Energy for Sustainable Development 16 (2012) 303–311

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Energy for Sustainable Development

Jatropha curcas L. and multifunctional platforms for the development of ruralsub-Saharan Africa

K. Eckart, P. Henshaw ⁎

University of Windsor, Civil and Environmental Engineering, 401 Sunset Avenue, Windsor, Ontario, Canada N9B 3P4

⁎ Corresponding author. Tel.: +1 519 253 3000x2588E-mail addresses: eckartk@uwindsor.ca (K. Eckart),

(P. Henshaw).

0973-0826/$ – see front matter © 2012 International Endoi:10.1016/j.esd.2012.03.002

a b s t r a c t

a r t i c l e i n f o

Article history:Received 10 October 2011Revised 26 March 2012Accepted 26 March 2012Available online 26 April 2012

Keywords:JatrophaAfricaMultifunctional platformDevelopment

There is a great need to provide energy to rural Africans in order to spark development and help to alleviatepoverty. Although Jatropha curcas L. is no longer considered to be a miracle crop, and large scale Jatrophabiofuel programs have struggled, Jatropha still has potential to be successfully used in small scaledevelopment projects. To this end, there has been a great deal of interest in Jatropha and studies haveshown the potential of Jatropha to be used with multifunctional platforms (MFPs) to provide energy to ruralsub-Saharan Africa. This is a review paper which examines research on the various aspects of using Jatrophaand MFPs to provide energy to rural Africans. Neat Jatropha can be used as a fuel for the type of simple dieselengines used in MFPs. Jatropha oil can also be converted to biodiesel through esterification and/ortransesterification. The Jatropha plant can be used in many other ways and its utility increases the value it canbring to a village. There are challenges to increase the use of Jatropha, and among the greater difficulties areland issues (a Jatropha plantation to provide enough oil to power an MFP for a rural village would probablyrequire about 8 ha after 5 years of growth). Despite the challenges, Jatropha has been successfully used insome development projects and merits further research.

© 2012 International Energy Initiative. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Introduction

“Jatropha curcas L. is a plant of Latin American origin which is nowwidespread throughout the arid and semi-arid tropical regions of theworld” (Henning, 2002). Many people have recognized the potentialof using Jatropha as a tool for rural development. There have beenpilot projects, some mentioned in this report, as well as larger plansbeing developed around Jatropha in sub-Saharan Africa. Jatropha hasmany uses and the possible combination of these uses is what makesJatropha potentially very valuable (Heller, 1996).

One of the more intriguing uses of Jatropha is as an energy sourcein areas that otherwise lack energy. Thomas Homer-Dixon (2006)argues that energy is our “master resource.” He also says that“without adequate energy in the future, humankind hasn't a hope ofraising the standard of living of the planet's poorest 2 billion peoplewho must try to survive on $2 a day or less.” The UNDP states that“energy is central for sustainable development and poverty reduc-tion” (Commission on Sustainable Development, 2007). They alsoreported that the need for energy may be the greatest in sub-SaharanAfrica where about 500 million people do not have electricity in their

; fax: +1 519 971 3686.henshaw@uwindsor.ca

ergy Initiative. Published by Elsevi

homes. There are obviously many social problems that stem fromthese energy shortages.

Oxfam (2008) condemns the current global biofuel industry. Theyprovide evidence that the land use changes associated with thedevelopment of biofuels will add more greenhouse gasses to theatmosphere than the benefits of the current biofuels can hope tomake up for. Also, the production of biofuels, and associated policies,has caused a rise in food prices which has pushed millions of peopleinto poverty. However, Oxfam recommends that if biofuel strategiesare developed, priority should be given to poor people in the ruralareas of developing countries. More specifically, they suggestprioritizing bioenergy projects that can provide energy to the poorin rural areas and maximize opportunity for small farmers (Oxfam,2008).

One way of delivering energy to rural Africa is by the use ofmultifunctional platforms. Multifunctional platforms are simplesystems, usually run by a Lister engine, which can mechanizelaborious farming tasks or provide small amounts of electricity(Nygaard, 2009). Henning (2002) states that “currently Jatrophacurcas oil can be used as a substitute for the ‘gazoil’ mixture used inthe Indian type diesel engines that drive grain mills and water pumpsin the rural parts of Mali.” Engine driven grain mill projects (such asMFPs) have, in the past, caused cash flows out of villages due to fueland maintenance expenses; however, the use of home-grownJatropha to fuel the engine can significantly reduce this cash outflow(Henning, 2002).

er Inc. All rights reserved.

304 K. Eckart, P. Henshaw / Energy for Sustainable Development 16 (2012) 303–311

Jatropha can be used in a multi-faceted approach to ruraldevelopment. It can promote women through local soap production,reduce poverty by protecting crops and the sale of Jatropha products,control erosion through its use in hedges, and supply energy bypowering engines (Henning, 2004).

This review paper examines research that has been done on usingJatropha as a tool for rural development in sub-Saharan Africa,especially in conjunction with multifunctional platforms.

Jatropha curcas L.

Jatropha curcas L. is a non-food crop that has shown great potentialas a feedstock for biofuel or as a source of crude fuel. Jatropha also hasmany other uses and benefits which increase its value for ruralAfrican communities. One of the reasons for interest in Jatropha is itspotential for growth in harsh conditions. Jatropha already grows or isgrown in many parts of Africa and requires minimal input and is alsoeasy to propagate.

