Crops for Biofuel: Millettia pinata the sustainable biofuel crop of the future

LỜI NGÕ

"Crops for Biofuel" là trang tin chuyên đề về các cây nhiên liệu sinh học chịu hạn sắn, ngô, cao lương, Jatropha. Mục đích nhằm kết nối nhóm quan tâm nghiên cứu phát triển những cây nhiên liệu sinh học chịu hạn này trong điều kiện Việt Nam.

Hoan nghênh bạn đọc gửi bài, trao đổi, góp ý để trang tin luôn cập nhật và nâng cao chất lượng hiệu qủa phục vụ cộng đồng.

Tin sắn tại http://cassavaviet.blogspot.com
và http://cassavanews.blogspot.com/

Importance

Bio-fuels are gaining importance ever since fossil fuel prices began skyrocketing due to geo-political issues and also the growing concerns all over about environmental pollution. Considering these issues, various developed and developing countries are formulating policies for mandatory blending of ethanol and bio-diesel (produced from renewable sources) with fossil fuels (petrol and diesel) resulting in a huge demand for raw materials for producing bio-fuels. Sweet sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L. Moench), cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) and jatropha (Jatropha curcas), are dry land crops and are known to have high water use efficiency. Jatropha is also used for rehabilitating degraded lands. Research results on producing ethanol from the juice of stalks of sweet sorghum and roots of cassava, and bio-diesel from the seeds of jatropha are encouraging.

In the semi-arid and seasonally dry tropics/sub tropics of India, China, Vietnam, the Philippines, Mali and Colombia millions of poor farmers cultivate sorghum and cassava as staple food and fodder crops, and jatropha as hedge/avenue and forest shrub/tree from the seeds of which they extract oil for use in lighting and for other uses such as tanning, etc. In view of the emerging issues related to alternatives to fossil fuels, this project envisages popularization of the cultivation of sweet sorghum in India, the Philippines and Mali; cassava in China, Vietnam and Colombia; jatropha in India and Mali.

Empowering the Poor through Bio-Energy

ICRISAT is working hard to ensure that the billions of dollars now flowing into bio-energy benefit the poor, rather than marginalizing them.

The risk is real. Bio-energy today is mostly derived from agriculture, and biofuel crops could take land away from growing food. Without conscious pro-poor action, influencing government policies and technologies, the poor may become poorer, and the hungry, hungrier.

As an agriculturally-oriented, non-profit, international organization dedicated to ending hunger and poverty in the tropical drylands through research-for-development, ICRISAT's mission and capacities position it ideally to contribute, together with partners, to pro-poor BioPower development.

Overall Goal and Objectives

1. The overall goal:

The overall goal of the project is to improve the livelihoods of smallholder farmers and landless rural households by enabling use of improved technology for bio-energy crops cultivation and enabling production-supply chain linkages through an innovative coalition of partners involving farmers, researchers, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and bio-fuel industry for sustainable production of bio-fuels in the targeted countries. It is expected to lead to self reliance (sustainable and environment-friendly) in energy needs for household and agricultural operations as well as help rehabilitate degraded lands.

2. Objectives:

a) To develop improved high biomass and juice yielding sweet-stalk and brown mid-rib sorghum cultivars and high biomass and/or sugary cassava varieties; standardize propagating techniques for true breeding large-scale multiplication of high yielding collections of jatropha, and evaluate them for seed yield and oil content;

b) To conduct regional testing using available sweet sorghum and cassava cultivars and established jatropha nurseries; to fine tune production packages including pest and disease management with the selected sweet sorghum and cassava lines; and “plus” tree jatropha collections for each of the target countries to maximize productivity and build seed systems to produce sufficient stocks of seed materials for each country for each crop;

c) To facilitate the development of enterprises and mechanism(s) for supply of inputs for crop production, and buy-back of sweet sorghum stalks, cassava roots, and jatropha oil seeds by the industry for bio-ethanol and bio-diesel production respectively;

d) To develop and evaluate improved technologies to assess the role of various by-products as organic manure and/or pesticide; and

e) To build the knowledge base of farmers, NGOs and line department staff on the importance of bio-fuel needs, various technical aspects related to their production, cultivation practices and their seed (sexual/asexual) systems, and supply chain management.

