| Jatropha is an oilseed crop that grows well where | | | | - it is frost hardy (does not like hard freezes) |
| food crops will not grow. This article is about using | | | | - it does not exhaust the nutrients in the land |
| Jatropha seed oil for biodiesel production. | | | | - it does not require expensive crop rotation |
| I know all of you are wondering why I am writing about | | | | - it does not require fertilizers |
| a little known plant called "Jatropha Curcas". Well... it all | | | | - it grows quickly and establishes itself easily |
| has to do with making biodiesel and the production of | | | | - it has a high yield (Jatropha can yield about 1,000 |
| electricity using biodiesel as a fuel. This is to inform you | | | | barrels of oil per year per square mile - oil content of |
| of a source of vegetable oil that is relatively unknown | | | | the seed is 55-60%) |
| in the United States and North America. The European | | | | - no displacement of food crops is necessary |
| community has already seen the light as have some | | | | - it is great for developing countries in terms of energy |
| Asian, African, Indian, and South American countries. | | | | and jobs |
| Running engines on vegetable oil is nothing new... did | | | | - the biodiesel byproduct, glycerine, is profitable in itself |
| you know that Rudolf Diesel originally designed his | | | | - the waste plant mass after oil extraction can be |
| engine to run on peanut oil? Maybe the US has not | | | | used as a fertilizer |
| seen the light yet because we are mostly engaged in | | | | - the plant itself recycles 100% of the CO2 emissions |
| the growing of food crops and oils like soybean oil, | | | | produced by burning the biodiesel |
| rapeseed oil, sunflower oil, and peanut oil. All these oils | | | | That's a whole lot of benefit with little or no |
| are edible and thus fetch high prices. After all, why | | | | disadvantages! |
| should US farmers grow a completely inedible plant!? | | | | The European Union biofuels directive requires a |
| Used cooking oil is great for the "do it yourself" | | | | minimum level of biofuels as a proportion of fuels sold |
| biodiesel enthusiast, but there is not enough supply of | | | | in the European Union of 2% by 2005, 5.75% by 2010 |
| used cooking oil to supply a whole nation. | | | | and 20% by 2020. Of course, as the President stated |
| This is where Jatropha comes in... | | | | recently on TV, we don't have any such energy |
| Jatropha has the following benefits when looked at | | | | program yet. And I doubt we will anytime soon. The |
| from the fuel production angle: | | | | main green fuels will be ethanol and biodiesel, and |
| - it costs almost nothing to grow | | | | demand for biodiesel is expected to be up to 10.5 billion |
| - it is drought resistant | | | | litres just in European countries by 2010. |
| - it can be grown almost anywhere - even in sandy, | | | | Folks... this "biodiesel" thing is going to happen whether |
| saline, or otherwise infertile soil | | | | you like it or not! I know there are a lot of farmers, |
| - it is easy to propagate (a cutting simply pushed into | | | | entrepreneurs, and investors reading this who can |
| the ground will take root) | | | | cash in on this biodiesl craze. They are already doing it |
| - it is not invasive, or spreading, or damaging like kudzu | | | | big time in Europe so it's just a matter of time before it |
| - it is capable of stabilizing sand dunes, acting as a | | | | happens here. And by "it", I mean using Jatropha to |
| windbreak, and combating desertification | | | | make biodiesel. This industry will grow very quickly - |
| - it naturally repels both animals and insects | | | | start planting Jatropha TODAY and then start making |
| - it lives for over 50 years producing seeds all the time | | | | biodiesel to generate your own electricity! |