Constantly the biodiesel market is looking for some alternative to produce renewable resource. Biodiesel prepared from canola, sunflower and jatropha can replace or be combined with conventional diesel. During first half of 2000's jatropha curcas biofuel made the headlines as a very popular and promising alternative. It is prepared from jatropha curcas, a plant types belonging to Central America that can be grown on wasteland.
Jatropha Curcas is a non edible plant that grows in the deserts. The plant grows very rapidly and it can yield seeds for about 50 years. The oil received from its seeds can be used as a biofuel. This can be combined with petroleum diesel. Previously it has actually been used twice with algae combination to fuel test flight of commercial airline companies.
Another favorable method of jatorpha seeds is that they have 37% oil material and they can be burned as a fuel without refining them. It is also used for medical purpose. Supporters of jatropha biodiesel say that the flames of jatropha oil are smoke free and they are effectively tested for simple diesel engines.
Jatropha biodiesel as Renewable resource Investment has drawn in the interest of lots of companies, which have checked it for automobile use. Jatropha biodiesel has actually been roadway tested by Mercedes and 3 of the cars and trucks have actually covered 18,600 miles by utilizing the jatropha curcas plant biodiesel.
Since it is since of some downsides, the jatropha curcas biodiesel have actually not considered as a wonderful renewable resource. The most significant problem is that nobody understands that what precisely the efficiency rate of the plant is. Secondly they don't know how large scale may impact the soil quality and the environment as a whole. The jatropha curcas plant requires five times more water per energy than corn and sugarcane. This raises another problem. On the other hand it is to be kept in mind that jatropha can grow on tropical climates with yearly rains of about 1000 to 1500 mm. A thing to be kept in mind is that jatropha needs appropriate irrigation in the very first year of its plantation which lasts for decades.
Recent survey says that it holds true that jatropha can grow on degraded land with little water and poor nutrition. But there is no evidence for the yield to be high. This might be proportional to the quality of the soil. In such a case it may need high quality of land and might need the very same quagmire that is dealt with by most biofuel types.
Jatropha has one primary disadvantage. The seeds and leaves of jatropha curcas are poisonous to humans and livestock. This made the Australian federal government to prohibit the plant in 2006. The government declared the plant as invasive species, and too dangerous for western Australian farming and the environment here (DAFWQ 2006).
While jatropha curcas has promoting budding, there are number of research challenges remain. The importance of detoxing needs to be studied since of the toxicity of the plant. Along side a methodical study of the oil yield have to be carried out, this is very crucial since of high yield of jatropha would most likely required before jatropha curcas can be contributed substantially to the world. Lastly it is also extremely crucial to study about the jatropha curcas species that can endure in more temperature level environment, as jatropha is quite restricted in the tropical climates.
1
Jatropha a Practical Alternative Renewable Energy
Bradley Chave edited this page 2025-01-18 18:42:59 +08:00