Current situation of cassava in Vietnam and its potential as a Bio-fuel

Nguyen Văn Bo (1), Hoang Kim (2), Rod Lefroy (3), Keith Fahrney (3), Reinhardt Howeler (3) Hernan Ceballos (3)

ABSTRACT

Cassava in Vietnam is among the four most important food crops. But it has always been considered a secondary crop even though it has played an important role in national food security, especially during the difficulty year of the late 1970s. During the past two decades of economic renovation, Vietnam has successfully escaped lingering food deficiency. Cassava now an important source of cash income to small farmers, who either use it for animal feeding or for sale to starch factories. In 2008, cassava fresh root production in Vietnam was about 9.39 million tones, up from only 1.99 million tones in 2000. This was achieved through both area expansion, from 237,600 to 556,000 ha and marked increases in yield, from 8.36 t/ha in 2000 to 16.90 t/ha in 2008. Vietnam has developed an E10 policy requiring the production of 100 to 150 million liters per year. Petrovietnam plans to build three tapioca-based ethanol plants in the northern (Phu Tho), central (Quang Ngai) and southern Vietnam (Binh Phuoc). Each costing $80 million which will use cassava as feedstock, is expected to open in 18 months with total annual capacity of 300 million liters per year. The first and second of which is already under construction in Phu Tho and Quang Ngai. The third plant will begin in Binh Phuoc in March next year and is due to be completed at the end of 2011. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural development (MARD) has planned to remain cassava area around 450.000 hectares from 2011 to 2015 and efforts to increase fresh root yield from 16.90 to 20.00 ton/ha in 2011 and 23.00 - 24.00 ton/ha in 2015 (MARD 7256/TB-BNN-VP 25 12 2009). Vietnam is now probably the second largest exporter of cassava products (chip and starch), after Thailand. Major markets of Vietnam’s cassava exports are China and Taiwan, Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, South Korea and countries in Eastern Europe. Besides, animal feed factories also contributed significantly to the increasing demand for cassava roots. Although in Vietnam cassava processing is a relatively new business and export volumes are still low, the cassava processing factories are new and modern. That is why Vietnam’s cassava products may have a competitive advantage in the world market.

Key words: Cassava in Vietnam, Bio-fuel

1 Vietnam Academy of Agricultural Sciences (VAAS), nvbo@hn.vnn.vnn
2 Nong Lam University (NLU), Linh Trung, Thu Duc, Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam, hoangkim_vietnam@yahoo.com; http://cropsforbiofuel.blogspot.com
3 International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), Cali, Colombia; h.ceballos@cgiar.org ; CIAT c/o FCRI, Dept. of Agriculture, Chatuchak, Bangkok, 10900 Thailand, r.howeler@cgiar.org

* Working paper presented at IFAD/ICRISAT Project Launching Meeting “ Harnessing water –use efficient bio-energy crops for enhancing livelihood opportunities of smallholder farmers in Asia, Africa and Latin America hosted by ICRISAT- Patancheru, 502 324, Andhra Pradesh, India, 1-2 May, 2008, updated and renews 20 Dec. 2009.

Norman Borlaug

Norman Ernest Borlaug (born March 25, 1914) is an American agronomist, humanitarian, Nobel laureate, and has been called the father of the Green Revolution.[1] Borlaug is one of five people in history to have won the Nobel Peace Prize, the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Congressional Gold Medal.

Borlaug received his Ph.D. in plant pathology and genetics from the University of Minnesota in 1942. He took up an agricultural research position in Mexico, where he developed semi-dwarf high-yield, disease-resistant wheat varieties.

