Usage of Treated Wastewater for
Bio-fuel Production
Ahmed Al-Busaidi
Department of Soils, Water and Agricultural Engineering,
College of Agricultural & Marine Sciences, Sultan
Qaboos University, P.O. Box 34, Al-Khoud123, Muscat,
Oman
ahmed99@squ.edu.om
Definition of Biofuels
fuels derived from biomass: plant material, crop
energy, or agricultural and forestry wastes and byproducts used as energy source.
Examples
Sunflower oil
Coconut oil
Palm oil
Rapeseed oil
Why use Biofuels
Fossil fuel:
§ Limited
§ Carbon dioxide
§ Production
§ Rural economy
Bio-fuel:
§ Renewable, Biodegradable
§ Efficient
§ Engine Friendly
§  Healthier
§ Carbon Neutral
§ Job generation
Global warming
Biofuels
World
Biodiesel - World
European Community
USA
EU China 4% 4% R.o.W 4% USA 50% Brazil 38% Brazil Malays
2% R.o.W ia 15% 3% Indone
sia USA 4% 16% EU 60% Source: F.O. Licht; FAO (2008)
Biofuels
Rapeseed oil
Soybeans
Sunflower oil
Palm oil
Coconut oil
Global Water Resources
•  World population
food production
limited fresh water resources
What Is Jatropha (a biofuel crop)?
§ Jatropha (Jatropha Curcas) is an excellent biofuel
crop which has many other advantages over existing
c
r
o
p
s
.
The hardy Jatropha is resistant
to drought and pests, and
produces seeds containing up to
40% oil. When the seeds are
crushed and processed, the
resulting oil can be used in a
standard diesel engine, while
the residue can also be
processed into biomass to
power electricity plants.
Not only does it have a
great yield of well over
2,000 barrels of oil per
square mile per year, it
also increases the
fertility of the land.
Jatropha absorbs large
amounts of carbon
dioxide from the
atmosphere and
therefore earns carbon
credits
Jatropha Seeds
Bio-fuel Extraction: mechanical &
chemical
Daimler South East
Asia introduces test
fleet of 10 smart city
vehicles for a two
year trial (Jatropha
trials are powered by
CSMCRI’s biodiesel)
First ever project of
its kind - Singapore is
the only test site
worldwide (Aug 18,
2008)
The Chemistry of Transesterification
It is simple enough but few seem to be getting it
right!
O
CH2-O-C-R
CH-O
C-R
O
CH2-O-C-R
O
TRIGLYCERIDE
MeOH
Catalyst
3 R-C-OMe
O
Methyl ester
having chain
length similar to
that of diesel
(BIODIESEL)
+
CH2-O-H
CH-OH
CH2-O-H
GLYCEROL
Toyota Qualis has
successfully completed
till date 120,000 km on
neat biodiesel without
engine modification
CSMCRI
Jatropha
by-product
Jatropha plant with fruit
Jatropha deoiled
Cake
Crude
Glycerine
Jatropha seeds
Jatropha biodiesel wastes
Blend film 0 day
PHA film 0 day
PHA film after
50 days
Blend film after 90
days
Biodegradability of PHA in
the moist garden soil
Bacterial
Inoculum
Jatropha biodiesel production
plant
PHA powder
PHA film
1838/DEL/2009 dated 7 Sept 2009
Microbial heterotrophic production
of bioplastic utilizing Jatropha
biodiesel residues as sole
nutrients
Marine bacteria
MTCC-5345 isolated
from Indian waters
India Develops Plastics from the
Jatropha Plant
April 9, 2010
A new, potentially important, source of
bioplastic has been discovered in Indiathe Jatropha plant, which is already
being processed to produce diesel fuel.
The Salt and Marine Chemical Research
Institute (CSMCRI) of Bhavnagar, India is
using a local microbe to produce plastic
from the glycerol byproduct of biodiesel
production.....
