In Ghana recently, I discovered a magical plant that has promise to revolutionize the biofuel industry. This man introduced it to us over dinner- I thought it was olive oil and was going to pour some on my salad! BUT he explained, it was oil from jatropha. The Ghanaians looked interested and perplexed. The oil from Jatropha???
Jatropha, a weed that can grow thrive and multiply in the worst conditions, a weed as common as disdained as poison ivy, a weed poisonous for human consumption- Jatropha, the biofuel of the future!!!!!
According to wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jatropha)
"Currently the oil from Jatropha curcas seeds is used for making biodiesel fuel in Philippines and in Brazil, where it grows naturally and in plantations in the Southeast, and the North/Northeast Brazil. Likewise, jatropha oil is being promoted as an easily grown biofuel crop in hundreds of projects throughout India and other developing countries.[1][6] The railway line between Mumbai and Delhi is planted with Jatropha and the train itself runs on 15-20% biodiesel.[1] In Africa, cultivation of Jatropha is being promoted and it is grown successfully in countries such as Mali.[7] In the Gran Chaco of Paraguay, where also a native variety (Jatropha matacensis) grows, studies have shown suitability of Jatropha cultivation[8] [9] and agro producers are starting to consider planting in the region.[10]"
According to the energy blog (http://thefraserdomain.typepad.com/energy/2007/02/jetropha_europe.html)
"Jatropha burns with one fifth the carbon emission of fossil fuels, making Africa's hardscrabble ground a potentially fertile source of energy. Scientists estimate that if even a quarter of the continent's arable land were plowed into jatropha plantations, output would surpass 20 million barrels a day."
Ghana is supposed ramping up production and Mexico may be ramping up production to export to the US market. Currently cultivation is illegal in the US.
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