Basic information

Jatropha is a small bush or tree growing up to 5 m in height.Jatropha can live for about 50 years and is known to grow onmarginal soils (Henning, 2002). It is very adaptable and can grow onpoor quality, dry sites where other plants like food crops (Jatropha isnot a food crop)might not grow (Henning, 2004). Jatropha is also notself-propagating and thus must be planted (Henning, 2004;jatrophaafrica.com, 2011).

Biophysical properties

Jatropha is successful in arid and semi-arid conditions (it isdrought resistant) and has been successful in tropical regions withbetween 300 and 1000 mm of annual rainfall (Heller, 1996). Withinthis range, Jatropha grows well at over 600 mm of annual rainfall andmay require special conditions, such as very high humidity, to grow atthe low end of this range (Henning, 2004). It grows well from 0 to500 m in elevation although it can grow at higher elevations (Heller,1996). Jatropha also does well in high temperatures (Heller, 1996). Ithas some frost resistance; however, even light frost will cause it tolose its leaves and probably result a great reduction in seedproduction (Heller, 1996; Henning, 2004). Jatropha also showsdormancy induced by fluctuations in rainfall, temperature, and light(Henning, 2004).

Some advantages of Jatropha

Jatropha's ability to grow on marginal land is promising becausethis should reduce competition with food crops. The fact that Jatrophais not a food crop is an important distinction which separates it fromsome other oil crops such as palm oil. The reason that Jatropha is notused as a food crop is because it contains phorbol esters, curcains,trypsin inhibitors and other components that make it toxic (Jongsschaapet al., 2007).

Jatropha hedgerows

Jatropha is widely used by farmers as a living fence to protect theirgardens because it is not eaten by animals (Heller, 1996; Henning,2002). Well planned Jatropha hedgerows can also help to protectcrops from wind and water erosion (Henning, 2002). The Jatrophahedgerows can also be quite large and produce significant quantitiesof seeds. “The average length of these hedges in those areas of Maliwhere they are most prevalent is between 2 and 15 km per village,with a maximum of up to 40 km per village (Henning, 1996)” as citedin Henning (2002). Henning (2002) also cited Henning (1994) “the

production of seeds is about 0.8 kg per meter of hedge per year.”However, Grimsby et al. (2012) reported a yield of 0.16 kg/m.Wahl etal. (2009) state that Jatropha hedgerows are a lower risk opportunityfor farmers to increase their income and are currently more feasiblethan Jatropha plantations.

Some other uses of Jatropha

Gubitz et al. (1999) describe many uses for the Jatropha plant inaddition to the production of oil. The plant itself can be used forerosion control, or as a hedge plant; the leaves can help to develop Erisilkworms, and have medicinal uses; the latex also has medicinaluses; the fruit hulls can be used as a combustible fuel, green manure,or for biogas production; the seed cake can be used as a fertilizer, orfor biogas production; and the seed shells can be used as acombustible. In addition to being used for fuel, the seed oil can alsobe used for soap production, insecticide or medicinal purposes(Gubitz et al., 1999). The efficient use of all the products of theJatropha tree might be very important in terms of cost and efficiencyin order to successfully introduce a Jatropha program to a village inrural Africa.

Uncertainty and projections

Despite the boom in Jatropha projects and research in recent yearsthere are still large knowledge gaps (Achten et al., 2010; Jongsschaapet al., 2007). “The considerable lack of insight in genetics, inputresponsiveness and agronomy of Jatropha makes yields poorlypredictable (Achten et al., 2008)” as cited in Achten et al. (2010).Many of the claims as to Jatropha's ability to be successful underharsh conditions are largely unsubstantiated and certainly significantoil production from Jatropha cannot be counted on under harshconditions (Jongsschaap et al., 2007). Jatropha requires inputs to behighly productive, despite still being a wild crop (Achten et al., 2010).

If Jatropha is to become more widely used as a source of fuel inrural Africa, then it is also important to examine how Jatropha mightrespond to climate change. Trabucco et al. (2010) modeled yieldresponse in relation to climate factors using a fitness based approach.They found that Jatropha should do better in the future where climatechange causes greater precipitation, or a lesser chance of frost, andJatropha will do worse where precipitation decreases.

All of this uncertainty does not mean that Jatropha projects cannotbe successful; some of the pilot projects in Mali are evidence ofsuccess. The uncertainty does mean that increased planning shouldgo into the Jatropha aspect of a Jatropha-run MFP project to ensurethat sufficient quantities of oil can be produced.

Multifunctional platforms and Jatropha

One beneficial way Jatropha can be used, which is the subject ofthis review, is as a home-grown fuel source for multifunctionalplatforms (MFPs). These MFPs can serve as a valuable energy sourcein isolated rural communities which might not otherwise have accessto electricity and mechanization.

The benefits of MFPs with Jatropha

Multifunctional platforms (MFPs) consist of a simple, stationarydiesel engine (often a Lister) which is used to power agriculturalprocessing equipment, produce electricity, and various other uses.The MFP could also be used to run mechanical pressing equipment toextract oil from Jatropha seeds. MFPs have shown great potential inreducing the workload of people in rural Africa, especially women(Nygaard, 2009). MFPs reduce workloads by mechanizing tedioustasks such as dehusking crops (Nygaard, 2009).

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Devices such as MFPs appear to be among the best energy solutionfor many rural communities. The Commission on SustainableDevelopment (UN) found that energy from renewable sources suchas hydro, solar or wind energy systems is still quite expensive(Commission on Sustainable Development, 2007). Conversely, theexpansion of electricity networks from urban centers to rural areas isnot usually affordable.

