Journal of Scientific & Industrial Research Vol. 64, November 2005, pp. 883-889

Jatropha curcus A sustainable source for production of biodiesel

Naveen Kumar* and P B Sharma

Delhi College of Engineering, Bawana Road, Delhi 110 042

Non-edible oils like Jatropha, Pongamia, Argemone, Mahua, Castor, Sal etc., can be used for the production of bio-diesel. Jatropha curcus has enormous potential for biodiesel production in India. J. curcus is a multipurpose plant with many attributes and considerable potential. It is a tropical plant that can be grown in low to high rainfall areas and can be used to reclaim land, as a hedge and/or as a commercial crop. Thus, growing it could provide employment, improve the environment and enhance the quality of rural life.

Keywords: Biodiesel, Jatropha curcus, Diesel engine, Diesel fuel, Transesterification

IPCCode: F02B13/10

Introduction

For more than two centuries, the world’s energy supply has relied heavily on non-renewable crude oil derived liquid fuels, out of which 90 percent is estimated to be consumed for energy generation and transportation. Known crude oil reserves are estimated to be depleted in less than 50 years at the present rate of consumption1. India, like most of the developing countries, is highly dependent on imported crude oil. India has imported about 82 million tons of crude oil (70% of its requirement) and petroleum products during 2003–2004 causing a heavy burden on foreign exchange. The demand of crude oil has increased dramatically and country’s cost for import2

of crude oil has increased substantially (Table 1). However, since India’s economy depends mainly

on agricultural activities, the utilization of national resources for energy production is an extremely important issue. Diesel engines have been widely used as power of engineering machinery, automobile, and shipping equipment for its excellent drivability and thermal efficiency3. Diesel fuels, in India are used in heavy trucks, city transport buses, locomotives, electric generators, farm equipment, underground mine equipment, etc4. The consumption of diesel fuels in India in 2003-04 was 36.625 million tons, which is roughly five times that of gasoline5.

Diesel emission contains carcinogenic components, such as carbonyl compounds (formaldehyde); light

aromatic hydrocarbons (benzene), PAHs and nitro-PAHs. Although diesel engine produces lesser amount of CO and total hydrocarbon compounds (THC) than spark ignition (SI) engine, it forms large quantities of fine particulate matter (PM). Diesel particles mainly consist of carbonaceous material, soluble organic fraction (SOF), sulfates and traces of metals. Some constituents of SOF (PAHs and nitro-PAHs) are mutagenic and/or carcinogenic6. Since diesel engines of buses and trucks exhaust a huge amount of NOx

and particulates, a clean alternative fuel is highly demanded. Biodiesel derived from vegetable oil (VOs) attracts attention as a promising one to be substituted for conventional diesel fuels7.

The heating value of VOs is similar to that of diesel fuel. However, their use in direct injection diesel engines is restricted by some unfavorable physical properties, particularly viscosity, which is approx ten times higher than the diesel fuel. Therefore, use of vegetable oil in direct injection diesel engines creates poor fuel atomization, incomplete combustion, carbon deposition on the injector, and fuel build up in the lubricant oils resulting in serious engine fouling. VOs viscosity can be lowered by dilution of oil with a suitable solvent, emulsification, pyrolysis, and transesterification8.

Biodiesel (fatty acid methyl esters), which is produced by transesterification of triglycerides with methanol, has become increasingly important due to diminishing petroleum reserves and the environmental consequences of exhaust gases from petroleum-fueled engines.

_______________ *Author for correspondence E-mail: naveenkumardce@rediffmail.com

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Its combustion does not increase current net atmospheric levels of CO2, a greenhouse gas. It can be domestically produced, offering the possibility of reducing petroleum imports; it is biodegradable and relative to conventional diesel fuel, its combustion products have reduced levels of particulates, CO2, SO2, HCs, soot and, under some conditions, NOx

9. Large harvests of traditional crops, low farm prices, dependence of foreign energy sources and environmental problems have increased interest in energy generated from plant sources such as biodiesel. The major benefit of biodiesel production is that there is no need to follow the uni-focal approach of concentrating and utilizing the same VO in each and every corner of the globe. Each country can proceed in the generation of particular oil, depending upon the climate and economy.

