Low-emission diesel from seeds at just $1.40 a gallon

Politically, it would help if we could grow tropical jatropha in the U.S., but this could be an imported fuel that would be welcome at the pumps.

Tue, Apr 12 2011 at 2:39 PM

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Air Travel, Biodiesel, Biomass

PLANTING A SEED: Jatropha fruit contains three oil-bearing seeds, and from there the diesel flows. (Photo: SG Biofuels)

You take your Jetta TDI to the gas station and fill up on diesel, and then are sent reeling by the price — $1.40 a gallon. And while you’re trying to figure out why it was so cheap, the attendant blows your mind by telling you it was made not from ancient fossilized plants but from a seed plant grown now — jatropha. What? But the Jetta runs well on the stuff, and that’s all you really need to know.

This scenario is not a complete fantasy. Air New Zealand, Japan Airlines, Continental and Mexico’s Interjet have all flown planes on a fuel that’s 48 percent jatropha, though the price at the pump will probably be higher once the government starts taxing it. SG (“Super Green”) Biofuels is a San Diego-based company that claims it can make jatropha diesel (indistinguishable from the fossil fuel version) at the equivalent of $50 a barrel. “The economics work today,” said President and CEO Kirk Haney.

Dr. Rudolph Diesel intended to produce his very first engine on vegetable oil in 1885, so there's ample precedent for this.

Jatropha is a fast-growing tropical plant that grows six to eight feet high, and it’s mainly used south of the border for cattle fencing (cows won’t eat it because of high latex content). There’s nothing all that high-tech about fuel production from plants like this: Peel off the fruit’s outer layers and what you get is three seeds that are about 40 percent oil. When pressed in a simple mechanical process, the seeds yield a base crude that can be easily transformed into diesel. And not just any diesel — it’s a green version with 70 percent lower emissions. And it blends well with existing diesel, too.

According to Dr. Robert Schmidt, SG’s chief scientist, jatropha could also processed into gasoline, but that would require extra steps. “It’s much easier to create diesel,” he said.

The company’s version of jatropha, J Max 100, is not genetically engineered, but instead selectively bred to produce a plant with a lot of fruit. “I worked on maize for 23 years,” Schmidt said, “but I’m excited by what we can do with jatropha because we’re on the ground floor of a crop domestication improvement program for it.”

SG has amassed what is likely to be the largest world collection of germ plasma for jatropha, collected from various locations in Central America and Mexico. There are 12,000 genotypes, and SG is trying to find and breed the best of them. “This is a tried-and-true method of crop improvement,” Schmidt said.

Craig Venter’s Synthetic Genomics has sequenced the jatropha genome, which helps in SG’s work. Remember when I said that jatropha is a tropical plant? That’s an issue here, because you can’t simply replace fields growing corn for ethanol with more cost-effective jatropha (which has the added benefit of not stoking the food vs. fuel wars). Haney says that SG is talking about growing jatropha in India, which has 100 million acres of marginal land. Production costs would be low, but transportation costs high. But more than half our liquid fuel comes from halfway around the world now.

Politics are the main reason we may not see jatropha diesel at pumps around the U.S.A. It’s not grown here, so it doesn’t have the built-in support from Midwestern congressional delegations that ethanol has. It is, in fact, a “foreign fuel.” Of course, we could grow it in Florida (possibly replacing marginal and environmentally damaging sugar plantations?) or in Hawaii, where it could also replace sugar.

Jatropha is on its way. Some 5 million acres are planted worldwide. In addition to SG, players include Australia’s Mission NewEnergy, which is distributing fuel in Europe and launching in the U.S. D1 Oils is working with mega-company Siemens to power turbines on a high-speed ferry.

They seem to like the idea of using jatropha in planes. Boeing funded a study by the Yale School of Environmental Studies, released in March, which projected a 60 percent emissions reduction compared to petroleum-based jet fuel. “Jatropha can deliver strong environmental and socio-economic benefits,” it said.

