What is Jatropha
What Is Jatropha
Find out more about Jatropha - a biofuel crop
biomassJatropha Curcas is an excellent biofuel crop which has many other advantages over existing crops.
The biofuel yield of various crops has been measured, and is usually given in barrels of oil per square mile per year. Corn is a common biofuel crop in the USA, but it yields under 200 barrels (per square mile per year). Rice for example yields almost 1000 barrels, however it is an essential worldwide food crop as are most of the other potential biofuel crops.
It is simply not viable to use good quality arable farmland for growing biofuels, biofuel crops need to be grown on marginal land if we are to benefit from them. This is where Jatropha scores highly. Not only does it have a great yield of well over 2,000 barrels of oil per square mile per year, it also increases the fertility of the land on which it is grown so that it can potentially be used for food crops in subsequent years.
Jatropha is perennial which can grow in arid conditions (even deserts), on any kind of ground, and does not require irrigation or suffer in droughts. Therefore unlike the common biofuel crops of today (corn and sugar), they are very easy to cultivate even on poor land in Africa providing great social and economic benefits for that region.
Jatropha is fast growing and it begins yielding oil in the second year and for the next forty to fifty years. Optimal yields are obtained from the sixth year, and spaced at 2 metre intervals, around 2500 plants can be cultivated per hectare. Jatropha absorbs large amounts of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and therefore earns carbon credits.
Find out more about
Jatropha and its use as a
biofuel here with our guide to the facts and figures about Jatropha.
Article Last Modified: 15:20, 18th Jan 2007Comment on this Article
If you have any comments on this article, please email them to
neil@reuk.co.uk.
Recommended Related Articles
People who read this article also enjoyed the following articles:
Jatropha for Biodiesel FiguresLook at the financial costs of commercial Jatropha growing for Biodiesel
Article Last Modified: 15:16, 19th Aug 2008biomass | general | transportIntroduction to BiodieselA brief introduction to Biodiesel
Article Last Modified: 20:04, 20th Mar 2006transport | biomass | educationGreenhouse Heatsink Connection DiagramPutting together a solar powered greenhouse heatsink
system
Article Last Modified: 10:27, 31st Mar 2009solar | heating | generalPressing JatrophaFind out how jatropha oil is extracted for use in biodiesel
Article Last Modified: 10:36, 22nd Jan 2007biomassBioking Jatropha Plantation BusinessInvest in a Jatropha plantation run by Dutch company BioKing
Article Last Modified: 11:55, 13th Jan 2007biomassSolar Greenhouse Heat SinkFind out how to make a solar powered heatsink for your greenhouse
Article Last Modified: 11:32, 24th Jun 2008solar | generalFeed in TariffFind out more about feed in tariffs - the amount you can be paid for exporting renewable electricity to the National Grid
Article Last Modified: 10:21, 16th Jun 2009solar | wind | generalBiodiesel From AlgaeManufacturing biodiesel from algae - The way forward?
Article Last Modified: 15:04, 20th Dec 2006biomass | transportUK Biodiesel Processor EquipmentFind a supplier of Biodiesel equipment in the UK
Article Last Modified: 09:54, 21st Dec 2006biomass | transportJatropha LinksUseful links about Jatropha - the ultimate biofuel crop
Article Last Modified: 10:40, 16th Jan 2007biomass
|
|
|