There are many reasons why it is favorable to run an MFP withlocally produced oil from Jatropha curcas L. “Jatropha biodieselproduction is expected to contribute to the improvement of rurallivelihood because the main production location for Jatropha is insemi-arid lands where poverty levels are high and land productivitylow” (Tomomatsu and Swallow, 2007). Locally produced Jatropha isusually cheaper than imported diesel (Walters and Morris, 2009).Also, the availability of imported diesel fuel is not always assured,especially for isolated communities (Walters and Morris, 2009). It isclear that using locally produced Jatropha fuel instead of importeddiesel allows people living in isolated communities to achieve a greaterlevel of independence (Commission on Sustainable Development,2007). Using locally produced Jatropha oil has the potential to increasethe economic benefit of an MFP (Rodriguez-Sanchez, 2010b).

The challenges of MFPs with Jatropha

Research and analysis in sub-Saharan Africa have also revealedseveral challenges to using MFPs and locally produced biofuels. Forexample, feedstock awareness must be increased in order to avoidseed shortages which would lead to fuel shortages (Commission onSustainable Development, 2007). Land ownership issues can also bea barrier to starting Jatropha plantations in some areas. There is alsothe issue of finding financing because villages generally cannotafford all of the equipment required to produce Jatropha oil. Thefinancing of extensive repairs can also be problematic. Villagers canbe taught the technical expertise to repair equipment; however,most of the equipment required for Jatropha oil production andsometimes for MFPs has to be imported from outside of sub-Saharan Africa (Commission on Sustainable Development, 2007;Walters and Morris, 2009). For rural Africans these are but a fewdifficulties with the complex task of securing a sustainable energysupply.

Financial analysis

For the use of Jatropha to be sustainable it must be financiallyviable; therefore, it is important to examine this aspect of a Jatrophaproject. Available evidence points towards Jatropha being a profitableventure at a community level. Certainly the use of Jatropha oil can addvalue to multifunctional platforms.

General financial analysis

Local farmers and small industries can get involved in the small-scale production of biofuel. This has socio-economic benefits and allowspeople to bemore independent than they arewhen they have to rely onimporting diesel (Commission on Sustainable Development, 2007). ForJatropha, there are also possible economic benefits from the sale of theby-products of production such as the seed cake. Even if the seed cake isnot sold it can be used by farmers as a fertilizer (Achten et al., 2010;Jongsschaap et al., 2007). Also, the seed hulls can be used as acombustiblematerial, which could reduce the strain on localwoodlands(Gubitz et al., 1999). The successful use and/or sale of by-products canmake a venture much more economically viable.

The 2007 Commission on Sustainable Development also foundthat “biofuel projects that are driven by local ownership in whichsmall farmers produce fuel for their own use or for communityapplications, appear likely to produce and sustain benefits for a rural

community” (Commission on Sustainable Development, 2007).Achten et al. (2010) reported that small-scale, community focusedJatropha projects may actually be much more successful than largescale projects. This is because small scale projects offer more flexibilitythan large monocultures and farmers can benefit directly from the by-products of Jatropha oil production. Large scale biofuel projects in Africawould probably not be economically viable without significantgovernment subsidies, or a significant rise in the price of fossil fuels(Amigun et al., 2008). There is also the example of the large scalegrowing of Jatropha for biofuel in India which has been largelyunsuccessful, with 85% of farmers involved later discontinuing Jatrophafarming (Axelsson and Franzen, 2010). Large scale Jatropha projects arelikely to use regular land (instead of marginal) to reduce risk (Achten etal., 2010). This eliminatesmany of the societal benefits of using Jatrophaoil or biofuel. Also, individual farmers would be less likely to growJatropha crops on fertile land (other than as hedges and in combinationwith vanilla vines) because then the Jatropha has to compete with foodcrops (Tomomatsu and Swallow, 2007). These could be either foodcrops that the farmer relies on for sustenance or cash crops that thefarmer relies on for income. In fact, on fertile soils Jatropha may not beable to compete with other potential sources of biofuel such assunflowers (Baur et al., 2007; Wahl et al., 2009).

Rodriguez-Sanchez (Columbia University) working with ETCFoundation, Mali Biocarburant SA and the National MultifunctionalPlatform Programme supported by United Nations DevelopmentProgramme (UNDP) Mali, worked with nine villages and one factoryin Mali. They installed MFPs and Jatropha extension services focusingon agroforestry, technology appropriation, and improvement of MFPbusiness and entrepreneurship. They found that “the average annualnet benefit per MFP using diesel was over 545 USD, after thegeneration of more than 830 USD of local salaries. With the use ofJatropha oil, the profit nearly doubled to 1018 USD as one litre ofJatropha oil can be produced at around 300 Franc CommunautéFinancière Africaine (FCFA) or 60% of the actual price of diesel in Maliand produces nearly the same work output” (Rodriguez-Sanchez,2010b).

Walters and Morris (2009) also provided insight into some of theresearch done by Columbia University. Their report states thatJatropha oil is significantly cheaper than diesel fuel both when theJatropha oil is produced in the village where it is used, and when it isproduced in another village or factory (still relatively local) andimported (Walters and Morris, 2009). Their analysis of the Columbiaresearch found that Jatropha oil was particularly cost effective whenit was produced and used in the same village, especially when thesecondary products were used and/or sold. Examining a pilot MFP inEngaruka Tanzania, where Jatropha fences already exist, Wijgerse(2007) found that it could be a viable project.

