Jathropa as a Bio-Diesel

When the Bio-fuels Act took effect, the government and private investors have invested in the propagation of Jathropa Carcus, which is commonly known as tuba-tuba. Aside from setting up Jathropa plantations, refineries are now being built to make available the needed Jathropa oil.the production of bio-diesel from jathropa seeds is similar to the production of bio-diesel from coconut oil.

Machines are needed to extract the veggie oil from Jathropa seeds. Laboratory results show that around 2.9 kilograms of seeds are needed to produce one liter of crude oil. After this, chemicals such as methanol and catalysts such as caustic soda are used to refine the oil into bio-diesel. The result is Jathropa methyl lester (JME) as the main product and glycerin. On the average, 10 liters of crude oil can produce 8.5 liters of JME.

The results of tests made on Philforest’s JME show the great potential of Jathropa oil as source of bio-diesel. Laboratory tests also reveal that it passes the American and European standards for bio-diesel. Moreover, analyses of Jathropa crude oil have shown that it is comparable to bunker oil.