Jatropha

Since the carbon dioxide released when jatropha oil is burned was originally removed from the atmosphere as the jatropha plant grew, jatropha oil is a carbon-neutral fuel that does not contribute to the accumulation of atmospheric CO2. Consequently, a significant portion of BioJet revenues will come from development and operations in the carbon credit markets. According to the EIA’s annual report, demand for crude petroleum is forecast to increase 37% by 2030 to 118 million barrels per day. Accordingly, the worldwide conventional oil supply is estimated to be depleted within 40-60 years. Most importantly, there is widespread consensus that we are within a few years – before or after – of the peak in conventional oil reserves. Prices of non-renewable commodities, like crude oil, rise significantly as the inventory, or reserves of the commodity decrease. Most experts project a continuing rise, apart from short-term fluctuations, in the price of oil. Because biofuels are a substitute for petroleum, its market is closely tied to that of petrofuels. The properties described below make jatropha one of the lowest-, if not the lowest-, cost means of biofuels production. Analysis suggests that it could be used to produce fuel for approximately $43 a barrel.

Jatropha Plant, Pods, and Seeds
                  

Jatropha is a multi-purpose crop that can best be used to produce biofuels and at the same time alleviate deforestation and restore degraded soil. It is a perennial tree native to Central and South America. Several hundred years ago, the seeds were distributed and have adapted throughout the equatorial belt. The figure below shows the jatropha plant, pods, and seeds. Jatropha holds significant promise as an alternative energy source as it is an extremely efficient biofuel feedstock. Jatropha can grow on marginal land and in unfavorable conditions or areas where food crops are normally not grown. It requires little nutrients or water, though it is higher yielding when well hydrated and fertilized. The plant is resistant to drought and pests and its golf ball-sized seeds contain from 30 to 40 percent oil depending upon varietal. 

Jatropha can be intercropped, and is a good complement tomany other crops such as citrus and coconut. Due to theseproperties, it can grow on marginal, fallow land, thus reducing the need for crop substitution and deforestation. Jatropha isfound in the tropics and subtropics and best grows within 15degrees north and south of the equator, although it does wellin lower temperatures and can even withstand a light frost. It can survive long periods of drought and requires nopesticides. Jatropha planted from seed can produce over5,000 kg of seeds in the third year or up to 2000 liters (>500gallons) of oil per hectare, will bear fruit the first season and will continue to produce fruit for 30 to 50 years. The plantcan produce multiple yields per year and produce a mature,full-production stand after 3 to 4 years.

When we speak of jatropha biofuel, we mean biodiesel produced by transesterification. Along with ethanol, biodiesel is already widely produced from various feedstocks around the world. However, biodiesel is unsuitable for use as jet fuel, primarily because its freezing point is too high. The large majority of jatropha planting projects today are targeting biodiesel, which is the larger overall market.

Biojet fuel, the subject of BioJet’s business, is derived from one or more of the following processes:

• A hydrocracking process in which the feed-oil is hit with hydrogen in a catalytic reactor (hydrogenation), removing oxygen as CO2 or CO.

• A thermal-catalytic decarboxylation process in which carboxide is removed from the oil, to enhance its energy content.

• A Fischer-Tropsh synthesis process, similar to that used to create liquid fuels from natural gas can also be used, although it is believed that this process is currently more costly than the others. 

                          Source: Plant Research International                          

Following each of these processes, the oil is put through an isomerization process to make the right hydrocarbon chain (selective cracking). This puts kinks into the hydrocarbon chain which prevent “stacking” of the hydrocarbon chains that causes gelling at low temps. The resulting fuel is functionally the same as petroleum-based jet fuel, with the especially important characteristic of not freezing until -70.6 degrees Fahrenheit (-57 degrees Celsius)—better than the Jet A1 specification of -52.6 degrees F (-47 degrees C).

The following characteristics apply to both jatropha biodiesel and jet fuel:

Jatropha biofuel provides widespread environmental benefits yielding 20 times the energy requires to produce it. Most other feedstocks – for example, corn – require nearly as much energy to create as they produce. Like other biofuels, jatropha has excellent combustion properties while significantly reducing emissions of carbon dioxide and other gases. Jatropha diesel fuel produces half the unburned hydrocarbon emissions and one-third of the particulate emissions produced by diesel fuel derived from crude petroleum, according to a 2004 Daimler study. Crushed and processed jatropha seed oil can be used to create B100 biodiesel which will operate in a standard diesel engine and the remaining biomass can be used to power electricity plants.

From one to two million hectares of jatropha are expected to be planted annually worldwide with more than 80% of identified project areas in Asia, according to experts polled by the GEXSI Survey 2008. Currently planned plantations will eventually create over 50,000 kilo-hectares (kha) of jatropha plantations according to Nexant Chem Systems. Jatropha operations by region are illustrated in the figure above. 