Indian Oilseed Sector: An Overview

Under "technology mission on oilseeds" in 1986, from a mere 11 million tons during 1986-87, India attained an all-time record oilseed production of 25 million ton in 1996-9710. On the oilseed map of the world, India occupies a prominent position with regard to area under cultivation; however, the yield is lowest among all other countries (Table 2). India

accounts for 8.5 percent of world oilseed production. It is the world's leading importer of edible oil (15 % of global vegetable oil imports in 2002-2003) ahead of the European Union and China, and is likely to remain an important demand for foreseeable future. Import represents around 55 percent of India’s edible oil consumption and about half the value of its total agriculture imports12.

Basically VOs are either edible or non-edible and the plants are annual or perennial. Apart from cooking, both these categories also have applications; like in medicine, food preservation, soap making, illuminants, lubricants, paints, drying, etc. Edible oils like, coconut, sesame, rape-mustard, safflower, niger, linseed has the pride place in history way back to Rig Vedic era. Other edible oil plants introduced later on includes groundnut (1800 AD), soybean (1910), sunflower (1940) and oil palm (1966). In non-edible oil category, there are at least 150 species mainly trees or shrubs yielding oils that are not consumed directly by man or animal. The main outlet for these oils in India is soap making and Ayurvedic medicines.

In Indian context, the important issue is to grow oilseed trees. The wastelands (70 million ha) in the country can be made to become green and yield oil and bio-residues for various uses. Growing these oil-bearing plants on wastelands, as avenue trees and in the back yards all over the nation will improve the availability of these oil seeds. Further local growth associated in crushing, and marketing may encourage the entrepreneurs to start small industries to produce raw or finished goods. This is one of the best ways of controlling urbanization by providing opportunities locally. This is one of the factors that may contribute to the concept of ‘Sustainable Rural Areas’ where environment and people are inter-dependent.

In the developed countries, such as the US, Australia, Germany and France, biodiesel is being extracted from plants like saffola, sunflower, soybean,

Table 1 Production and import of crude oil in India2

Import value Year Production Million tons

Import Million tons

Total Million tons

Import as % of total Rs crore US $ billion

1971 6.8 11.7 18.5 63 107 0.024

1981 10.5 16.2 26.7 61 3349 0.744

1991 33 20.7 53.7 39 6118 1.360

2000 32 57.9 89.9 64 30,695 6.821

2003–04 33.4 90.4 123.8 73 81,000 18

2004–05 33.4 100 133.4 75 121,500 27

Table 2—Cultivated area of oilseed plants11

Country Oilseed area Million ha

% of world oilseed area

Yield Tons/ha

USA 35.98 18.94 2.10 India 32.00 16.84 0.89 China 28.01 14.74 1.84 Brazil 22.51 11.85 2.45 Argentina 16.24 8.55 2.32 Canada 5.86 3.09 1.55 Russia 5.45 2.86 1.00 Pakistan 3.59 1.89 1.05 France 1.85 0.97 2.69 Germany 1.31 0.69 2.83 UK 0.54 0.28 3.33 Italy 0.31 0.16 2.23

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etc, which are essentially edible in India. In India, non-edible seed crops like Jatropha curcus (ratanjot, jatropha), Pongamia pinnata (karanj) and Madhuca

indica (mahua) can provide oil, which can be developed as biodiesel depending on site-specific requirements13. Among non-edible species, J. curcus is considered to be most suitable for making biodiesel.

