Jatropha
…About 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.

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.
Easy Cultivation
Where Does it Grow?

Jatropha is native to Central America but
it has become naturalized India, Africa,
North America and parts of Asia

New uses for land in India:

Government Focus: India's Planning
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.
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
Focus on India
The Production Process
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….
-
Our Question – Navigating
Uncertainties
A 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?
Varying Output Figures
One of the greatest
Uncertainties with
Jatropha is how much oil
is produced per acre of
plants. The existing
numbers on this are
often 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 are
due in some part to who
is doing the research. A
good deal of these
estimates come from
sources who are invested
in Jatropha. This paper
is a more leveled study.
Cost of production
One of the greatest concerns
when it comes to biofuels is
the cost per barrel of fuel.
Recent studies have shown
that ethanol, for instance, has
huge costs in the refining
stages which ultimately
render it inefficient without
large government subsidies.
A central question for this
paper is whether the cost to
produce Jatropha makes it
inefficient without subsidy or
whether the fuel source could
exist in the free market
without government support.
Estimated Cost of Jatropha
Cultivation (U.S.)
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
-
90
-
-
-
90
120
80
-
-
-
200
4,780
2,520
2,710
2,570
2,960
15,540
Re-Planting 2nd Year (10%).
Plants for Re-Planting 1st & 2nd Years
Total
Source: LOZANO CDM Proposal