Value chain evaluation

Tomomatsu and Swallow (2007) conducted a value chain analysisfor the Jatropha industry in Kenya. Like Amigun et al. (2008) theyfound that the market for Jatropha biodiesel, and biodiesel in general,was lacking. They reported that Jatropha might be able to competewith some imported biofuels but it could not compete with fossilfuels. For the competitiveness of Jatropha to improve would require asteep increase in the price of fossil fuels or significant governmentsubsidies to the Jatropha industry. They also reported that individualfarmers might not benefit a great deal by providing Jatropha forcentralized biodiesel production (Tomomatsu and Swallow, 2007).This does not mean that producing Jatropha oil for community usewould not be beneficial. An unreliable supply and poor quality offossil fuels (Walters and Morris, 2009) increases the attractiveness oflocally produced Jatropha oil.

An analysis by Francis et al. (2005) should give some insight intothe value chain for Jatropha oil production. Their analysis was

306 K. Eckart, P. Henshaw / Energy for Sustainable Development 16 (2012) 303–311

conducted on a processing facility in India which yields 200 tons ofraw vegetable oil per year. A price of US$0.11 per kilogram wasassumed for Jatropha seeds, which was converted to a price of US$0.39 per Liter of oil (3.57 kg for 1 L of oil). They determined that theprocessing facility could cover its cost at a sales price of US$0.41. Iftransesterification was conducted, the cost would become US$0.50per Liter and the minimum sales price (including marketing andprofits) would become US$0.53 (Francis et al., 2005). Francis et al.(2005) also assumed that the transesterification process wouldgenerate an additional US$0.08 per Liter from recovered glycerol;however, Kojima (2005) made an argument for excluding value ofglycerol from the analysis. In the case of farmers in rural Africaglycerol probably should be excluded because it is doubtful that theywould have access to markets through which to sell glycerol if theywere conducting transesterification. However, as previously men-tioned, small scale farmers will be able to benefit from other by-products of the Jatropha oil production such as the seed cake and seedhulls.

Grimsby et al. (2012) note that rural Tanzanians can harvest andde-hull about 5 kg of Jatropha seeds per day, resulting in a daily wageof only 0.9 USD. As a result, this work is usually not undertaken byfarmers, or even hired hands on farms, but by poorer members of thecommunity in their “spare” time.

Wahl et al. (2009) analyzed Jatropha biofuel projects in northernTanzania. They found that “the net present value of a five-yearinvestment was found to be negative (USD−65 ha−1) when yielding2000 kg of seeds per hectare and only slightly positive (USD 9 ha−1)when yielding 3000 kg ha−1.” However, they did note that Jatrophamay have potential as a localized energy source when used with anMFP (Wahl et al., 2009).

Jatropha productivity: estimating land requirements

As mentioned in The challenges of MFPs with Jatropha, securingland for growing Jatropha is one of the most important barriers tomore widespread use of Jatropha. The land required is a veryimportant factor for a village intending to power an MFP withhome-grown Jatropha oil. There would normally be a greater chanceof encountering local opposition to a Jatropha project if a great deal ofland has to be used. Additionally, one of the main arguments forJatropha is that it is a non-food crop and can be grown on marginallands (i.e. not competing with food crops). Larger land requirementsmean that there is less of a chance to find enough unused land areasonable distance from a village. Jongsschaap et al. (2007) statedthat “a major constraint for the extended use of Jatropha curcas seemsto be the lack of knowledge on its potential yield under sub-optimaland marginal conditions.” They go on to mention that this lack ofknowledge makes it difficult to accurately predict yields fromJatropha plantations and thus to predict the return on investmentsin Jatropha projects (Jongsschaap et al., 2007). For this reason it isimportant to understand how much land would be required for aJatropha project. This section provides an estimate of how much landmight be required to grow enough Jatropha to provide the oil to run aMFP in a rural African village.

Data used for land requirement estimations

Data used for land requirement estimations are found in Table 1.

Land requirement estimationThe values used in the calculations were chosen from the collected

data by eliminating extreme high and low values, where possible, toattempt to provide a reasonable estimate for the amount of landwhich would be needed to produce the Jatropha oil required to run anMFP in a rural African setting. Some aspects of the data such as theextraction of Jatropha oil will be further discussed later in the report.

Both the minimum and the maximum land requirements (based onthe data used), for various growth periods, were calculated asfollows:

Max land use

¼ MFP usageð ÞMax � MFP fuel consumptionð ÞMax � Jatropha oil densityð Þ� �Seed oil contentð ÞMin � Oil extraction efficiencyð ÞMin

� �Min land productivity of Jatropha seeds

� �

Min land use

¼ MFP usageð ÞMin � MFP fuel consumptionð ÞMin � Jatropha oil densityð Þ� �Seed oil contentð ÞMax � Oil extraction efficiencyð ÞMax

� �Max land productivity of Jatropha seeds

� � :

The land use (required to provide Jatropha oil for an MFP) is givenin Table 2 as a function of how many years the Jatropha trees havehad to grow. For example, trees that have been given more time tomature produce more seeds, thus more oil, and therefore less land isrequired to produce the necessary oil. However, plantations wouldnot be sized based on the first or second year yield, so Table 2 listsland requirements for year three and older. The maximum landrequirement assumes all factors are at their worst for Jatropha oilyield. The presented maximum land requirement might be achievedon marginal lands without irrigation; however, it may not be theworst case. The land requirements can differ greatly from onesituation to another. The results may be difficult to predict becausethere is not a great deal of knowledge about the responses of Jatrophato physical parameters. The minimum requirement is not realisticbecause it represents Jatrophawhichwas grown in completely controlledconditions, under expert care, and using select genetic strains. Forplanning, a reasonable estimatewould be to use the long-termworst caseyield (7.8 ha). This assumes that a village is willing to wait 5 years forits investment in Jatropha seedlings and labor to mature.

