J. curcas L. is a small or large shrub tree, up to 57m tall,
belonging to the Euphorbiaceae family which consists of around 800
species and belongs to around321 genera. Jatropha is a drought
resistant crop that has a life expectancy of up to fifty years. It
is also known as Ratanjayot and the physic nut. It can grow in
arid, semiarid and wasteland climates. The plant has its native
distributional range in Mexico, Central America, Africa, Brazil,
the Indian subcontinent, Peru, Argentina and Paraguay. J. curcas
offers many benefits. Some of these benefits include: It costs
almost nothing to grow; it is perennial, drought resistant and
adapted for marginal land, and seems to be adequate for land
reclamation; it can be grown almost anywhere even in sandy, saline,
or otherwise infertile soil; it is easy to propagate; it is capable
of stabilising sand dunes, acting as a windbreaker and combating
desertification; it naturally repels both animals and insects; it
does not exhaust the nutrients in the land; it does not require
expensive crop rotation; it does not require fertilisers; and it
grows quickly and establishes itself easily, among many other
beneficial qualities. Currently, J. curcas can produce 2,000 L/ha
oil annually. Presently, the production and usage of J. curcas oil
is no longer confined to a specific geographic region or a limited
number of end-products. Large quantities of J. curcas oil are
consumed all over the world as ingredients of numerous products
manufactured by a large number of industries. J. curcas was found
to be suitable as a non-edible vegetable oil feedstock in
oleochemical industries (biodiesel, fatty acids, soap, cosmetics,
paraffin, fatty nitrogenous derivatives, surfactants and
detergents, etc.). To supply J. curcas oil and its derived
ingredients to these industries and their customers, an integrated
J. curcas oil production has been developed over the years.
Globally, J. curcas has created an interest for researchers because
it is a non-edible oil, does not create a food versus fuel
conflict, and can be used to produce biodiesel with same or better
performance results when tested in diesel engines. For the above
mentioned, the purpose of this book is to provide an insight into
the possibilities of applying J. curcas for commercial purposes.
Emphasis will be placed on the biology, chemistry and potential
uses of J. curcas and its derivatives.
General
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