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Article #233: Jatropha for Biodiesel

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






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