Search

This study investigates the resource availability, energetic efficiency, and economic feasibility of converting jatropha oil into biodiesel, a substitute diesel fuel. A resource assessment of jatropha oil generation in India was performed for the period of 2007 onwards. Since India is net importer of vegetable oils, therefore edible oils cannot be used for the production of biodiesel. India has the potential to be a leading world producer of biodiesel, as biodiesel can be "harvested," and sourced from non-edible oils like Jatropha Curcas, Pongamia Pinnata and Madhuca Indica plants also. Out of these plants, India is focusing on a wild plant, Jatropha Curcas, which can grow in arid, semiarid and wasteland. Jatropha oil production and processing system, which involves its energy and economic analysis is being studied in this paper. Although jatropha plant can be made available in significant quantities at relatively low cost, energetic (energy ratio) and economic feasibilities were estimated for three different system boundaries: (1) conversion of jatropha oil by a continuous-flow transesterification process only with co-product (glycerin) (2) energy required to process jatropha seed to jatropha oil at the Crushing plant and then followed by transesterification. (3) Growth and maintenance of the jatropha plant followed by crushing of seeds and then transesterification. Variation in Energy ratios within the three system boundaries based on data available in literatures was calculated. The biodiesel programme in an edible oil importing country (such as India) has to depend upon the availability of non-edible oils. Availability of land for this purpose was carefully assessed. In India if 40% of cultivable wastelands are planned with jatropha, in a period of 20 years it will be possible to substitute over 16% of petroleum diesel in 2027. It was also estimated that production of jatropha oil would be much more than that required for 10% blend with diesel (for use without any engine modification.) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this paper was to report a bacterium designated as 88D, capable of producing poly (3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) [P (3HB-co-3HV)] copolymer from a single carbon source, which was isolated from a municipal sewage treatment plant in Hyderabad, India. This microorganism, based on the phenotypical features and genotypic investigations, was identified as Bacillus sp. The optimal growth of Bacillus sp. 88D occurred between 28 and 30°C and at pH 7. The strain yielded a maximum of 64.62% dry cell weight (DCW) polymer in the medium containing glucose as carbon source, which was followed by 60.46% DCW polymer in glycerol containing medium. Bacillus sp. 88D produced P (3HB-co-3HV) from glucose or glycerol, when they were used as a single carbon substrate. This bacterium produced polyhydrxybutyrate (PHB) when sodium acetate was used as sole carbon substrate. The viscosity average molecular mass (Mv) of the copolymers ranged from 523 to 627 kDa. The physical, chemical and mechanical properties of the biopolymers were characterized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]