It is not that I'm bored by Jatropha yet, in the same way that I'm bored by some of the feverishness about corn ethanol, but there is another protential tropical biofuel from a tree called Moringa. Wikipedia sugests the trees could produce 112-185 gal/acre/year. The oil contains 65-75% oleic acids.
Thanks for the tip David!
Thanks for the tip David!
Comments (8)
The brazilian magazine about biodiesel made a very nice report about the moringa tree on biodiesel (brazilian native plant):
http://www.biodieselbr.com/revista/008/moringa.htm
The article present very nice insights about this feedstock
Posted by Carlos Eduardo | January 19, 2009 4:10 PM
Posted on January 19, 2009 16:10
Not quite...
"...The oil contains 65-75% oleic acids and, unlike Jatropha oil, is beneficial for both humans and fuel..."
The good thing is that it does not require much resources for cultivation. In southern India, Moringa "drumsticks" are used as ingredients in a lentil soup. This is one food use for the fruit I know of.
Posted by Pradeep | January 19, 2009 5:38 PM
Posted on January 19, 2009 17:38
Hey Carlos, good to hear from you. I'll check out the website Simon
Posted by Simon Robinson
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January 21, 2009 10:23 AM
Posted on January 21, 2009 10:23
How does the production compare to Jatropha?
Posted by David B. Benson | January 22, 2009 2:31 AM
Posted on January 22, 2009 02:31
In my opinion Moringa is better to be used as a food and not a bio fuel. As it is the most nutrient rich plant/tree in the world and grows in very arrid parts of the world it can greatly help 3rd world malnutrition. I can understand why it might be used as a bio fuel because it can grow to full size within 2 years but it has some seriously amazing health benefits!
Posted by Stephen Kirlew | January 24, 2009 8:35 PM
Posted on January 24, 2009 20:35
i do agree with MrKIRLEW about the health benefits of moringa i planted moringa trees last january by july it produced about 400 drumsticks and it still flowering and producing drumsticks each tree gave a biofbout 600 drumsticks iam for using moringa for food fodder and biofuel it is definitly better than jatropha thank you M.Ahmed
Posted by mohned abdoun | February 1, 2009 6:37 PM
Posted on February 1, 2009 18:37
looks like the Moringa situation is more complex than I first imagined. Isn't that typical of all the proposed solutions for biofuels?
Posted by Simon Robinson
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February 2, 2009 10:37 AM
Posted on February 2, 2009 10:37
Have a look at www.treesforlife.org. They have alot of great information and resources about the humaitarian benefits of Moringa in third world countries. It's also gaining popularity in the west as a super food and the oil as a cosmetic (used in the Body Shop).
Posted by Stephen Kirlew | May 17, 2009 1:11 PM
Posted on May 17, 2009 13:11