CSMCRI scouts for alternative uses of jatropha crop to make bio-fuel production viable

Making agricultural cultivation of jatropha economically viable is a top priority for the institute

Bhavnagar-based research institute Central Salt and Marine Chemicals Research Institute (CSMCRI), that has a US patent for manufacturing jatropha-based bio-fuel and has already partnered with automotive original equipment manufacturers for testing its bio-fuel, is now eyeing options to make the jatropha cultivation economically viable for farmers as such.

For this, it has already conducted trial runs for use of jatropha cakes as manure for several crops in farms in Chattisgarh, besides developing by-products of the jatropha-seed into oil cakes, soaps etc.

Amitava Das, director, CSMCRI, admitted that it was critical for the success of the project that jatropha cultivation and its eventual uses were commercially and economically viable. "We are thus exploring several alternative uses of jatropha, some of which include agro-uses as well as generating power and bio-oil from Jatropha shells," he said.

The institute had earlier collaborated with the Defence Research and Development Organisation for trial run of military vehicles on bio-diesel. In 2010, it had partnered with US-headquartered car major General Motors (GM) for testing its cars on bio-diesel. The US Department of Energy, GM and CSMCRI had entered into a five year partnership in April 2010 to develop Jatropha as a sustainable crop, according to which GM was to invest close to $1 million on the project that will demonstrate that jatropha, traditionally considered a weed, can produce significant quantities of oil for commercial scale conversion to bio-diesel.

Under the partnership, two jatropha farms were established, a 33 hectare plot in Bhavnagar and a 20 hectare plot in Kalol, besides CSMCRI's existing 30 hectare jatropha farm in Bhavnagar.

Around 500 litres of bio-diesel could be produced per hectare provided each hectare produces three tonnes of fruit. "A family of four should be able to manage around five hectares of farmland. Given that the production is around three tonnes of fruit per hectare and one gets around Rs 8,000 per tonne for the fruit, a family could earn around Rs 24,000 a month from the field. Leaving aside the cost of irrigation, buying seeds and sundry cost, the return is roughly around Rs 5,000-6,000 per month per hectare," P K Ghosh, former director of the institute, had told Business Standard at that time.

Now, however, the institute is leaving no stone unturned to ensure that jatropha cultivation and its subsequent uses were economically viable. The by-products of bio-diesel, like glycerol, have also been converted into value-added products like biodegradable polymer through microbial process. Technology to produce producer gas and power was also optimised to value-add the Jatropha shells.

"Development of up-graded bio-oil derived from the thermochemical conversion of biomass is currently being pursued. Jatropha oil cake was found to be a good organic manure capable of enhancing yields of Jatropha or arable crops at the same time improving the properties of soil," the institute informed.

"We had found good response of Jatropha cake on several crops like wheat, pearl millet, sesame, cotton (11-15 per cent improvement over recommended dose of fertilisers). It was found to enhance the yield of jatropha itself when ploughed back in the same land and also improved the soil quality (organic carbon and soil microbial properties)," informed an official of the institute.

These research findings lead to Jatropha cake application as a manure, which the Chhattisgarh Biofuel Development Authority further carried forward and got good success, which consequently changed the whole economics of their bio-fuel system.

Besides, CSMCRI is making efforts towards generating power and bio-oil from Jatropha shells, and the institute has also made a presentation to the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) in this regard. "We need assistance from MNRE and other stakeholder agencies, who would financially, as well as technically, support us for these objectives," the official said.