Extraction of Jatropha oil

The first step to producing a useable fuel from the Jatropha seed isto extract the oil from the seeds. This can be done using mechanical orchemical methods. For the extraction process the seeds, machines,infrastructure and energy are the inputs required (Achten et al.,2008). The outputs are the Jatropha oil and the seed cake which alsocan be a valuable resource (Jongsschaap et al., 2007). Before the oilcan actually be extracted, the seed must be dried (Henning, 2000;Tobin and Fulford, 2005). The seeds may be dried in an oven at 105 °C,or sun dried for about 3 weeks (Achten et al., 2010). For themechanical extraction of the oil, whole seeds or kernels may beused (though whole seeds are usually used) (Achten et al., 2010). Forchemical extraction, the Jatropha (Jatropha curcas L.) seed kernelsmust be used as feed (Achten et al., 2010). In this case the seed shellscan still be used as a combustible by-product or gasification feedstock(Achten et al., 2010).

Mechanical extraction

The mechanical extraction of the Jatropha oil is done using a press.The oil can be pressed using a manual ram press (such as a Yenga orBielenberg ram press) or an engine driven screw press (this type ofpress could be designed to be powered by a multifunction energyplatform) (Fact Foundation, 2006; Forson et al., 2004; Henning,1998). Generally, 70 to 80% of the oil contained within the seed can beextracted using a screw press, while the manual press can extract 60to 65% of the oil (Lopez et al., 1997; Forson et al., 2004; Rabe et al.,2005). The amount of oil extracted is partially dependent on thenumber of times the seeds are put through the press (up to threetimes is common) (Achten et al., 2010). The oil yield can also beincreased by pre-treatment methods such as cooking. Beerens (2007)

Table 1Data used for land requirement estimation.

Parameter Data Value(s) used in calculation

MFP usage 50–120 h/month1 Min=50 h/monthMax=120 h/month

Fuel consumption (10 Hp Lister engine) 0.6–2.2 L/h1 Min=0.6 L/hMax=2.2 L/h

Density of neat Jatropha oil 921 kg/m3 (mean, σ=9 kg/m3)2,3,4 921 kg/m3

Jatropha seed oil content 23–39%5

41%6

25–30%2

Min=25%Max=40%

Oil extraction efficiency 70–80%8,9,10,a

89–91%10,bMin=75%c

Max=90%Growth density of trees 3030 plants/ha and 90% germination11

1111 plants/ha15

75% germination with planting after 6 months of nursery growth1

Min=1100 plants/haMax=3000 plants/ha85% germinationd

Seed yield11 1st year: 4500 kg/ha2nd year: 9000 kg/ha3rd year: 13,500 kg/ha4th+ year: 15,000 kg/ha

See below

Seed yield12 Years 1–3: 360 kg/haYears 3–4: 1800–2700 kg/haYear 5+: 4500–5500 kg/ha

See below

Seed yield16 This reference suggested a mature seed yield of 2000 kg/ha See belowSeed yield13,14 Year, rain-fed (kg/ha), irrigated (kg/ha)

1, 0, 2502, 125, 10003, 250, 24704, 620, 49405, 1235, 79106, 2470, 79107, 3090, 79108+, 3710, 7910

1st year: min=100 kg/ha; max=4500 kg/ha2nd year: min=300 kg/ha; max=9000 kg/ha3rd year: min=600 kg/ha; max=13,500 kg/ha4th year: min=1200 kg/ha; max=15,000 kg/ha5th year: min=2000 kg/ha; max=15,000 kg/ha

References:1 — Rodriguez-Sanchez (2010a)2 — Patil et al. (2009)3 — Sahoo and Das (2009)4 — Sharma and Siddharth (2010)5 — Jongsschaap et al. (2007)6 — jatrophaafrica.com (2011)7 — Forson et al. (2004)8 — Lopez et al. (1997)9 — Rabe et al. (2005)10 — Beerens (2007)11 — jatrophacurcasplantations.com (2011)12 — Uriarte (2010)13 — Prajapati and Prajapati (2005)14 — Tewari (2007)15 — Jatropha World (2011)16 — Wahl et al. (2009)

a Based on extraction with a screw press. This type of press could be powered by an MFP.b After cooking for 1 h at 70 °C, 89% extraction with 1 pass through BT 50 Press, and 91% extraction with 2 passes through a Sayari Expeller.c It may take some effort in the design of the pressing system to achieve even 75% extraction. Also, a press might need to be modified in order to be powered by an MFP.d 85% germination was chosen because of the way this number is used in the following calculation. The germination rate would likely be lower than 85%; however, plants which

did not germinate might be replaceable. The way 85% is used in the calculation assumes that Jatropha will never grow on 15% of the land.

Table 2Maximum and minimum land use requirements.