Doug Smock
Materials Editor, Design News
www.designnews.com
Needham, MA
Hot Climate
Area: 309,500 Km2
*Arid Country with annual
rainfall of 100 mm
* Annual Evaporation:
7,714 MCM
* Groundwater is the main
source of water
Sectoral Water Use in the Sultanate
A gric ultural
90%
(1491 MCM/Y r)
Domes tic
7%
(117 MCM/Y r)
Indus trial
0.6%
(9 MCM/Y r)
Munic ipal
2.4%
(40 MCM/Y r)
Total Demand = 1657 MCM/Y r
1800
Water Balance in the Sultanate
(MCM/Yr)
1267
Supply
Demand
1657
Deficit
WD
AW
1990
1995
Deficit
1400
Water (MCM)
390
1600
1200
1000
800
600
400
200
0
1985
2000
2005
Year
2010
2015
2020
2025
Seawater Intrusion
Pressure
Pressure
Salt Affected Area of
Oman = 44.18%
Salinity in CWANA countries
20.0
Central & West Asia & North Africa
18.0
Salinity at Country Level
16.0
Pauw (2001)
Qatar
Turkmenistan
Iran
Uzbekistan
14.0
12.0
United Arab
Emirates
Egypt
10.0
Kuwait
8.0
Tunisia
6.0
Kazakhistan
Oman
4.0
Afghanistan
2.0
te
s
Eg
yp
Ku t
w
a
Tu it
n
Ka
za isia
kh
ist
an
O
Af
m
a
gh
an n
ist
an
M
or
o
Ta cco
Sa jikis
ta
ud
iA n
ra
bi
a
Jo
rd
a
Al n
ge
ria
Sy
ria
Li
b
Ky
rg ya
yz
st
W
Le a n
es
ba
te
no
rn
Sa n
ha
ra
te
d
Un
i
ira
Ira
Em
Ar
ab
Uz
b
q
Saudi Arabia
Ira
ek n
ist
an
Tajikistan
rk
m
0.0
Qa
ta
en r
ist
an
Morocco
Tu
% of land area
Iraq
Jordan
Algeria
Syria
Wastewater treatment plants > 402
20 Muscat STP water
STP water (m3/day) 250,000
200,000
150,000
100,000
50,000
0
2005
2010
2015
2025
Standards of Effluent expected
Haya
values from
Concession
Haya STPs
Agreement
Class A
(agricultural
irrigation
permissible
limits)
(115/2001)
Parameter
Units
BOD
mg/l
<15
<5
15
TSS
mg/l
<15
<5
15
Total N as N
mg/l
<15
<15
-
NO3 as N
mg/l
-
<11.3
11.3
Total P as P
mg/l
30
< 30
30
Faecal Coliforms
MPN/100 ml
< 200
< 200
200
Viable Helminth Ova
Number /L
<1
<1
<1
Residual Chlorine at
customer point
mg/l
0.3 < x < 1
-
Water from Samail STP
Parameters
Value
EPA
FAO
Standard Standard
Omani
Jordanian
Saudi
Standard Standard Standard
BOD (mg/l)
<MDL
15
15
15
15
10
pH
7.60
6-9
6.5 – 8
6-9
6-9
6 – 8.4
EC (dS/m)
1.37
2.3
0.7 - 3
2 - 2.7
2 – 2.5
3 – 3.5
N-NH4 (mg/l)
0.22
5
5
5
5
5
TSS (mg/l)
7.00
15
15
15
50
10
N-NO3 (mg/l)
0.00
50
5 - 30
50
30
10
Oil & Grease
(mg/l)
0.90
5
0.50
0.50
8
0.0
Coli forms
(cell/100 ml)
0
200
100
200
100
2.2
E-Coli
(cell/100 ml)
0
200
100
200
100
2.2
Water from Nizwa STP
Sample
1
Sample
2
Cd
< 0.001
< 0.001
0.01
0.01
0.01
0.01
0.01
Co
0.001
0.002
0.05
0.05
0.05
0.05
0.05
Cu
0.009
0.018
0.50
0.20
1.00
0.20
0.40
Cr
0.002
0.003
0.10
0.10
0.05
0.10
0.10
Fe
0.014
0.017
5.00
5.00
5.00
5.00
5.00
Pb
0.005
0.009
0.10
5.00
0.20
0.20
0.10
Mn
0.002
0.002
0.20
0.20
0.50
0.20
0.20
Mo
0.002
0.006
0.01
0.01
0.05
0.01
0.01
Ni
0.039
0.031
0.10
0.20
0.10
0.20
0.20
V
0.004
0.002
0.10
0.10
0.10
0.10
0.10
Zn
0.016
0.036
5.00
2.00
5.00
5.00
4.00
Parameters
ml/l
EPA
FAO
Standard Standard
Omani
Standard
Jordanian
Saudi
Standard Standard
Bio-fuels Needs
LAND
LABOR
TECHNOLOGY
WHAT IS
NECESSARY TO
PRODUCE
BIOFUELS?