LỜI THẦY DẶN

TIN NỔI BẬT

Khởi công xây dựng nhà máy Ethanol Bình Phước

CAYLUONGTHUC. Theo VOVNEWS ngày 20/3, tại xã Minh Hưng, huyện Bù Đăng, tỉnh Bình Phước, Công ty TNHH Nhiên liệu Sinh học Phương Đông cùng với các nhà đầu tư gồm Tập đoàn ITOCHU Nhật Bản, Tổng Công ty Dầu khí Việt Nam (PV OIL) và Công ty LICOGI 16 đã tổ chức Lễ khởi công xây dựng Nhà máy Sản xuất Ethanol (cồn nhiên liệu sinh học) với tổng mức đầu tư trên 80 triệu USD. Thời gian xây dựng Nhà máy dự kiến là 21 tháng. Sản phẩm của Nhà máy là ethanol biến tính sẽ được pha trộn với xăng của máy lọc dầu Dung Quất để phân phối trên thị trường cả nước. Nhà máy ethanol Bình Phước có công suất thiết kế 100 triệu lít/ năm, tiêu thụ khoảng 240.000 tấn lát khô/ năm.

Cassava: A BioFuel

Bahamas News

By Godfrey Eneas

Cassava has become an important biofuel crop. Apart from its traditional role as a food crop, Cassava has increased its value as a fuel commodity. The following article highlights the variety of uses the cassava has. In recent years cassava imports have been increasing as a result of the large Haitian population in The Bahamas. In the Haitian diet, cassava is an important source of starch.

The technology for converting cassava into the biofuel Ethanol is being perfected and, in time that technology could be used here to convert Bahamian grown cassava into Ethanol.

Booming outputs meet flagging markets

The economic potential for cassava — a crop crucial for food security, especially in Africa — remains largely untapped, despite constant growth in output. Nevertheless, a range of markets, including consumer, industrial, local and international, are important as this tuber strives to become competitive.

Which crop grown in Africa produces twice as much as maize and three times as much as millet or sorghum? And which crop has seen Africa emerge as overall leader, accounting for more than half of the world output, with Nigeria as the biggest producer? Which same crop has seen production levels triple on the continent over the past 50 years? And now covers one-third of the dietary needs of its population? The answer is cassava. In the past few decades, this tuber has quietly taken over thousands of hectares and become the staple food of over 200 million Africans, or more than one-quarter of the continent’s population.

According to FAO figures, Africa produced 103 mt of cassava tubers on 18 million ha of land in 2004. This shrub, with its long stems and parasol-shaped leaves is now as common in Sahelian countries as it is in the more humid climes of Central Africa and the Gulf of Guinea, where it has traditionally thrived. Output varies greatly between regions, ranging from 1.8 t/ha in Sudan to an average of 10.6 t in Nigeria (which still falls way behind the yields achieved in the Caribbean: 16.6 t in Barbados alone). Well established in countries such as the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), which for a long time was Africa’s leading producer, the crop has now spread to southern Africa (Malawi, Zambia) at the expense of maize. Here, where HIV/AIDs is killing many farmers, families are turning to crops which require less labour.

Insuring against famine

A number of other factors explain this rapid expansion, especially on smallholdings run by poor farmers, where cassava is often grown together with other crops. Cassava has the advantage of being relatively undemanding, and will thrive on poor and even tired soils, where few other crops will grow. In places where land is scarce, it also serves as food security for many villagers vulnerable to malnutrition. With cassava, they can be more confident of having a low-cost, plentiful supply of calories than they would have had they grown cereals. For farmers living close to towns, it is a valuable cash crop, with a flourishing market. In West Africa, its development has been further helped by the rapid expansion of towns and by an initiative launched by the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), which has distributed new, more productive varieties that are resistant to a number of diseases as well as to drought.

Cassava, fuel of the future?