Land required for plantation (ha)

Maximum requirements Minimum requirements

Year Land Year Land

3 25.9 3 0.074 13.0 4 0.065+ 7.8 5+ 0.06

307K. Eckart, P. Henshaw / Energy for Sustainable Development 16 (2012) 303–311

found that cooking (1 h in water at 70 °C) the seeds before pressingallowed for the extraction of 89% of the oil after one pass through thepress (BT50) and 91% after two passes (through Sayari expeller).

Chemical or solvent extraction

Solvent extraction can be used to obtain up to 99% of the oilobtained in the Jatropha seed (Achten et al., 2010); however, it is notnecessarily preferred to mechanical extraction. First of all, solventextraction takes longer than mechanical extraction, generally 2 to48 h (Achten et al., 2010). Solvent extraction may also not be aseconomical and may be more damaging to the environment. Adriaansfound that solvent extraction may only be economical when theproduction volume is at least 50 t of biodiesel per day (Adriaans,2006). They also indicate that n-hexane solvent extraction (the mostcommon method for Jatropha oil) generates waste water, consumesmore energy, emits volatile organic compounds, and that workingwith n-hexane can be dangerous. Clearly, exotic solvent extraction

methods would be difficult to conduct in a rural African setting. Basedon these findings, mechanical extraction would be the preferredmethod for a rural African setting.

Reactive extraction

Another method of extraction being researched is reactiveextraction, which combines the extraction and refining processes.

Table 3Esterification parameters.

Refs. Methanol tooil ratio

Catalystconcentration

Reactiontemperature(°C)

Reactiontime (min)

Yield (esterconversion %)

1 3:7 (v/v) 1% H2SO4

(w/w)60+/−0.5 180 21.2

3 0.6 (w/w) 1% H2SO4

(w/w)50 60 a

2 6:1(molar ratio)

0.5% H2SO4

(v/v)40+/−5 NA a

4 0.3 (v/v) 1% H2SO4

(w/w)65 NA 21.2

a — These studies also included transesterification; therefore, the overall conversion %can be found in Table 4.References:1 — Sharma and Siddharth (2010)2 — Patil et al. (2009)3 — Berchmans and Hirata (2007)4 — Jain and Sharma (2010)

308 K. Eckart, P. Henshaw / Energy for Sustainable Development 16 (2012) 303–311

“The conventional method for the production of biodiesel fromJatropha and other types of oil seeds involve various stages; oilextraction, purification (degumming, deacidification, dewaxing, depho-sphorization, dehydration, etc.) and esterification/transesterification.The requirement of these multiple processing stages constitute over70% of the total production cost of biodiesel (Zeng et al., 2009)” cited inShuit et al. (2009). Shuit et al. (2009) performed reactive extraction inthe lab using H2SO4, methane, and n-hexane. With blended and sievedseeds, they were able to achieve an extraction efficiency of 60% withseed particles between 0.355 and 1.0 mm (24 h) and 90% extractionefficiency for particles less than 0.355 mm (24 h reaction time). Clearlyreactive extraction can produce Jatropha oil methyl ester at a lowerenergy input (which is useful if crude Jatropha oil is not sufficient);however, like regular solvent extraction it may be difficult to performreactive extraction in a rural African setting.

Handling and pre-treatment of Jatropha oil

Once extracted, the handling of the crude Jatropha oil is also quiteimportant. Generally, crude Jatropha oil quality gradually deterioratesdue to improper handling and poor storage conditions (Berchmansand Hirata, 2007). Pre-treatment is required if Jatropha oil is to beused as fuel for an engine (Uriarte, 2010).

Handling, impurities, and free fatty acids

Improper handling can cause the water content to increase.Exposing oil to air and sunlight for extended periods of time causesthe free fatty acid (FFA) content to substantially increase (to levelsabove 1%). The FFA content is also dependent on the quality of thefeedstock (Berchmans and Hirata, 2007). Increasing both moistureand FFA content is detrimental to the use of Jatropha oil as a fuel(Berchmans and Hirata, 2007; Sahoo and Das, 2009). A high FFAcontent can lead to saponification during alkali catalyzed transester-ification which damages the oil yield and makes it difficult to separatethe esters from the glycerine phase after the completion of thetransesterification reaction (Leppar and Friesenhagen, 1986; Sahooand Das, 2009). The FFA content in Jatropha oil is often greater than2% and should be reduced to below 0.5% before the conversion tobiodiesel through base transesterification (Sahoo and Das, 2009). Theexcess moisture as well as organic matter and other possibleimpurities have to be removed in a pre-treatment step. As previouslymentioned the impurities can cause problems during transesterifica-tion, but are also undesirable if the crude Jatropha oil is to be used as afuel without conversion to biodiesel (Modern Ghana News, 2009).

Pre-treatment and filtration

Pre-treatment is always the first step when using Jatropha oil asfuel. Even if the crude oil is to be used, filtration is required to preventcostly engine wear (Uriarte, 2010). One method of removingimpurities was to pass the oil through a 4 μm filter paper undervacuum conditions. The oils were put in a vacuum drier at 60 °C for4 h to remove moisture. They were then stored in air tight dry PVCcans (completely filled to avoid oxidation) (Sahoo and Das, 2009). Inanother example the Jatropha oil was heated to over 100 °C for 1 h toremove moisture and other impurities (Patil et al., 2009). Othermethods of filtering include decanting/sedimentation, oil filtering,and washing (Rijssenbeek, 2010). Rijssenbeek (2010) reports thatdecanting/sedimentation is a simple process, using simple facilities,and requires little energy. These qualities should make decanting/sedimentation a viable filtration method for a rural African setting.One area of research would be to determine what kind of negativeimpact the presence of moisture might have on esterification and/ortransesterification since the oil has to be filtered anyway afteresterification and transesterification to separate the products. Thus,

if the moisture did not have a large negative impact on esterificationand transesterification then pre-filtration might be ignored (the samereasoning could be implied to various other impurities). After theinitial filtration/refining, raw material consists of mono-esters (biodie-sel), di-esters, triglycerides and FFAs (Sahoo and Das, 2009).