GOVERNMENT
SUPPORT
CLIMATE
Objectives
§ To evaluate the ability of Jatropha plant to grow and
survive under saline irrigation (GW & TWW) and heat
stress condition.
§ Study the interactive effects of these factors on seed
production and oil quality.
To make a qualitative but critical analysis of
the expected sustainability of bio-diesel
production from Jatropha, with the main focus
on the environmental sustainability under
Oman conditions.
Materials and Methods
The pots experiments were carried out in Agricultural Experiment
Station at the College of Agricultural & Marine Sciences, Sultan
Qaboos University, Oman.
Treatment (36 pots)
Growth condition
Saline irrigation
)
(fresh water, 3 & 6 dS m-1)
(glasshouse ,shadehouse and open area
Irrigation = ETC
Soil & Plant parameters were monitored and measured
Result & Discussion
Temperature data for the three experimental sites
45
Glass house
Shade house
Temperature (oC)
40
35
30
25
20
15
Apr-09
Jun-09
Jul-09
Month
Aug-09
Open field
Jatropha growth under different environmental conditions
Result & Discussion
Soil salinity and moisture content as affected by different treatments (G:
glasshouse, S: shade house, O: open field, C: control, S3: salinity at 3dS/m, S6: salinity
at 6dS/m).
Result & Discussion
Plant parameters under different growth conditions (G: glasshouse, S: shade house, O:
open field, C: control, S3: salinity at 3dS/m, S6: salinity at 6dS/m).
Result & Discussion
Jatropha leaf area and root weight as affected by different treatments
Result & Discussion
Analysis of variance (ANOVA) for soil and plant parameters.
Parameter
Mean
Square
0.32
F
Sig.
pH
Sum of
Squares
7.24
9101.69
0.00
Soil EC
3583720
155813.9
4.78E+08
0.00
MC
1690.75
73.51
3277612
0.00
Plant weight
2071645
90071.53
3.94E+09
0.00
Root weight
142498.1
6195.57
2.71E+08
0.00
R/S ratio
47.68
2.07
92421.66
0.00
Height
98328.18
4275.19
1.87E+08
0.00
Leaf Area
291853.5
12689.28
5.66E+08
0.00
Growth of Jatropha after transplanting
Excellent Growth
Fatty acid composition of crude Jatropha oil
Melting Point oC
Wt (mg/g) of Jatropha oil
-
0.012
54
0.070
Palmitoleic Acid (C16:1)
-
0.034
Pentadecanoic Acid (C15:0)
-
21.120
Palmitic Acid (C16:0)
63
0.001
Linoleic Acid (C18:2)
-5
60.754
Oleic Acid (C18:1)
16
54.806
Stearic Acid (C18:0)
70
8.368
-
0.181
Fatty Acid
Azelaic Acid (C9:0)
Myristic Acid (C14:0)
Arachidic Acid (C20:0)
Monounsaturated fatty acids
54.844
polyunsaturated fatty acids
60.753
saturated fatty acids
285.661
Total fatty acids content
401.258
2nd study
Jatropha growth as affected by irrigation water
quality, intervals and fertilizer application
Jatropha growth as affected by irrigation water quality, intervals and fertilizer
applications (fwc: freshwater control, fwo: freshwater organic, fwin: freshwater in
organic, Tw: treated wastewater, 3, 6, 9: EC dS/m of saline water).
Jatropha growth in wasteland (rocky and saline) irrigated with treated
wastewater, freshwater and saline water (3 dS/m).
Treated wastewater
freshwater
saline water (3 dS/m)
Treated wastewater
freshwater saline water (3 dS/m)
Treated wastewater
freshwater
saline water
Growth of Jatropha in wasteland (rocky and saline) irrigated with
treated wastewater, freshwater and saline water (3 dS/m)
Conclusion
* This experiment indicated that a good management of soil
and water and selecting the best growth condition could be a
viable option for sustainable agriculture with minimum loss
in plant production.
* The study concluded that both saline and treated waste
waters supported Jatropha growth.
* Treated waste water has high nutritional values compared
to fresh water. Therefore, it can improve soil and plant
conditions.
* Good seed production from Jatropha plants with good
opportunity for bio-fuel production opened a good window
for bio-fuel production using treated waste water in hot and
dry regions like Oman.
Green Award
Usage of waste Recourses
(Rocky Soil & Treated
Wastewater)
Good Growth of Jatropha
Biofuel