Jatropha (Jatropha curcus L.; Family, Euphor-

biaceae) J. curcus is a drought resistant species which is

widely cultivated in the tropics as a living fence14. It is a small tree or large shrub up to 5 m high (Fig. 1) living more than 50 years. Branches contain latex. Normally, five roots are formed from seeds, one central (taproot) and four peripheral. Cuttings, when planted, do not form a taproot. Plant is monoecious and flowers are unisexual. Pollination is by insects. Seeds are toxic to humans and many animals. Every part of the plant15 can be used for one application or other (Fig. 2). Jatropha grows over a wide range of arid and semi-arid climatic conditions. It grows well in shallow soils and is commonly found growing in gravel, sandy and clayey soils16.

Jatropha curcus as a Feedstock for Biodiesel

� J. curcus can thrive on any type of soil and in problematical soils. Jatropha lends itself to plantation with advantage on lands developed on watershed basis and on low fertility marginal, degraded, fallow, waste and other lands such as along the canals, roads, railway tracks, on borders of farmers’ fields as a boundary fence or live hedge in the arid/semi-arid areas and even on alkaline soils. As such it can be used to reclaim wastelands in the forests and outside. It can be grown in areas of low rainfall (200 mm/y). In high rainfall and irrigated areas too it can be grown with higher yields. It occurs mainly at lower altitudes (0-500 m) in areas with average annual temperature well above 20°C but can grow at higher altitudes and tolerates slight frost. The introduction has been most successful in the drier regions of the tropics with annual rainfall of 300-1000 mm. It grows on well-drained soils with good aeration and is well adapted to marginal soils with low nutrient content. It attracts no insects and is not browsed by cattle or sheep. Propagation by seed/cutting is easy. Jatropha is easy to establish, grows relatively quickly and is hardy. Therefore, it can be grown in most parts of the country.

Jatropha seeds17 (0.4-12 tons/ha/y) are easy to collect as they are ready to be plucked before the rainy season and as the plants are not very tall. Seeds contain non-edible oil (35%); oil yield per hectare is among the highest of tree borne oil seeds. Being rich in nitrogen, the seed cake is an excellent source of plant nutrients. Jatropha is a close relative to the castor plant; its oil has similar medical properties. Jatropha cultivation in the villages has the potential to promote following developments18: i) Erosion control and soil improvement; ii) Promotion of women; iii) Poverty reduction; and iv) Renewable energy.

Establishment Freshly harvested seeds show dormancy and after-

ripening is necessary before the seeds can germinate. Dry seed will normally germinate readily without pretreatment. If this is the case, it is not recommended to remove the seed coat before sowing. Although it speeds up germination, there is a risk of getting abnormal seedlings. Germination is fast (10 days) under good conditions. Germination is epigean (cotyledons emerge above ground). Soon after the first leaves have formed, the cotyledons wither and fall off. In the nursery, seeds can be sown in germination beds or in containers. Although the

Fig. 1 Jatropha plant15

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seedlings grow very fast, they should stay in the nursery for 3 months until they are 30-40 cm tall. By then, the plants have developed their repellant smell and will not be browsed by animals19. The trees are deciduous, occur during the wet season and two flowering peaks are often seen. In permanently humid regions, flowering occurs throughout the year. The seeds mature about three months after flowering. Early growth is fast and with good rainfall conditions nursery plants may bear fruits after the first rainy season, direct sown plants after the second rainy season. The flowers are pollinated by insects especially honey bees.

Harvest When fruits begin to open, seeds inside are mature.

Collection is best done by picking fruits from the tree

or hitting and shaking the branches till the fruits break off. Seeds collected from live fences can normally be reached by hand. For taller trees, it is possible to collect the fruits in a small bag that is attached to a stick. In Costa Rica, a tree produces about 30 kg fruits per year or about 12 kg seed (yield, 4800 kg seed/ha). After collection, the fruits are transported in open bags to the processing site and dried until all the fruits have opened. Sun drying 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. The seeds are orthodox and should be dried to low moisture content (5-7%) and stored in airtight containers. At room temperature, seeds can retain high viability for at least one year. However, because of high oil content, seeds cannot be expected to store for as long as most orthodox species.

