Potential of Jatropha curcas L. as Biodiesel Feedstock in Malaysia: A Concise Review

Abstract

<jats:p>Fluctuation in fossil fuel prices and the increasing awareness of environmental degradation have prompted the search for alternatives from renewable energy sources. Biodiesel is the most efficient alternative to fossil fuel substitution because it can be properly modified for current diesel engines. It is a vegetable oil-based fuel with similar properties to petroleum diesel. Generally, biodiesel is a non-toxic, biodegradable, and highly efficient alternative for fossil fuel substitution. In Malaysia, oil palm is considered as the most valuable commodity crop and gives a high economic return to the country. However, the ethical challenge of food or fuel makes palm oil not an ideal feedstock for biodiesel production. Therefore, attention is shifted to non-edible feedstock like Jatropha curcas Linnaeus (Jatropha curcas L.). It is an inedible oil-bearing crop that can be processed into biodiesel. It has a high-seed yield that could be continually produced for up to 50 years. Furthermore, its utilization will have zero impact on food sources since the oil is poisonous for human and animal consumption. However, Jatropha biodiesel is still in its preliminary phase compared to palm oil-based biodiesel in Malaysia due to a lack of research and development. Therefore, this paper emphasizes the potential of Jatropha curcas as an eco-friendly biodiesel feedstock to promote socio-economic development and meet significantly growing energy demands even though the challenges for its implementation as a national biodiesel program might be longer.</jats:p>

Growing Jatropha (Jatropha curcas L.) as a Potential Second-Generation Biodiesel Feedstock

“…Due to the growing concern toward the competition for food, land, and water resources to produce first-generation bioenergy crops (for example, corn, sugarcane, and soybean), second-generation feedstocks of non-edible oil sources (such as Jatropha, mahua, caster) have gained much attention due to their widespread adaptability, even in adverse climatic and soil conditions of arid and semi-arid regions [2,9]. Further, they have a high oil content between 63.2-66.4%, which is much higher than that of soybean (18.6%), linseed (33.3%), and palm kernel (44.6%) [125]. Studies revealed that approximately 1.5-2.0 million ha of Jatropha have been planted in the last 5-7 years, resulting in around 13 million ha in 2015, and India is a leading country in terms of its cultivation (~73%), followed by Southeast Asia (21%) and Africa (6%) [2].…”

“…The quantities of each fatty acid present in vegetable oils determine the properties of the triglyceride and biodiesel fuel [1,125]. There are three main types of fatty acids present in triglycerides, namely saturated (Cn:0), monounsaturated (Cn:1), and polyunsaturated with two or three bonds (Cn:2,3).…”

Characterization of Crude Palm Oil (CPO), Corn Oil and Waste Cooking Oil for Biodiesel Production

“…The corn can be grown and can be harvested in months, and can be planted again, and it is suitable to produce in Malaysia because of warm and rainy season during the year. However, Asian has a competition with the edible oils market, so they explore non-edible seed oil, such as jatropha and pongamia as biodiesel raw oils [19]. But the gestation period of a couple of years are needed before these plants start producing seeds and oil.…”

A Comprehensive Review and the Efficiency Analysis of Horizontal and Vertical Axis Wind Turbines

“…The proper way of energy distribution and considering economic and environmental impact may mitigate the drawbacks (Kashem et al, 2018b(Kashem et al, , 2021aTabassum et al, 2016Tabassum et al, , 2018. Moreover, people can use less energy through green buildings (Che Hamzah et al, 2020;Kashem et al, 2021b;. According to researchers, wind energy is still the best way to harness renewable energy.…”