Jatropha
11.09.2008
Harburg-Freudenberger ideally prepared for Jatropha
Installations of Harburg-Freudenberger Maschinenbau GmbH are ideally suited for the extraction of bio-diesel from Jatropha as an alternative to rapeseed.
Hamburg - The production of bio-diesel from crop plants such as rapeseed and sunflower has recently been the object of intense criticism. In this context the tropical Jatropha plant, also referred to as the Barbados nut, is considered to be a very promising alternative. Many of the arguments levelled against deriving energy from crop plants do not apply to Jatropha. Changing over industrial plants to the production of Jatropha oil is exceptionally easy since the prevalent pressing and extraction methods can be readily adapted to the Jatropha raw material without retrofit of machines. In addition to the delivery of high-quality machines, Harburg-Freudenberger Maschinenbau GmbH can also support Jatropha-interested investors in planning and commissioning plants for Jatropha processing.
Unpretentious, efficient and ecologically sound
The Jatropha seed consists of kernels that have been manually removed from their outer hard shells. The oil contained in these kernels is mechanically extracted by a screw press. Consequently, seed processing hardly differs from that used for other oil seeds. “However, contrary to other oil seeds, the entire Jatropha seed can be used to generate energy”. According to Josef-Werner Schneider, Sales Manager at Harburg-Freudenberger, “the rapeseed press cake is used as feed, whereas the Jatropha press cake is an ideal fuel in the form of pellets, charcoal or mill dust. Moreover, the outer shell of the Jatropha nut can also be used to generate energy, but it is also an outstanding biological fertilizer.”
A major advantage of the Jatropha plant is the unpretentious growing condition vs. rapeseeds. In fact it will even thrive on barren desert land, it does not require any fertilizer and only between three and four litres of water once a year! Since it is sensitive to cold weather it is primarily grown in the equatorial regions of Africa, South America and the Far East. Schneider predicts that “Jatropha will make the deserts green” and continued “Corresponding plantations are being created on hitherto unused wasteland. Furthermore, the use of Jatropha as a fuel does not have any influence on food supplies since neither the plant, nor the oil extracted from it, can be consumed by men or animals.”
Long-term investment
Since the Jatropha plant requires five years to reach harvest maturity and research in this area is still quite young, there are not yet any large-scale plantations ready for harvesting. Josef-Werner Schneider believes that “refining installations represent a sound investment because the market is in a state of growth and, therefore, open to new investors. Currently, Jatropha is being primarily cultivated in small plantations in Africa. We have therefore built a small model of the established EP screw press to meet these requirements. Long-term plans are currently being concentrated on mass production of Jatropha oil in Europe.”
World-wide leaders
Harburg-Freudenberger Maschinenbau GmbH with a workforce of 1,060 worldwide is one of the leading mechanical engineering and service companies in the field of rubber compounding, caoutchouc and edible oil technology. With production plants in three countries (Germany, Croatia and the US) and representative offices throughout the world, the company last year generated sales in excess of EUR 235 million. For more information about our company and products please go to: www.harburg-freudenberger.com.
Contact Harburg-Freudenberger:
Sabine Sergel
Harburg-Freudenberger Maschinenbau GmbH
Seevestrasse 1, D-21079 Hamburg
Phone: 49 40 77 179 370; Fax: 49 40 77 179 630
sabine.sergel@hf-group.com
