Jatropha cultivation for Biodiesel

The country has nearly 63 million hectares of wasteland, out of which 33 million hectares have been allotted for tree plantation. Certain multi-purpose trees such as Jatropha can grow well in wasteland with very little water. Once grown, the crop has fifty years of life. Fruiting can take place in this plant in two years. It yields up to five tonnes per hectare oil seeds and produces two tonnes of bio-diesel. Presently, the cost of bio-diesel through the plant is approximately Rs. 17 to Rs. 19 per litre, which can be substantially reduced through choice of right size of the plant and using high yield variety plantation that has already been established by the researchers. Bio-diesel plants grown in 11 million hectares of land can yield a revenue of approximately Rs. 20,000 crore a year and provide employment to over 12 million people both for plantation and running of the extraction plants.

Low Risk Venture

A quick estimate of land requirements to meet the fuel needs of a 500 MW combined cycle power plant is 2,70,000 hectares, which is significantly large. The yield of bio-diesel is 1.62 tonnes/hectare. The bio-diesel requirement for a 500 MW (CCGT plant) is approximately 4,40,000 tonnes per annum operating at 70 per cent plant load factor.

The bio-diesel cost is estimated to be around Rs. 20 per litre, which accounts for all the costs associated with plantation and seed collection, oil extraction, trans-esterification and transportation. The risks associated with Jatropha derived bio-fuel appears to be low as these can grow on degraded lands.

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Labels: Jatropha-Cultivation