Global Jatropha Demand

Driven by climbing crude oil prices and energy costs, the jatropha industry structure is expected to change dramatically to meet accelerating government and consumer demand for biofuels. According to experts polled by the GEXSI Survey 2008, on a global scale political support for jatropha cultivation is growing as approximately 50 governments worldwide have announced national biofuel targets. In many countries, specific policies have also served a strategic role to promote jatropha as a means to secure energy supply, improve the livelihoods of the rural poor, or to protect the environment. Jatropha will see enormous growth as 5 million hectares are expected to be planted by 2010 and 13 million hectares by 2015. Production is typically focused on domestic markets rather than for export, especially in Asia. For.  However, as the chart below indicates, transport and energy are the most important uses for Jatropha oil. 

Use of Jatropha Products Across 39 Countries

Camelina

Camelina refined into Bio-SPK was used for a portion of the fuel in the Japan Air Lines test flight. On August 4, 2009, the Boeing U787 Unlimited Hydroplane made several successful runs on 100% camelina-derived jet fuel. The claim is that emissions were 80% less than with petroleum jet fuel.

Camelina sativa is a member of the mustard family, a distant relative to canola, and the new darling of biodiesel production. Camelina plants are heavily branched, growing from one to three feet tall producing seed pods containing many small, oily seeds. The seeds are very small, amounting to about 400,000 seeds per pound, and they are 40 percent oil, compared to 20 percent with soybeans. An annual that originated in Northern Europe, camelina has many names: gold-of-pleasure, false flax, wild flax, German sesame. Camelina typically contains 35-38% oil.

Camelina grows on land unsuitable for food crops. It has yields that are roughly double that of soy. The oil it produces is more cold-resistant than the average biofuel feedstock. It tolerates cold climates well—it has been grown for years in pockets of Montana. It’s supported by research and field trials at a number of land-grant colleges around the country—Oregon State, Montana State, Idaho among them. It grows wild in the US and grows well and plays well with other crops. It has a particularly attractive concentration of omega-3 fatty acids that make camelina meal, left over after crushing, a particularly fine livestock feed candidate that is just now gaining recognition in the US and Canada. The emerging green fuel industry is turning camelina into a lucrative new cash crop for farmers. The seeds are easily crushed with oil being used for biofuel that performs similar to biofuel from other sources but can be more efficient. Camelina is planted in March and harvested in late July most years, even in Northern climates. Camelina can survive on little water: it thrives in areas with 10-17 inch rainfall, and it takes less fertilizer than many other crops. But it still requires management. Camelina can be grown in a rotation of wheat crops. Farmers who have followed a wheat-fallow pattern, as is often seen in Washington and Oregon, can switch to a wheat-camelina-wheat pattern, realize up to 100 gallons of camelina oil per acre, and gain up to 15 percent more productivity on the wheat.

Sustainability for Sustainable Agriculture

When analyzing the potential role of a new crop, unique attributes of that species must be established; it must contribute something not already provided by existing crop species. It is not sufficient, for example, for a crop simply to become "another oilseed." There must be unique and compelling properties of that crop to provide incentives for further development.

Research has shown that camelina possesses unique agronomic traits which could substantially reduce and perhaps eliminate requirements for tillage and annual weed control. The compatibility of camelina with reduced tillage systems, cover crops, its low seeding rate, and competitiveness with weeds could enable this crop not only to have the lowest input cost of any oilseed, but also be compatible with the goals of reducing energy and pesticide use, and protecting soils from erosion. Camelina is a potential alternative oilseed for stubble systems, winter surface seeding, double cropping, or for marginal lands. At a seeding rate of 6 to 14 kg/ha, camelina could be inexpensively applied by air or machine-broadcast in early winter or spring on stubble ground without special equipment. Although these unimproved lines have been shown to be agronomically acceptable, modern history has indicated the cruciferae to be highly manipulatable through plant breeding or biotechnology, and so the promise of improvement is also high. The meal does not contain glucosinolates, but the fatty acid composition of the seed needs to be modified to provide a role for the crop in the oilseeds market.

Lack of clear utilization patterns currently limit the crop, and further work on oil, meal, and seed use is required. The possibilities of using camelina—in human food, as birdseed, as an edible or industrial oil, a fuel, or other applications—remain largely unexplored. Further utilization and breeding research is required to more fully make use of the unique agronomic qualities that this crop possesses.

(See article: http://www.biodieselmagazine.com/article.jsp?article_id=2475&q=page=all)

Algae

Billy Glover, managing director of Environmental Strategy for Boeing Commercial Airplanes, has said that jatropha and camelina represented the strongest near-term options; algae were described as technically acceptable, but “not quite ready for prime time” in terms of developing a means of delivering large quantities of algae-based fuels on a commercial scale at the present time. Boeing has also commented that they believe algae-derived jet fuel will be the mainstay in the 2030-2050 time period.

BioJet Corp. currently works with several credible algae developers in order to remain out front on the use of algae as jet fuel. The Company believes it may be able to utilize limited sources of algae within 5 years.