Fig. 2—Uses of Jatropha plant

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Properties of J. curcus Oil and its Biodiesel

Oil contains following fatty acids15: Myristic (14:0), 0.1; Palmitic (16:0), 14.1-15.3; Stearic (18:0), 3.7-9.8; Arachidic (20:0), 0.3; Behenic (22:0), 0.2; Palmitoleic (16:1), 1.3; Oleic (18:1), 34.3-45.8; Linoleic (18:2), 29.0-44.2; and Linoleic (18:3), 0-0.3 %. Viscosity, diglycerides and phophorus decrease drastically15 when oil is converted to methyl/ethyl esters (Table 3).

Economics of Biodiesel from Jatropha curcus

Biodiesel is produced by transesterification of oil extracted from seeds (Fig.3). The by products of oil extraction and transesterification processes are oilcake and glycerol which have a good commercial value. The cost components of biodiesel are the price of seed, seed collection, transport of seed, oil extraction and oil transesterification. The cost of oil extraction and its processing into biodiesel is recoverable to a great extent from the income of oilcake and glycerol, which are valuable by products. Assuming cost of seed at Rs 5/kg and 100 kg seed giving 30 kg of oil, cost of biodiesel is approx Rs 20.90/l, if glycerol could be sold at Rs 20/kg (Table 4).

India’s Target of Biodiesel Production India has nearly 63 million ha of wasteland, of

which 33 million ha have been allotted for tree plantation. Jatropha can grow well in wasteland with very little input. The target for biodiesel production is to be set up to meet the projected demand for biodiesel on the basis of 20:80 blend (biodiesel : HSD). However, in the beginning 5% blend could be

Table 3 Physico-chemical characteristics of J curcas oil and its metyl/ethyl esters

Parameter Oil Methyl ester

Ethyl ester

Density at 15ºC, g/cm3 0.920 0.879 0.886 Viscosity at 30ºC, cSt 52 4.84 5.54 Flash Point, ºC 240 191 190 Acid No., mg KOH/gm 0.92 0.24 0.08 Sulfated ash, %m/m 0.014 0.010 Cetane No. 51 59 Conardson carbon residue, %m/m

0.025 0.018

Methyl/ethyl ester, %m/m 99.6 99.3 Monoglycerides, %m/m 0.24 0.55 Diglycerides, %m/m 2.7 0.07 0.19 Triglycerides, %m/m 97.3 NA NA Methanol, %m/m 0.06 0.05 Water, %m/m 0.07 0.16 0.16 Free glycerol, %m/m 0.015 NA Total glycerol, %m/m 0.088 0.17 Phosphorus, ppm 290 17.5 17.5

Table 4 Breakup of biodiesel cost

S No Item/Expenditure Amount Rs

1 100 kg seeds @ Rs 5/kg 500/- 2 Oil extraction and other

charges @ Rs 1.50/kg 150/-

3 Transesterification cost @ Rs 8/kg oil

240/-

Total 890/-

Sale 1 70 kg oilcake @ Rs 2/kg 140/- 2 Glycerol 3 kg @ Rs 20/kg 60/- 3 Total 200/- Net expenditure incurred

to get 30 kg/33 l oil 690/-

Cost of biodiesel/l 20.90/-

Fig. 3—Conversion of Jatropha seeds into biodiesel

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utilized in the transportation and oil based captive power production. India’s target is to achieve 20 percent substitution of HSD by biodiesel by 2012 beginning with 5 percent in 2006-07. HSD demand by the end of 11th Plan (2011-12) is estimated to be 66.9 million tons requiring 13.38 million tons of biodiesel, which in turn will require plantation of J.

curcus over about 11.2 million ha of land17,20 (Table 5). Biodiesel plants grown in 11 million ha can yield a revenue of approx Rs 20,000 crore a year and provide employment to over 12 million people both for plantation and running the extraction plants. Biodiesel production in world is increasing and production has increased multifold (Table 6).

