No Jatropha In USA – Corn & Soya Oil Instead.

 

Friends,

Not an inch of land is brought under poisonous Jatropha in USA who is converting food crops of corn and soya oil for ethanol and bio-diesel for gasoline and diesel engines respectively.

 

USA government is happy for rising prices of these food crops will reduce government subsidy for these crops but for India it means rising imports bill and high prices for vegetable prices.

 

We in India instead of doubling our food production to double the food intake by our people to 300 kg per capita level achieved in China are investing more on Jatropha poisonous weed as future source of bio-diesel.

 

A loss making British company is spearheading the plantation drive. At rate of Rs.30,000 per hectare, 5 million hectare will need Rs.15,000 crores, the money which instead could be used as seed money to introduce improved seeds, harvesting, processing and storage/packaging infrastructure.

 

http://www.d1plc.com/pdf/annual_report.pdf

 

Please download the AR of the loss making D1 Oil Plc. Surprisingly its share price is shooting up essentially because TN and some other states are encouraging poisonous Jatropha instead of Mango or other food crops.

 

Ravinder Singh

 

http://www.eere.energy.gov/state_energy/technology_factsheet.cfm?techid=8

Biofuels-at-a-Glance

Ethanol and biodiesel are renewable, domestically produced automotive fuels.

The use of biofuels reduces toxic air emissions, greenhouse-gas buildup, dependence on foreign oil, and trade deficits, while supporting local agriculture and rural economies.

Henry Ford designed his first Model T automobile in 1908 to run on ethanol. Rudolf Diesel designed his prototype diesel engine nearly a century ago, to run on peanut oil.

The United States is second to Brazil (where sugar cane is used to make ethanol) in production and use of fuel ethanol and second to Europe (where rapeseed [canola] oil is used to make biodiesel) in the production and use of biodiesel.

Ethanol from Grain

Ethanol is used primarily as an octane-boosting, pollution-cutting additive (usually 8% or 10%) to gasoline.

Ethanol’s primary additive markets are (1) carbon monoxide non-attainment areas—a market it dominates, and (2) severe ground-level-ozone non-attainment areas—a market methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) dominates.

Because of extensive groundwater contamination by MTBE, many states are moving to prohibit MTBE use (already 13 in July 2001). Ethanol, a biodegradable and essentially nontoxic oxygenate, can directly substitute for MTBE. The industry expects to expand sufficiently to meet increased demand from MTBE replacement.

Since 1979, the federal government has provided an excise tax exemption of 5.3 cents per gallon of 10% blend, equal to 53 cents per gallon of ethanol.

Sixteen states provide additional incentives, chiefly state excise tax exemptions or producer credits (as of July 2001: AK, CT, HI, ID, IL, IA, KS, MN, MO, MT, NE, ND, OK, SD, WI, WY).

Federal and state subsidies allow ethanol to compete in the fuel additive market.

E85 (85% ethanol, 15% gasoline) should be used only in flexible-fuel vehicles with modified oxygen sensors and fuel system valves. Flexible-fuel vehicles can also run on gasoline.

Daimler-Chrysler, Ford, and General Motors each offer several models of flex-fuel vehicles with no price premium over other models.

The primary markets for flex-fuel vehicles are federal and state fleets complying with EPAct alternative fuel requirements and individuals wanting to use ethanol.

As of July 2001, 129 retailers in 18 states (AZ, CO, ID, IL, IN, IA, KS, KY, MI, MN, MO, MT, NE, NM, ND, SD, VA, WI) offered E85.

2000 U.S. production of 1.6 billion gallons of ethanol (2.0 billion gallons capacity) used about 600 million bushels of field corn (nation’s largest crop, primarily used for animal feed)—about 7% of U.S. corn production.

The sale of corn for ethanol production is credited with increasing corn prices by 25 to 30 cents per bushel (total price about $2 per bushel), greatly benefiting the farm economy, but minimally affecting food prices.

Higher corn prices reduce federal price support payments. This, together with employment taxes at ethanol plants, more than offsets the federal excise tax exemption for ethanol, saving substantial taxpayer money.

Most new ethanol plants are dry-mill plants, relatively small plants, generally located in rural areas, providing valuable jobs and economic development. Since 1990, farmer-owned cooperatives are responsible for 50% of new production capacity.

Ethanol production can stimulate economic growth in small communities throughout the United States. According to a Midwestern Governors' Conference report, ethanol production in the U.S. boosts total employment by 195,200 jobs, improves the U.S. trade balance by $2 billion, and increases net farm income by $4.5 billion.

Advanced Bioethanol Technology

Current ethanol production is based on corn grain or other starch or sugar sources which make up only a very small portion of plant material. With advanced bioethanol technology, ethanol can also be made from cellulose and hemicellulose (the components that give plants their structure), which make up the bulk of plant material.

Potential feedstocks for advanced bioethanol technology include corn stover (stalks and husks) and other agricultural residues, wood chips and other forestry residues, paper and other municipal wastes, food processing and other plant-derived industrial wastes, and dedicated energy crops of fast-growing trees or grasses.

Advanced technology bioethanol would supplement rather than replace grain ethanol, but the huge volume of inexpensive available feedstocks offers potential to greatly expand ethanol production and its economic and environmental benefits.