Sahoo and Das (2009) reported an additional pre-treatment stagebefore the esterification and transesterification of the Jatropha oil.This stage, labeled zero-catalyzed transesterification, removes organ-ic matter and other impurities that may still be present after filtrationand consists of mixing (stirring) the crude oil with methanol, ortho-phosphoric acid and toluene and then allowing the mixture to settleand the impurities to fully separate. The impurities were reportedlycreating problems in Jatropha oil methyl ester (JOME) yield as well asincreasing the difficulty of the phase separation between theglycerine and esters. Again, this was the only paper found thatspecified the necessity of this pre-treatment step so it is likely notrequired. Also, the extent of the impurities in the Jatropha oil at thebeginning of this stage obviously depends on the effectiveness of theinitial filtration process.

The use of crude Jatropha oil

It is possible to use crude Jatropha oil in place of diesel, includingas a fuel for MFPs. If this is done it reduces costs and complexitiesassociated with esterification and transesterification; however, thereare also challenges to using crude Jatropha oil.

Tests with crude Jatropha oil

It is possible to use the crude Jatropha oil as fuel after only the initialrefining. Achten et al. (2008) provided the following information aboutthe use of crude Jatropha oil as a fuel. “Tests with a low heat rejectiondiesel (LHR) engine showed that the use of pure Jatropha oil results in ahigher brake specific energy consumption (BSEC), lower brake thermalefficiency (BTE), higher exhaust gas temperature (EGT) and lower NOxemissions in comparison with fossil diesel. Preheating and increasingthe injection pressure decreased BSEC, increased BTE, increased EGTand increased NOx emissions only marginally (Prasad et al., 2000).”

Kumar et al. (2003) compared the use of Jatropha oil and fossildiesel in a single cylinder 4-stroke water-cooled diesel engine. Theyran tests at 1500 rpm at various power outputs. They found BTE to be27.4% with neat Jatropha and 29% with JOME. Also, hydrocarbon (HC)emission is higher with neat Jatropha oil as compared to fossil diesel.At maximum output, an increase from 100 ppm HC, for fossil diesel,to 130 ppm, for neat Jatropha oil, was measured. The HC emission of

Table 4Transesterification parameters.

Refs. Methanol tooil ratio

Catalystconcentration

Reactiontemperature(°C)

Reactiontime (min)

Yield (esterconversion %)

1 3:7 (v/v) 1% NaOHa

(w/w)50+/−0.5 180 90.1

2 9:1(molar ratio)

2% NaOH(w/w)

60 NA 95

3 0.24 (w/w) 1.4% NaOH(w/w)

65 120 90

4 0.3 (v/v) 1% (w/w)NaOH

50 NA 90.1

a — KOH is also often used as a catalyst.References are the same as Table 3.

309K. Eckart, P. Henshaw / Energy for Sustainable Development 16 (2012) 303–311

JOME was lower at 110 ppm. Similar trends were observed in the caseof CO emissions. Smoke emission was also higher with neat Jatrophaoil (4.4 BSU) compared to fossil diesel (3.8 BSU) (Kumar et al., 2003).

Problems and solutions for using crude Jatropha oil

The main hindrance to using straight plant oils (Jatropha included)is that they have a high viscosity and thus will not flow through the fuellines and engine filters at the required rate (Uriarte, 2010). However,tests have shown that a low cost pre-heater can greatly reduce theproblems created by the high viscosity of crude Jatropha oil (Rodriguez-Sanchez, 2010b). In general, short term trials with plant oils such asJatropha oil show positive results for engine performance; however,long term trials show engine problems such as coking of the injectornozzles, sticking piston rings, crankcase oil dilution, and lubricating oilcontamination are not uncommon (Uriarte, 2010). “Many of theseproblems are due to the polymerization of triglycerides via their doublebonds which leads to formation of engine deposits as well as the lowvolatility and high viscosity with resulting poor atomization patterns”(Uriarte, 2010).

Esterification and transesterification

The most common way of dealing with the problems mentionedwith crude Jatropha oil is converting the crude plant oils to methylesters (biodiesel) by transesterification (Uriarte, 2010). This process

Table 5Fuel properties of Jatropha oil methyl ester and blends.

