Jatropha

JatrophaJatropha

……About the plantAbout the plant Jatropha is a genus of about 175 plants. When

people refer to Jatropha as a biofuel they are speaking of Jatropha curcas.

It is a hardy, drought and pest-resistant plant.

It produces seeds containing up to 40% oil.

Botanical features:◦ Large green to pale-green leaves◦ Flowering plant◦ Fruits are produced in winter or throughout the year depending

on temperature and soil moisture.◦ Seeds become mature when the capsules change from green to

yellow.

Easy CultivationEasy Cultivation

Grows almost anywhere including wastelands, gravelly, sandy, and saline soils. It can thrive on even some of the poorest stony soil and will grow in crevices of rocks.

Complete germination is achieved within 9 days. Survives and thrives on a mere 250 mm (10 inches) of rain a year. Ploughing and planting are not needed regularly since the shrub will continue

to grow for about forty years.• The plant responds negatively to organic fertilizers like manure during germination.

• The use of pesticides are not necessary due the pesticidal, poisonous, and fungicidal properties of the plant.

• Begins yielding after 9-12 months. However, effective yield comes only after 2-3 years.

Where Does it Grow?Where Does it Grow?Jatropha is native to Central America but it

has become naturalized India, Africa, North America and parts of Asia

Focus on IndiaFocus on India

New uses for land in India: According to the Ministry of Rural Development, only 173 million of 306 million hectares of land are used for cultivation, while the remaining land is either eroded farm land or non-arable wasteland. Such previously unused land can be used for Jatropha.

Government Focus: India's Planning Commission recommended a national mission on biofuel, specifically Jatropha:

◦ Stage 1 - 500,000 hectares of jatropha grown on government land across the country. The fuel would be produced at the village level by local governing bodies.

◦ Stage 2 - India's central government would plant a total of 12 million hectares of the plant and privatizing the production of jatropha biodiesel

The Production ProcessThe Production Process

Why Focus on Jatropha?Why Focus on Jatropha? The Perfect Storm:

High oil prices – force a search of possible long-term alternatives to run automobiles.

Climate change – motivates people to seek green energy sources Food prices – necessitate alternative energy (specifically biofuel

sources) that do not tradeoff with food producing crops. Recent Attention:

International speculation – in December of 2007, Goldman Sachs identified Jatropha as a potentially strong source of biofuel for the future.

Growing investment in India, China and Africa – has made this created a lot of hype around the possible fuel source.

European companies looking for new fuel sources – are considering a turn to Jatropha.

Why the paper….Why the paper….

Our Question – Navigating Our Question – Navigating UncertaintiesUncertaintiesA good deal of uncertainties exist when it comes to Jatropha as a biofuel source. These uncertainties can be grouped into two categories:

1.Production and Refinery Uncertainties – - Lack of domestication of the plant.- What to do with the biproduct of the plant.- Varying estimates of oil yield from the seed. - Oil production based on where the crop is grown.- How much carbon does production cost?

2. Economic and Political Viability Uncertainties - Viability of and differences with large scale

production.- Whether government subsidy is necessary (like in

India)- Food production tradeoff?

One of the greatestUncertainties withJatropha is how much oilis produced per acre ofplants. The existingnumbers on this areoften suspect and vary widely. For instance, India’s planning commission thinks it would be about 1,300 liters of oil per hectare. Pushpito Ghosh, director of the Central Salt and Marine Chemicals Research Institute, says its half that. These discrepancies aredue in some part to whois doing the research. Agood deal of theseestimates come fromsources who are investedin Jatropha. This paperis a more leveled study.

Varying Output FiguresVarying Output Figures

Cost of productionCost of productionOne of the greatest concernswhen it comes to biofuels isthe cost per barrel of fuel.Recent studies have shownthat ethanol, for instance, hashuge costs in the refiningstages which ultimatelyrender it inefficient withoutlarge government subsidies.

A central question for thispaper is whether the cost toproduce Jatropha makes itinefficient without subsidy orwhether the fuel source couldexist in the free marketwithout government support.

1600 Jatropha Trees Per Hectare Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5 Total

Site Preparation (14 man-days) 210 - - - - 210

Conservation Tillage (15 man-days or tractor) 225 - 250 - 270 745

Alignment & Stalking (10 man-days) 150 - - - - 150

Digging, Planting & Refilling Pits (60 man-days) 900 - - - - 900

Fertilizers & Bio-Pesticides (0.200 Kg./Tree) 600 630 660 690 730 3,310

Cost of Plants 1st Year (US$0.50 per plant) 800 - - - - 800

Re-Planting 1st Year (15%) 135 - - - - 135

Maintenance & Irrigation (50 man-days) 750 790 830 870 910 4,150

Harvesting & Pruning (50 man-days) 750 790 830 870 910 4,150

Contingencies 140 140 140 140 140 700

Re-Planting 2nd Year (10%). - 90 - - - 90

Plants for Re-Planting 1st & 2nd Years 120 80 - - - 200

Total 4,780 2,520 2,710 2,570 2,960 15,540

Source: LOZANO CDM Proposal

Estimated Cost of Jatropha Estimated Cost of Jatropha Cultivation (U.S.)Cultivation (U.S.)