Some thoughts of Jatropha Fruit
Jatropha Fruit
Tuba-tuba is one of the most promising sources of bio-fuel today. About 30% of the Tuba-tuba nut is composed of oil. kilos of Jatropha seeds can produce about 1 liter of crude Jatropha oil that can then be processed into biodiesel fuel. This oil can be easily be processed into fuel that can replace or mixed with petroleum based diesel to save on imported oil and most importantly increase local employment and help the economy to grow. 3
Call it “the little tree that could”. As those in the alternative energy industry already know, Jatropha is a weed-like shrub or small tree that can grow nearly anywhere frost doesn’t occur; has a 40-year fruit production life-cycle, is not part of the food chain supply, and requires few pesticides or fungicides. Its golf ball-sized fruit contains seeds that are pressed to extract the oil that has been used as a lighting and heating energy source for decades in communities throughout the world. 2
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For centuries, poor farmers in the tropics have used the oil from crushed up Jatropha fruit as fuel for lanterns ? Seed yields under cultivation can range from 1,500 to 2,000 kilograms per hectare, corresponding to extractable oil yields of 540 to 680 liters per hectare. Beckford said that a conflict emerges when growers divert their crops toward fuel production, driving up prices across the board. 6
Jatropha trees develop fruit during the winter the leaves have fallen - however in optimal conditions (warm temperatures and moist soil) several crops per year are possible. The fruits form in buches of around 10 and are initially olive green in colour. Over the following three or so months, the seeds contained within the fruits mature while the fruit changes from green to yellow to black. 1
The jatropha oil is also significantly cheaper than crude oil. The United States is ahead of the curve when it comes to things like production of oil from soy and corn, said Roy Beckford, a researcher at the University of Florida ? Currently the oil from Jatropha curcas seeds is used for making biodiesel fuel in Philippines, promoted by a law authored by Philippine senators Miriam Defensor-Santiago and Miguel Zubiri. 5
Jatropha trees are already grown to make biodiesel in India. The plants have three pointed leaves like the kukui nut tree and when the fruit ripens, it contains three seeds which are high in oil content. 7
As the Jatropha plant flowers, it produces small green fruit at the end of its stalks that contain oil-bearing seeds. But as farmers get ready to increase Jatropha production, some critics fear the potential ecological impact. Researchers say 20 pounds of seeds will produce one gallon of Jatropha oil, and they are hailing Jatropha for yielding four times the fuel per acre as soy and ten times more than corn. 4
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