Refs. Fuelblend

Density(kg/m3)

CV (kJ/kg) Viscosity (cSt) at 40 °C Flash point (°C)

1 Diesel 850 44,000.0 2.9 761 JB20 852 43,795.5 3.0 881 JB40 854 43,519.0 3.4 971 JB50 857 43,323.0 3.6 1131 JB60 860 43,038.0 3.6 1191 JB80 866 42,912.0 4.0 1311 JB100 873 42,673.0 4.2 1483 JOME 860–880 39,650–41,630 2.35–2.47 NA2 Crude 932 37,010.0 51 at 30 °C 2421 Crude 920 38,400.0 18.2 1743 Crude 910 37,070.0 20.5 NA

Notes:JB 20 indicates a blend of 20% Jatropha Oil Methyl Ester (JOME), the balance being petroleuCrude indicates filtered crude Jatropha oil.Data gathered and presented by Achten et al. (2008) indicates that crude Jatropha curcas oReferences:1 — Sahoo and Das (2009)2 — Sharma and Siddharth (2010)3 — Patil et al. (2009)

involves transforming plant oil and methanol to fatty acid methylester and glycerol through a catalyzed reaction.

Acid/base esterification and transesterification

The most commonly used catalysts are the alkalis NaOH and KOHand the acid H2SO4. Enzymes can also be used which will be discussedlater. For the esterification of Jatropha oil, alkali catalyzed transester-ification is easily the most efficient. However, due to the high freefatty acid content of Jatropha oil (see previous discussions) a two stepprocess is usually used. This process consists of acid catalyzedesterification followed by base catalyzed transesterification. Tables 3and 4 depict esterification and transesterification parameters (samestudies used for each) and Table 5 lists the fuel properties of variousJatropha oils.

Enzyme catalyzed transesterification

As previously mentioned enzyme catalyzed transesterification isalso possible. Lipase is one example of an enzyme that has been usedfor the transesterification of Jatropha oil. The chemical transester-ification (acid or base catalyzed) is efficient in terms of reaction timeand yield; however, it is energy intensive and it is difficult to recoverthe glycerol (Shah et al., 2003). Enzyme catalyzed transesterificationimproves these last two parameters. Enzymes allow for the synthesisof specific esters, the easy recovery of glycerol, and the transester-ification of glycerides with a high FFA content (Nelson et al., 1996).Enzymatic transesterification does take longer, probably at least 12 h(Shah et al., 2003), compared to chemical esterification/transester-ification, which usually takes about 2 to 3 h (see Tables 3 and 4).Reaction time, however, should not be a large issue for production onthe scale which would be needed to sustain a rural African village.One of the main obstacles to using enzymes as the catalysts is thecosts of the enzyme (Shah et al., 2003). One way to reduce theenzyme cost is to use immobilized enzymes, thus allowing for theirreuse (Shah et al., 2003). “In the case of biocatalysts in non-aqueousmedia, immobilization might also result in higher enzyme activity(Hsu et al., 2002)” as cited in Shah et al. (2003). One might alsoconsider the availability of enzymes to be a possible hindrance in arural African setting.

Cloud point (°C) Pour point (°C) FFA % Acid value (mg KOH/g) Cetane no.

6.5 3.1 NA NA NA6.9 3.3 NA NA NA7.1 3.4 NA NA NA7.3 3.4 NA NA NA7.6 3.6 NA NA NA8.3 3.9 NA NA NA10.2 4.2 NA NA NANA −6.0–2.0 NA NA 60.37–63.27NA NA 21.5 NA NANA NA 1.9 3.8 NANA 1.0 14 196 35.37

m.

il can have a cetane number as high as 51.

310 K. Eckart, P. Henshaw / Energy for Sustainable Development 16 (2012) 303–311

Conclusion

Jatropha curcas L. is certainly no miracle crop; it is not likely even asuccessful venture for large businesses or large publically fundedbiofuel projects. However, there are reasons why there is a great dealof interest in Jatropha. Research, including pilot projects, seems toshow that Jatropha can successfully be used as a tool for sustainabledevelopment. This review included research, such as that done by Dr.F.S. Rodriguez-Sanchez which demonstrates how Jatropha has beensuccessfully been used to increase the value which multifunctionalplatforms can bring to rural sub-Saharan Africa. This is becauseJatropha oil can be used to power engines such as those used in MFPs.This Jatropha oil can also be produced locally to ensure that thosepeople using the MFP have control of their own fuel source. This isimportant because the import of fuel is often unreliable and can becostly. Not having to purchase fuel also helps to keep wealth withinrural communities. Communities can also take advantage of the manyuses of the Jatropha plant. From, using seed cake as fertilizer, to usingJatropha hedges as a living fence, to making soap with some of the oil,almost every part of the Jatropha plant can be utilized within acommunity and this is one of the most promising things aboutJatropha. In fact, utilizing Jatropha in many ways might make thedifference in whether or not a Jatropha-run MFP project is successful.

There are also many challenges to using Jatropha and MFPs. Amajor challenge is finding the land required to grow enough Jatrophato produce the oil to run an MFP, especially since one would likely notwant to use land which could be otherwise used to grow food crops.Uncertainties over land ownership in some areas might also discouragethe establishment of Jatropha plantations. There is also still a great dealof uncertainty regarding the yield of Jatropha in various environments,particularly when it is planted on marginal lands. In spite of this, weestimate that a land area of 8 hamay be required to supply the fuel for asingle MFP.

Though the challenges faced by Jatropha andMFP projects might benumerous in some cases, many of these challenges relate back to thecomplexity of rural development in sub-Saharan Africa. This in itself issuch a complex and difficult task that there are bound to be challengesfacing any possible development paths. Research has shown that MFPand Jatropha do have the potential to be a part of a successful ruraldevelopment system which can help to fight poverty. It is important toidentify the factors that allow Jatropha to be successfully used to helppeople escape from poverty. Therefore, research should continue to bedone to determine the extent to which Jatropha and MFPs might beused for sustainable development.

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