At a time when oil prices are soaring and global reserves dwindling, the spotlight is turning to ethanol made from fermented cassava starch, a particularly promising resource. Similar to other types of ethanol obtained from agricultural products, it can be used to substitute between 10% and 25% of petrol in vehicles with standard engines, and up to 100% in vehicles whose engines have been adapted.

Brazil, the world’s leading producer of these substitute fuels or biofuels, makes more than 120 million hl per year from sugarcane and cassava. In Thailand and China, several projects for manufacturing cassava-based biofuel on an industrial scale are under way. In Africa, Nigeria is following suit and in early 2006, a law is expected to approve the use of 10% biofuel in petrol, thereby cutting both the country’s oil bill and pollution levels. In the short term, the fuel will be imported from Brazil, but in the longer term it will be manufactured locally.

The flip side of the coin is that when this crop — vitally important to a number of regions — is hit by disease, the result is famine. That was seen all too clearly when the cassava mosaic virus devastated production in Uganda during the 1990s. Burundi, DRC and Rwanda are currently grappling with the same disease and programmes to distribute resistant varieties are attempting to curtail the epidemic before it takes hold.

This plant has long been neglected by research in favour of cereals, but its recent rapid success and its key role in feeding a number of regions go a long way towards explaining the renewed attention it is enjoying today. In partnership with the IITA, The New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) has launched the Pan-African Cassava Initiative to encourage projects based on “the use of cassava as a food security crop and as a weapon against poverty”.

However, the economic importance of cassava is still disproportionately low given the major role it plays in agriculture and food supply. Once the hydrocyanic acid has been removed from the bitter varieties, the edible leaves are rich in protein and the tubers lend themselves to a wide range of preparations: chips, flour, semolina and cassava meal (gari, attiéké, foufou, chikwangue) to name a few.

According to the IITA, close to one-third of all cassava is eaten fresh. The remainder needs to be processed quickly, as the tubers keep for barely 2 days under normal storage conditions. The Collaborative Study of Cassava in Africa (COSCA), conducted in the 1990s, found that only 20% of cassava-producing villages can be reached by motorised transport. Generally, farmers have to travel more than 10 km to take their heavy loads to market. In DRC, Africa’s second largest producer, that is the case for seven out of ten villages.

Long preparations

Before cassava can be conserved and sold, it must first be processed. This task generally falls to women, who soak and grate it, then dry the roots. It is a long and tedious job, especially in rural areas where there are no machines, and the high input in terms of labour is not reflected in the often low price fetched by the finished product. Small businesses equipped with machinery are springing up in some towns, especially in countries around the Gulf of Guinea, and this encourages a steady flow of production from farmers in the outlying areas. COSCA has estimated that a mechanical grater cuts the processing time by half and therefore increases profits. In West Africa, the IITA has developed and distributed a number of machines, but they are still not sufficient, especially in the villages, to increase the commercial viability of a sector which in any case suffers from poor organisation.

Beyond production

Between 1996 and 2003, cassava production doubled to reach a total output of 3.9 mt in Benin, while the per-ha yield increased by 25%. This strong performance was largely the result of the government scheme “a billion for cassava” which offered credits, fertiliser and cuttings of improved varieties to producers in a bid to encourage them to increase production. But nothing was done to improve marketing at the same time.

Poorly organised and lacking in processing equipment, the cassava sector proved unable to absorb the extra tonnes of cassava, and farmers found themselves forced to sell their crops off cheaply — in some cases, they were unable to sell them at all. Exports of cassava chips to Europe for livestock fodder, have also been falling since 2002 as European farmers have turned to less costly cereal-based feed. In 2004, cassava production suddenly fell by half, with the result that the ethanol factory built by a Chinese group was unable to find enough raw material. Farmers say they are now ready to restart production if they can be assured of sales for their crop.