Here's how Air New Zealand's jatropha test flight looks on video:

MNN homepage photo: tonrulkens/Flickr

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Comments: 2

Jatrophaworld May 07 2011 at 3:15 AM

The CJP is working towards scientific commercialization of nonfood biodiesel trees/crops that will lend credibility; reliability and scalability with regards to food security, energy security and sustainable development and carbon savings. The CJP for Failsafe Energy Farming (www.jatrophabiodiesel.org ) was created in 2003 , the first entity to introduce commercial farming of Jatropha and since then working as a platform for multidisciplinary multifeedstocks research into all aspects of nonfood energy

.... More

farming. The CJP intensified its collaborative research approach with regards to perennial oil seeds bearing tree like Pongamia Pinnata, Moringa oliferia, Jojoba, simarouba, etc. in combination with annual nonfood oil crops like castor, flax, safflower, camelina, etc to have more oil yield per ha and to improve their product. The CJP’s mission is to perform cutting-edge plant science research in genetics, breeding and horticulture, and further develop technologies to allow for the economic commercialization and sustainability of energy farms globally. In essence, CJP scientists are continuously working on enhanced genetics, agronomics and horticulture sciences to drive new varieties, more knowledge around the plant’s nutritional requirements and more science-based processes for the care and custody of the plant and have achieved reliable and scalable results in jatropha energy farming. Even a superior genotype variety planted in inadequate soil and improperly cared for, will be unable to reach its potential and will create dissatisfied stakeholders. If the development focus is properly balanced, the species will go through a series of improvements to continually enhance the characteristics. Improvement in yield, reduction in inputs or resistance to pests and diseases is an ongoing process which needs time. Jatropha is expected to be the first plant commercialized utilizing modern science. The improvements with applied science will accelerate its rapid improvement. The CJP’s goal is to triple jatropha yields within 10 years, increase the oil content to 48 percent and in combination of other crops the target oil yield is 1500 gallon per ha. Further, to increase the quality of the oils and other products produced—while minimizing inputs including pesticides and fertilizers. So while Jatropha agriculture continues to be a new and exciting alternative energy source, and the world continues to watch its development closely, there are still many misnomers about where it should be grown, how to grow it and what resources the plant needs to achieve commercially productive yields. CJP to provide the right steps to start the successful business ensuring that this crop is planted in the right way and with due cares to what’s possible in terms of sustainable farming techniques. Based on its proprietary knowledge plant science expertise enhanced technology and extensive experience and by integrating technical and managerial issues CJP has developed Jatropha Agricultural Training package to deliver Competencies through Qualified trainers with a practical 'hands on' approach. CJP’s new Biodiesel crops like castor, flax, moringa, pongamia, jojoba, simarouba are poised for commercialization as the newest, greatest biodiesel feedstock as these crops can produce the greatest amount of feedstock for the lowest input and cost. There are many promising crops on the horizon, but they need to be properly vetted scientifically. Good scientific research done by CJP’s scientists has shown that how oilseed crops grow best across different soil conditions and climates, and how they fit into existing production systems determining what consequences might result from growing these crops in terms of sustainability Emergence of the new crops system may change the entire scenario of the biodiesel industry and shall provide much relief to the industry which desperately in a need of a viable sustainable non-food feed stocks. CJP’S Next JATROPHAWORLD INDIA 2011, the 4th Global Jatropha Hi-tech Integrated Nonfood Biodiesel Farming & Technology Training Programme is all set to introduce you the real world of JATROPHA CURCAS” where the attendees shall also have the opportunity to interact with these new crops science, agronomy and horticulture technology etc. as have also been included in the course. JATROPHAWORLD INDIA 2011 is to be held at Jaipur, Rajasthan from September 14-18, 2011. CJP has brought together the best expertise and brightest brains to discuss and analyze the present and future dynamics of Jatropha. Attendees will be able to increase their knowledge about Jatropha and alternative energy and also learn about other most important nonfood biodiesel as referred herein from experts. To find out more about JATROPHAWORLD 2011 please visit http://www.jatrophabiodiesel.org