Conclusions

J. curcus has enormous potential for farmers and rural entrepreneurs to improve their economic condition through large scale cultivation of this plant on degraded land and on the hedges of their fields. It is well adapted to marginal areas with poor soils and low rainfall, where it grows without competing with annual food crops, thus filling an ecological niche. Combination of erosion control and oil production from J. curcus would provide ample opportunity to replace diesel with homegrown, environmental friendly biodiesel. The biodiesel revolution would bring prosperity in India by reducing oil import bill. As J. curcus is not browsed by cattle, it can grow without protection and can be used as a hedge to protect fields. Sufficient land is available for cultivating Jatropha to meet the 11.2 million ha target, which would eventually be sufficient to replace

20 percent petrodiesel consumption by biodiesel. Jatropha oil will not only reduce the burden on exchequer by reducing the import of crude petroleum, but would also bring a new dawn of cleaner environment. Hence efforts should be made on large-scale cultivation of J. curcus on wastelands and other unused land. There is urgent need to carry out research studies which could address the biotechnological issues related with J. curcus and the effective production of biodiesel from J. curcus. The extensive training should be provided to the farmers and rural entrepreneurs so that they could learn the latest technology and agro-practice related to Jatropha cultivation and biodiesel production.

References

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2 Subramanian K A, Singhal S K, Saxena M & Singhal S, Utilization of liquid biofuels in automotive diesel engine: An Indian perspective, Biomass & Bioenergy, 29 (2005) 65-72.

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Table 5 Petrodiesel and biodiesel demand and area required under Jatropha17

Year Petrodiesel demand

Million tons

Biodiesel 5% blend

Million tons

Area for 5% blend

Million ha

Biodiesel 10% blend

Million tons

Area for 10% blend

Million ha

Biodiesel 20% blend

Million tons

Area for 20% blend

Million ha

2006-07 52.33 2.62 2.19 5.23 4.38 10.47 8.76 2011-12 66.90 3.35 2.79 6.69 5.58 13.38 11.19

Table 6 Worldwide21 biodiesel production capacity (million gallons/y)

Country 1997 2000 2003

France 21.0 76.4 98.3

Germany 21.6 61.4 73.7

USA 1.0 7.0 25.0

Italy 0.4 10.5 23.4

Austria 5.1 6.0 8.3

Belgium 4.5 5.1 6.0

Total 53.6 166.4 234.7

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11 Production Estimates and Crop Assessment Division, FAS, USDA, July 2004 www.fas.usda.gov/wap/circular/2004/04-07/Oils.pdf

12 India’s Edible Oil Sector: Imports Fill Rising Demand,

Report No. OCS-0903-01, Electronic Outlook Report from the Economic Research Service, USDA, USA, http://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/OCS/nov03/OCS090301/ocs090301.pdf

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under agro-forestry in the context of the proposed bio-fuel policy of India, ENVIS Bull Grassland Ecosystems & Agro-

forestry, 1(2) (2003) 58-72. 14 Henning R, A Guide to the Jatropha System and its

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18 IK Notes, No. 47, (Knowledge and Learning Center, Africa Region, World Bank, 1818 H Street, N W, Room J5-055, Washington, D C 20433) August 2002.

19 Jatropha curcus L. Seed Leaflet No. 83 (Danida Forest Seed Centre, Humlebaek, Denmark) 2003.

20 Excerpts from the Address of Hon’ble President of India at

Interaction with the Course Participants of National Defence

College, New Delhi, 30 November 2004

http://presidentofindia.nic.in/scripts/sllatest1.jsp?id=433.

21 Render, February 2004, pp16-19, www.rendermagazine.com.