this plant does not seem to be a good resource for the United States.
lorial
01/04/2007
Posts:1
Thank You.
subodhgoyal
04/23/2007
Posts:1
wenlor27
12/19/2007
Posts:1
tusshar_biot...
12/29/2008
Posts:1
I am MAYCHENG, our country do have a consultation
team in organizing and collecting the harvest
for factory process.
If you need further information.
Pls email to me : dfsbipohmc@gmail.com
Thanks
maychenint
10/20/2009
Posts:1
I can furnish all the relevant details.
Regards,
Sai
saiamor
03/19/2008
Posts:1
oconnmic
12/27/2006
Posts:21
http://www.sonyclassics.com/whokilledtheelectriccar/
gabrielg01
12/28/2006
Posts:396
Some of ther available shale oil is so thick with fuel it used to be burned as is for heat but the shale left behind had to be cleaned out.We also have plenty of coal we just have to clean up the exhaust gasses.So conspiracy NO not yet,not here.The conspiracy is in the upward prices of oil at every little nudge in the world.
McMillan968
12/28/2006
Posts:38
1. Get an alternative source of diesel that will help dampen the ridicules price swings of rock diesel.
2. Create jobs in countries that have low employment rates.
3. Salve our Middle Eastern problem by reducing their stranglehold on our energy source.
4. Who ever does it stands to make a boat load of money.
Global warming nuts save it. Its frigin cold here so I could use some warming.
zig158
12/30/2006
Posts:64
Also palm oil may not be viable for use as biodiesel in certain climates because it clumps at low temp very easily. anybody who's ever tried to start a diesel engine in sub zero weather with normal fuel knows it's a huge pain in the bum, with fuel that is even less effective at low temp that engine will never start.
to make this boat-load of money you speak of you'd have to run an outrageously large farm, proceeds from palm oil are only a few hundred dollars per acre per year, that's not profit just $ from sales.
timswall
09/02/2007
Posts:1
How long does it take for Oil Palms to be fully developed to produce the seeds?
One final comment - don't forget about conservation efforts like ride sharing, mass transit, bicycles/rollerblades and walking and one of my favorites - Telecommuting.
mkogrady
01/02/2007
Posts:198
If my memory serves me it is 4 to 5 years, after that they can be harvested every 2 weeks for quite some time. They currently use this method in Malaysia to mass-produce palm oil that we use for cooking. They harvest the trees until they get over around 40 feet before cutting them down and replanting. I don’t see corn as a viable alternative. It is quite expensive to grow compared to other crops, far more expensive than pumping oil out of the ground. Soy makes a very poor grade diesel, I think using soy is causing more harm than good.
As for the cold problem, we will work that out with time, but for now we can get warmer climates a reasonable alternative.
I live in the upper mid west; mass transit is just not feasible here.
zig158
01/03/2007
Posts:64
I wouldn't call that environmentally friendly.
Jatropha Curcas seems a better alternative against the human food oil plants of Soy, Rapeseed, and Canola.
I thought Switchgrass was only used for ethanol production?
kjblack
01/03/2007
Posts:9
What is the best form of alternative fuel available (I own an old Diesel) all around in the US?
I'm currently using B100 and looking into a full conversion as I get ready for trip around the US...
Public transport is not an option ;-)
Let's move forward with positive feedback and solutions.
zoomie
01/03/2007
Posts:1
I live in India, and I can tell you our transportation fleets - the trucks and buses that burn a lot of our diesel - are very polluting. Our trucks pollute a lot more than most modernised Western vehicles. That will change in time, but for now, that's the story - an Indian truck burning cleanly produced diesel will still pump out a lot of CO2. Millions of Indian trucks - plus millions of Chinese trucks - and so on - well, you'll end up having to be careful about how that balance tips. Especially since growing a bio alternative to fossil fuel will probably help keep the internal combustion engine around a while longer - along with an increased or sustained dependence on personal vehicles.
Leveraging jatropha will help reduce dependence on oil. Using it as 'green' fuel, however, will really only be successful when it is part of a larger set of technology initiatives - cleaner engine technologies, emission control, the like.
rn.feeds
01/05/2007
Posts:1
This is a great news and also the noble efforts put up by TERI in AP...
I wish TERI also try in Tamilnadu
with best wishes
S.A.Alagarsamy
www.mgrbiodiesel.com
Chennai
Alagarsamy
03/20/2007
Posts:5
jjjjj
05/08/2007
Posts:1
Very informative and timely article on the environmental benefits of jatropha plantation. I've been following jatropha to bio-diesel as an alternative clean energy solution for quite some time now and reached the conclusion that for the small farmers it doesn't pay to grow jatropha. However, adding the revenues from carbon credits generated by CO2 sequestration as well as the usage of biomass for the electrification of rural claimed as a CDM under the Kyoto protocol can provide the much needed incentive to make jatropha plantation a viable business. Nevertheless, the bureaucratic hurdles prove too much of a challenge for the poor farmers to pursue such avenues.
To help poor farmers participate in this development, we're setting up cooperatives with farmers with small marginal lands to grow jatropha and trying to work with individuals and corporations in the US who are committed to reduce their carbon footprint to fund these efforts. You can find more information at http://www.plantjatropha.com.
Sincerely,
Rajesh Rawat
www.plantjatropha.com
rajesh.rawat
06/02/2007
Posts:1
fsandoval
02/12/2008
Posts:1
gobbler
09/14/2008
Posts:1
Jatropha is a multi-facted Plant which has many
advantages with bye-products like glycerine and a lot of Neautracticals..we must do research and Many Universities in cluding private should be aided to do reasearch by our Ministry of Science and Technology.
Alagarsamy s.a.
Chennai
www.mgrbiodiesel.com
Alagarsamy
08/02/2007
Posts:5
platinumlies
03/16/2008
Posts:1
Dereck
04/08/2008
Posts:1