Algae fuel, also called oilgae, algaeoleum or third-generation biofuel, is a biofuel from algae. Among algal fuels' attractive characteristics: they do not affect fresh water resources, can be produced using ocean and wastewater, and are biodegradable and relatively harmless to the environment if spilled. Algae cost more per pound yet can yield over 30 times more energy per acre than other, second-generation biofuel crops. During photosynthesis, algae and other photosynthetic organisms capture carbon dioxide and sunlight and convert them into oxygen and biomass. Up to 99% of the carbon dioxide in solution can be converted. The production of biofuels from algae does not reduce atmospheric CO2, because any CO2 taken out of the atmosphere by the algae is returned when the biofuels are burned. They do however eliminate the introduction of new CO2 by displacing fossil hydrocarbon fuels.

Colorado's Solix Biofuels tackles the difficult task of harvesting
algae with a field of bioreactors.

Yield

Given the right conditions, algae can double in volume overnight. Unlike other biofuel feedstocks, such as soy or corn, algae can be harvested day after day. Up to 50 percent of an alga’s body weight is comprised of oil, whereas oil-palm trees—currently the largest producer of oil to make biofuels—yield just about 20 percent of their weight in oil. Across the board, yields are already impressive: soy produces some 50 gallons of oil per acre per year; canola, 150 gallons; and palm, 650 gallons. But algae are expected to produce 10,000 gallons per acre per year, and eventually even more.

Yields (gallons of oil per acre per year) cover a vast range from 5,000 to 50,000. If all aspects of the cultivation are controlled—temperature, CO2 levels, sunlight and nutrients (including carbohydrates as a food source)—then extremely high yields can be obtained. Such variation can make calculations on which to base 'fuel the world' scenarios very difficult.

Not only do algae produce biofuel, they also help with reducing CO2 emissions. Algae, like other fuels, release carbon dioxide when burned. Fortunately, algae take in CO2 and replace it with Oxygen during the process of photosynthesis. Ultimately, net emissions are zero because the CO2 released in burning is the same amount that was absorbed initially.

The hard part about algae production is growing the algae in a controlled way and harvesting them efficiently.

Biodiesel

Currently most research into efficient algal-oil production is being done in the private sector, but predictions from small scale production experiments bear out that using algae to produce biodiesel may be the only viable method by which to produce enough automotive fuel to replace current world diesel usage.

Studies show that algae can produce up to 60% of their biomass in the form of oil. Because the cells grow in aqueous suspension where they have more efficient access to water, CO2 and dissolved nutrients, microalgae are capable of producing large amounts of biomass and usable oil in either high rate algal ponds or photobioreactors. This oil can then be turned into biofuel.

Fourth Generation Biofuels

The Petri Dish Refinery: Genetically modified E.coli [small rods]
turn sugar into blobs of a hydrocarbon that is similar to gasoline.
(Source: Popular Science, April 2008)

There are several directions involved in the development of designer biofuels for third and fourth generation feedstocks. BioJet is following the progress of those most promising ones.

1. Green Gasoline

Simple sugars—either derived from breaking down tough, cellulosic feedstocks or from sources such as sugarcane—are reacted over solid catalysts to remove the oxygen locked inside their molecules and form high-energy hydrocarbons. Like crude run through traditional refineries, raw sugar feedstocks are separated to create the range of molecules in the fuels we know as gasoline, diesel and jet. Green incarnations of today’s fuels are the “Holy Grail,” but until cellulose can be cheaply converted to simple sugars, domestic potential will be limited.

2. Biobutanol

Biobutanol is fermented by microorganisms from sugars, which are broken down from raw feedstocks and mixed with water. But for this process, the microbes have been genetically modified to produce an alcohol with a longer chain of hydrocarbons. Since butanol doesn’t mix with water at high concentrations, the finished fuel can be stored easily and transported within existing gasoline pipelines. Butanol is the rocket fuel of alcohols, but it has traditionally been derived from petroleum. Plants to produce it cheaply from renewable sources are in the works in the U.S. and U.K.

3. Designer Hydrocarbons

By swapping out natural genes for synthetic ones, scientists trick microorganisms such as E. coli and yeast into converting simple sugars to diesel, gasoline and jet fuel instead of into fats or alcohols. As in traditional ethanol production, microbes ferment the sugars (in this case, from sugar cane) in a slurry, but since finished fuels don’t mix with water, the hydrocarbons are easily separated by centrifuge without expensive distillation. Designer fuels are ready to drop into engines, but unless they’re made in a closed-loop system, they’re water-intensive.

4. Fourth-Generation Fuel

Scientists have genetically engineered algae not just to turn CO2 into oil, but to continuously excrete that oil directly into the surrounding water. Since oil floats, harvesting it becomes simple work compared with the energy-intensive drying and extraction traditionally used for typical algae, which store oil within their cell walls. As with second-generation methods, the oil can then be processed into biodiesel. If they can perform at scale, these mutant algae may well be game changers. Synthetic Genomics hopes to have commercial amounts of biodiesel on the market within five years, though no plants have been built yet. (Source: Popular Mechanics, September 2008)