But markets exist in the increasingly populated urban areas, as do technologies offering consumers cassava-based products that are easy to use. Good examples can be found in the Caribbean, the Pacific and South America, above all in Brazil, which has long been the world’s leading cassava producer. Here, cassava is prepared in a host of different ways, often on an industrial scale, and the products — chips, cakes, frozen dishes — are sold in shops. In Brazil, one chain of stores sells cassava cheese bread. Cassava flour is used as a partial substitute for wheat flour to make traditional bread. In 2002, the Brazilian Congress even passed a law making it mandatory for bread to contain at least 20% cassava flour and 40% in the case of pizza. The idea was to reduce costly wheat imports and develop the commercial potential of local crops. Africa still lags way behind in this respect, though Nigerian bakers are now required to use 10% of cassava flour in their bread (see Spore 117).

A number of techniques developed in Latin America could be used in Africa. Colombian researchers have managed to extend the shelf-life of fresh cassava roots to 3 or 4 weeks by dipping them in wax or paraffin.

Livestock fodder also offers interesting potential. In Africa, less than 2% of cassava is used to feed animals, compared with 30% in Latin America. In Cameroon, researchers estimate that poultry farmers could cut production costs by 40% if they used cassava as part of their chickens’ diet. On a global scale, animal feed represents the main outlet for cassava. Thailand exports an annual 4 to 5 mt of it, mostly to the European Union.

Finally, there are the many industrial uses to which this tuber lends itself. Starch, the main product to be made from cassava, is used in the food and textile industries as well as in the pharmaceutical and rubber sectors. In Africa, few companies make starch, and production does not even supply domestic needs. With the rise in oil prices, the manufacture of cassava-based ethanol, already widely used in Brazil to replace additives in petrol or as a biofuel, could constitute another interesting outlet.

Godfrey Eneas, 2006.
http://www.jonesbahamas.com/?c=47&a=741

Everything you want to know about Jatropha

articlespan.com says: Jatropha is a scrub plant widely spread in South-America, Asia and Africa, which grows under comparatively dry conditions (250-1200 mm precipitation p.a.) and on poor soil. Jatropha nuts are toxic, which makes it known in rural areas as a hedge-plant that protects fields against animal predators.

For the same reason Jatropha is not cultivated as a food crop. Jatropha actually qualifies as an energy source in developing countries, because there is no competition with local food markets.

The Jatropha curcas L. variety has been tested as an energy source in a number of development projects and research programs since the early nineties, and it has shown very positive results.

Jatropha curcas L. produces seeds with an oil content of 30-50%. The Jatropha oil can be combusted as fuel without being refined. Jatropha oil burns with a clear, smoke-free flame. Within a development project conducted by the German Agency for Technical Cooperation (GTZ) in Mali . Jatropha oil has been successfully tested as fuel for simple Diesel-engines with precombustion-chamber used in agricultural production for mills and water pumps. The esterification with methanol or ethanol then produces biodiesel (methyl- or ethyl-ester) which can be used for Diesel-engines in ordinary vehicles.

For the past two years Bioenergy Plantations (BEP) has done extensive research in studying the growth of the Jatropha plant in tropical areas of India without irrigation. Bioenergy Plantations research and development center has been testing different lines and varieties of Jatropha plants. Bioenergy Plantations has also been measuring germination percentages and Jatropha oil content from several different varieties of Jatropha seeds.

The Jatropha tree uses are many and range from non-edible Jatropha oil production to soap production to pharmaceutical production.

COMMON USES OF THE JATROPHA PLANT ARE:

* The Jatropha seeds yield up to 35-45% oil which is non-edible.

* The Jatropha oil is a commercially viable alternative to diesel oil because it burns without emitting any smoke and has a very good burning quality.

* Engines do not need any modification for using Jatropha oil.

* Jatropha Oil cake is a good biofertilizer.

