Reliance Life Sciences says Indian R&D shows jatropha, pongamia intercropping can solve food vs fuel debate

In India, Reliance Life Sciences says that intercropping will solve the food vs fuel debate, touting its efforts to research the intercropping of jatropha and pogamia with corn, mango, and medicinal biomass in Gujarat and Maharashtra states. The company said that it is developing seeds that will yield 10 tonnes of jatropha per hectare under irrigation, and has established ties with farmers that will result in groups of farmers supporting 100,000 tonne oil extraction plants from 100,000 acres each.

Jatropha background

In India, Hindustan Petroleum (HPCL) announced an agreement with the Chhattisgarh state government to form a jatropha joint venture with the Chhattisgarh Renewable Energy Development Agency (CREDA). The JV will plant 15,000 hectares of jatropha in Chhattisgarh that will be refined into biodiesel by Hindustan Petroleum. HPCL will own 74 percent of the venture and CREDA the balance.

In China, three jatropha biodiesel plants with 170,000 tonnes in total capacity were approved for construction by the national government. PetroChina will construct a 60,000 tonne facility in Sichuan, Sinopec will build a 50,000 tonne capacity plant in Guizhou, and CNOOC will erect a 60,000 tonne plant on the island province of Hainan.

In Canada, Pratt & Whitney Canada announced that it was investigating advanced biofuels such as algae and jatropha as fuel sources for its jet engines. The company has embarked on a four-year project to identify advanced biofuels candidates, calculate advantages compared to conventional fuels and first generation biofuels, and address engineering changes to accommodate a biofuel migration.

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