news/updates
Industrial uses of jatropha explored
By Maria Kristina C. Conti
BusinessWorld
February 18, 2008
JATROPHA OIL may be used as industrial fuel while its viability as automotive fuel is still being determined, said the Asian Institute of Petroleum Studies, Inc., or AIPSI.
AIPSI Managing Director Rafael S. Diaz, Jr. said jatropha seeds and oil have strong potential for use as industrial fuel, both for bunker and coal-fired power generators, instead of for biodiesel.
Jatropha has immediate industrial application as heating fuel, since the seed itself has a heat value almost similar to that of bituminous coal. In addition, it is sulfur free and will provide oxygen to the coal blend for cleaner burn, Mr. Diaz said in a statement over the weekend. Oil extracted from the seed may be used to blend in bunker fuel for use in boilers or furnaces or even in large low-speed diesel engines which are not discriminating in quality.
Jatropha oil may also be used for lighting and cooking in lieu of firewood, kerosene, or liquefied petroleum gas, which are either scarce or unaffordable resource for people in the countryside. It can also be used in small close-system generators designed to be fueled by organic materials, and thus promote rural electrification, said Mr. Diaz.
"The industrial application of jatropha will provide immediate market for those that have started to plant jatropha. It is also the most practical way to get the jatropha initiative started in the meantime that jatropha biodiesel [or more precisely, jatropha methyl ester] development is still being undertaken," Mr. Diaz said.
However, he warned that burning jatropha seed or oil might produce toxic emissions. Jatropha has a poisonous element, called curcin, which can cause death when ingested. It must be determined if curcin will develop toxic emission when combusted in the engine, he said.
Without positive results from a major technical study on biodiesel, jatropha will not be accepted by car makers nor by major oil companies for use and distribution to the automotive industry, Mr. Diaz said.
Such low levels mean their oxidation stability — a measure of shelf life — is less than the standard six hours for fossil diesel. Coconut-based biodiesel, meanwhile, stays rancid-free for 16 hours.
Scientific tests are already ongoing, reported the government's main jatropha promoter, the Philippine National Oil Co.-Alternative Fuels Corp. (PNOC-AFC). In a phone interview yesterday, PNOC-AFC General Manager Clovis T. Tupas said the agency is already conducting stationary engine tests with the Science department.
"We are okay with jatropha oil used for industrial purposes, but we are really aiming to make jatropha oil available as automotive fuel. [The industry] has more stringent standards, and we want to meet them," he said.
PNOC-AFC is building a pilot plant in Bataan, which is expected to produce the country's first commercial quantities of JME by next year. "By end-March we will have expellers, or machines used to extract oil. We will have a mini-refinery and assorted facilities. The farmers only need to go there with their seeds," Mr. Tupas said.
Jatropha grows fast in poor soil conditions with little or no maintenance at all. One hectare grown to jatropha could yield 3.5-5 tons of seeds. Initial studies show 3-4 kilos of jatropha seeds could yield about one liter of crude or unprocessed oil readily used by run low-rpm diesel engines like hand tractors, water pumps, and threshers. The Science department has confirmed the seeds have a 28.60% oil content.