* Jatropha glycerin obtained during the refining of oil can be used in pharmaceuticals and for various other purposes

* Oil is also used in soap industry

* Latex, oil cake, leaves, and oil are known to possess antimicrobial properties and are used as pest protectants The life span of Jatropha curcas L. is about 40 years. For this reason Bioenergy Plantations (BEP) is very positive in promoting Jatropha oil as an alternative to soy bean oil, palm oil or any edible vegetable oil being used as a feedstock to produce biodiesel. Last but not least, Jatropha can grow on wastelands, in rural areas without any irrigation and management.

It is without question the green fuel of the future.

Naren Raju is CEO of Bioenergy Plantations (BEP), Singapore’s first Jatropha plantation company. BEP offers a full range of consulting services & turnkey solutions for biodiesel industry clients that see the future in Jatropha. For more information visithttp://www.bioenergyplanations.com.

Article Source:Everything you want to know about Jatropha - ArticleSpan.com

Jatropha Debate - Managed Plantations vs. Contract Farming
articlespan.com says: Oil reserves are diminishing and the price per barrel is rising. The added cost, the looming depletion, and the impact on the environment are all gaining global attention. From federal government policies to individual lifestyle changes, people are aware of the need to manage our non-renewable energy sources and find affordable, renewable, and environmentally friendly energy solutions.

Enter Jatropha. This small shrub-like plant may be the answer. It is a hardy plant and its seeds produce more oil than the same amount of soybeans or corn, and the oil does not need extensive or pricy processing to make it into biodiesel. And, its seeds are toxic to animals and humans which means that fueling a car will not leave a family hungry.

So, if Jatropha is such an ideal alternative source for energy, why are farmers not aggressively planting Jatropha as contract farmers? To uncover the reasons as part of the research into the viability of growing Jatropha for biodiesel. The are two key reasons that farmers chose other plants over Jatropha.

The first reason is crop-land diversion. While Jatropha cannot be eaten, it is grown in soil that could be used for food-based agriculture. And, if a farmer is a food producer, that crop-land is valuable to their livelihood only if it grows edible products. So, given the choice between Jatropha and an edible crop, the farmer would choose the latter.

The second reason is the cost of the agricultural process. From planting through harvesting to processing, a farmer may have one or two familiar and affordable logistical methods for food-based products. However, a Jatropha planting requires different (and perhaps unusual) methodology throughout growth, harvesting, and processing. While not particularly costly, the addition of equipment or procedures on the scale of a typical farm does create an additional (and seemingly unnecessary) expenditure. So, given the choice between Jatropha and a crop that doesn’t seem to cost to produce, the farmer would choose the latter.

Because of these two reasons, farmers have tried and rejected Jatropha as an option for their farms. As such, contract farming of Jatropha is not an option for a viable production of Jatropha biodiesel. A solution would need to plant Jatropha plants in land that is not dedicated to food-based crops and would need to have an economy of scale that enabled production efficiently and affordably.

Managed plantations fit the bill and therefore are a likely alternative. When corporations acquire tracts of land and develop them specifically for large-scale Jatropha production, the issues are solved: Land-use becomes a non-issue because the land is not already set-aside for food-based crops, and the economies of scale enable affordable production.

Further field-work has shown that farmers and their families support managed plantations as laborers much more readily than adopting Jatropha on their own farms.

The concludsion is that only companies utilizing the Managed Plantation model and building sustainable corporations to support Jatropha projects will successfully control production cost of Jatropha oil.

Alec Shapiro is COO of Bioenergy Plantations (BEP), Singapore’s first Jatropha plantation company. BEP offers a full range of consulting services & turnkey solutions for biodiesel industry clients that see the future in Jatropha. For more information visithttp://www.bioenergyplantations.com.

Article Source: Jatropha Debate - Managed Plantations vs. Contract Farming - ArticleSpan.com

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Biofuel Crops

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Thứ Tư, 13 tháng 5, 2009

Millettia pinata the sustainable biofuel crop of the future