Jathropa (or Jatropha) as a Source of Alternative Fuel
Aside from coconut and sugar cane, another plant has been eyed by some energy source developer, as a potential source of alternative fuel in the Philippines. This is the plant called jathropha (some news articles used to spell it as “jathropa”, http://philippineenergynews.blogspot.com/2006/06/pnoc-mulls-construction-of-jathropa.html), a genus of approximately 175 succulents, shrubs and trees (some are deciduous, like Jatropha curcas L.), from the family Euphorbiaceae. one of the species of jatropha, the Jatropha curcas, also called physic nut, is used to produce the non-edible Jatropha oil, for making candles and soap, and as an ingredient in the production of biodiesel. The trees produce 1600 liters of oil per hectare (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jatropha).
According to studies, the clear oil expressed from the seed of jatropha has been used for illumination and lubricating, and more recently has been suggested for energetic purposes, one ton of nuts yielding 70 kg 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. (http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/duke_energy/Jatropha_curcas.html)
In India, The government has identified 98 million acres of land where jatropha can be grown, hoping it will replace 20 percent of diesel consumption by 2011. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jatropha_In_India)
In the Philippines, the Philippine National Oil Co. (PNOC) is planning to build a refinery that would process jathropa into biodiesel. Mañalac, PNOC president Eduardo Mañalac, said if they would be able to develop 118,000 hectares of land of jathropa, it should be able to produce 250,000 tons of biodiesel a year. (The Philippine Star 06/13/2006)
However, though jatropha has a promising solution to the souring prices of fossil fuel oil, some people used to oppose the promotion of jatropha because what they claimed as negative effects. (http://in.groups.yahoo.com/group/jatropha/)
Filed in: Renewable Energy - 
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