In Jamaica, Entorno Inteligente reports small farmers across the country will start growing castor on 5,000 acres for biodiesel feedstock for the Jamaica Urban Transit Company thanks to a new partnership with the Jamaica Bauxite Institute. Currently, the JUTC imports castor oil from India but the Ministry of Transport and Mining believes there is capacity […]
In Tunisia, ENI has launched a pilot project growing castor that will be used for producing oil to supply biofuel production at its facilities in Venice and Gela, Sicily. The 140-acre trial has been split up in lots to facilitate the trials. The company is searching for alternative feedstocks to used cooking oil, its primary […]
In Jamaica, the Petroleum Corporation of Jamaica, the government agency charged with leading the country’s energy resources, developed a castor seed oil blend for use in diesel vehicles. The blend should replace 97,000 barrels of imported oil and PCJ says the new B5 blend will save Jamaica an estimated $540 million per year in imports. […]
In Iran, chemical engineers have found a way to produce biodiesel from castor oil without the need for extra petrochemical methanol, using a biorefinery set-up. Producing biodiesel from vegetable oils is not completely renewable, as the standard transesterification process requires the use of methanol, which is usually produced from petrochemical sources. The researchers, Hamed Bateni […]
Castor, jatropha, pongamia — the three steps that Bosques Energeticos is taking in piloting its way to success in fuels, chemicals and other markets. Can the early-stage company thrive, based on its uncommon approach to intercropping? The Digest investigates. In science, there exists the difficulty in developing a new energy crop — improving yields and stress tolerance, […]
In North Carolina, Novo Synthetix is working on bringing a ricin-free castor plant back to the US fields, an endeavor which won them North Carolina’s Biotech Center’s Ag Biotech Entrepreneurial Showcase earlier this year. A prototype plant is expected to be ready within six months to one year. The project will work with Precision Bioscience to […]
In Mexico, researchers at the University of Puebla (BUAP) have begun experimenting with biodiesel production from castor oil, fuel that will later be used to run the university’s transport system. The pilot plant under development, which should see its first production this month, will produce up to 72,000 liters of biodiesel daily and will process […]
In Israel, Evogene announced that it is establishing Evofuel, a wholly owned subsidiary, to focus on developing seed for advanced second-generation feedstock for biofuel. Included in the activities that are being transferred from the parent company to Evofuel is the development and commercialization of castor bean varieties for Brazil as well as the biofuel research […]
In Oklahoma, two legislators have introduced a bill to outlaw the production and transportation of castor beans. Castor beans contain 50 percent or more oil and are increasingly used for producing biofuels. However, they also contain high levels of rincin, a potent toxin that induces a slow, agonizing death marked by vomiting and diarrhea. Oklahoma […]
In Jamaica, the Petroleum Corp. of Jamaica’s Centre of Excellence for Renewable Energy is launching a pilot project to trial biodiesel production from locally-produced castor oil and jatropha. The research and development phase of the project will involve the cultivation and harvesting of six varieties of the oil nuts, to determine their oil content, harvesting […]
