Jatropha Curcas is a very adaptable plant that can be established easily, grows well on hardy soil and can produce fruits from year one up to 50 years. Our research and experience tells us that Jatropha Curcas is a suitable commercial oil crop in countries where there is ample sunlight, rain and abundance labor to produce good yielding trees. The Jatropha Curcas seeds are non-edible and will not interrupt the food chain as a feedstock source to biofuel.

Usage of Jatropha Curcas Seeds

• Jatropha Curcas fruits have many by-products. The seed from the dried fruits can produce up to 35% of Crude Jatropha Oil (CJO) which can be refined into biodiesel.

• Several rural communities have started using CJO in modified generators to generate electricity for rural electrification and cottage industries.

• CJO is used as diesel replacement in stationed engines such as water pumps.

• CJO is also a very good replacement of kerosene which is widely used by rural villagers for lighting and cooking.

• Another industrial usage of CJO is component to surfactants or oil-based products.

• The Jatropha Curcas seedcake and fruit shells can be used directly as feedstock into a Biomass Gasifier to generate power supply for CJO processing plant and with excess power for rural electrification.

• Research has also identified that the Jatropha Curcas seedcake has equal calorific value of low grade coal. Hence, it may be useful in replacing or blending with low grade coal for burning to reduce the most polluted energy source.

• Jatropha Curcas seedcake can also be processed into organic fertilizer.

In general, every 3 tons of seeds will yield 1 ton of CJO and 2 tons of seedcake. Continuous research is being done to increase the industrial usage of Jatropha Curcas oil and its biomass to substitute the edible crops being turned into biofuel.