Global Alternative Energy.

Product :

Galten is producing non edible Jatropha vegetable oil as raw material for biodiesel. Jatropha curcas, belonging to the family Euphorbiaceae, is a low-growing tree, native to South America, but widely cultivated also throughout Central America, Africa and Asia.

Jatropha, which is not eaten by animals, is a vigorous, drought- and pest-resistant plant that is planted in tropical countries principally as a hedge, protecting cropland from freely ranging cattle, sheep and goats. However, inedible oils produced from trees such as Jatropha curcas, that can grow on barren, eroded lands, under harsh climatic conditions, could be an ideal source for bio-diesel
under preset circumstances. The popularity of Jatropha is also based on the use of its oil and other derivatives, Jatropha is unique among renewable energy sources in terms of the number of potential benefits that can be expected to result from its widespread cultivation.

The tree has a productive life of over 30 years. The seeds contain about 30% oil that can be converted into bio-diesel by a process called transesterification,
in which a simple alcohol (e.g., methanol) replaces glycerol from the vegetable oil molecules (these are triglycerides, i.e., three molecules of fatty acid molecules are attached to a glycerol molecule). The suitability of the Jatropha seed oil for transesterification into bio-diesel has also been clearly demonstrated (Foidl et al., 1996; Eisa, 1997; Vaitilingom and Liennard, 1997; Zamora et al., 1997)