The World Bank adjudged SPRIs proposal of “Fences for Fuel” under the most innovative project programme in 2005. The main aim of the project was to promote Jatropha which is grown on the fences of the fields as a non-renewable source of energy in Rajasthan. Under the Project about 1,000,00 Jatropha Plants have been planted in the Viratnagar region of Rajasthan. Simultaneously about 165 Farmer Clubs have been formed in the region. A Study on the indoor pollution was conducted which revealed that the indoor pollution levels in rural houses have shown alarming levels of pollutant particles and gases even in relatively bigger rural houses. There is a proven expertise under the supervision of Dr. Sudhir Verma IAS (Retd.) consisting of botanists, mechanical and chemical engineers and social scientists. As apart of the learning from the project, a need was felt to upscale the project as well as provide lateral and forward linkages to the set up provided by this project in order to promote Jatropha plantation in the State. SPRI  is embarking on project for rural health with support from UNDP in coming years. Problems and prospects of Jatropha cultivation in Rajasthan.

This paper is dedicated to his fond memories and its our endevour to fulfil the mission Biofuel and take it to rural areas to the grassroot level to benefit the womenfolk with support from different United Nations Agencies and NGOs.

Biodiesel:

The one and only alternative fuel that can be used directly in any diesel motor, without requiring any type of modification,  is Biodiesel. Today, this motors require a fuel that being subjected to the different conditions in wich it operates, remains stable and on the other hand clean when being burned. Possessing similar properties with the petroleum diesel fuel, both can be mix in any proportion, without generating problems at all.

The biodiesel is an ideal fuel for its low emissions, in the marine areas, national parks and forests and mainly in the big cities like for example United States that uses it in its different mixtures for the public transportation. The great strength that the Biodiesel represents as a fuel resides in its possibility of being generated starting from cultivations that are abundant in our country as the soya and the sunflower among other, generating an yield for the agricultural sector and consequently a descent of the unemployment.

Norms for the Biodiesel

The users of Biodiesel, from the motors manufacturers to the other interveners parties, need the development of reliable norms to give security in order to facilitate its commercialization.The countries where these users reside, demand other benefits besides the economic ones such as environmental and of health. Developed nations as Austria (ORORM C 1190), Germany (DIN V51606) and USA (ASTM D6751) have established similar norms for the Biodiesel with particular specifications as for example, the glicerol quantification, that are not given in the norms for DF. The European regulatory scheme has the particularity of including the number of Iodine (Iodine Value) since generally, in this continent colza oil is used in the production of Biodiesel.

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The acceptable maximum value is IV = 115 that would exclude soy oil and its esters, since these exceed that limit. They are different types of biodiesel. On one hand there exists the derivated of vegetables oils with a high content of saturated compounds, (low IVs) these possess a CN (Centane number) bigger, while their properties in low temperatures are worse. On the other hand and also known, is the Biodiesel coming from vegetables oils with a high content of unsaturated compounds, (high IVs) that possess a smaller CN, while their properties in low temperatures are better. Consequently, the CN and the IVs are inversely proportional. When adding to the norms a maximum of IVs, the minimum CN would be restricted. Considering that most of the esters have a bigger CN that the vegetable oils and the conventional Diesel fuels, they overcome without any type of inconveniences the minimum imposed by ASTM (CN mín = 40). An argument contrary to the inclusion of the IV in the norms of Biodiesel, is that different compositions of fatty acids give a same IV. For example, pure methyl oleate has the same IV that the mixture 1 to 1 of methyl estearate and methyl linoleate. The IV ignores structural factors in the fatty compounds where the CN depends on the double link position, longitude of the chain, etc. To increase the CN of the oils of some plants through the development of new preservatives that are more effective in spite of their high grade of insaturation, is a possible alternative.

National Biofuel Policy:

    With an estimated population of 1.1 billion, India is the world’s second most populous country Agriculture is the mainstay of the Indian economy. Agriculture and allied sectors contribute nearly 22 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP of India),while about 65-70 per cent of the population is dependent on agriculture for their livelihood.

The country’s recently-revised national biofuel policy, announced in September 2008, sets out the government’s intentions in black-and-white: to produce 20 per cent of the country’s diesel from crops by 2017, primarily from plantations of jatropha (Jatropha curcas). The government has tried to find a win-win solution. In an attempt to help the poor share the rewards of the country’s anticipated biofuel boom, the expansion of jatropha production is taking place through the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS). Under proposed plans, local communities will be paid to plant, tend and harvest the crop on common land.

Jatropha curcas a potential plant for biofuel:

The plant is found wild in several parts of the world and has been cultivated successfully in Mali, Central America, Guatemala, Indonesia, Senegal and Zambia. In India Govt of India Department of Biotechnology, has supported Jatropha Plantations under macromission project of planning commission.

Jatropha curcas grows wild in Udaipur division in Rajasthan. Chattisgarh state and several other northern states of India. Under the micro-mission programme of Department of Biotechnology, Govt of India research work was initiated by  DBT in 2004. It was carried out in different states of the country regarding selection of eltie material, its propagation, yield evaluation, genetic characterization and developing proper agro-technology. Under a Department of Biotechnology research project sanctioned to Professor Ashwani Kumar at University of Rajasthan, Jaipur 302004 work was started  on collection of eltie material. Several locations have been identified 21 accessions have been collected out of which data has been completed on 11 and 4 out of which are high yielding i.e. heptane extractable oil contents are over 35 percent. Analysis of 19 samples is in progress. Unsaturated fatty acids range over 77 % in four accessions. The oil content analysis was done at Tata Energy Research Institute, New Delhi by Dr Nutan Kaushik.The application of nutrients improved plant growth but it did not improve the flowering. An attempt was made to improve flowering and fruiting which is reported. Present study was aimed to increase total oil yield of Jatropha curcas

Fig. 1. Different agro-climatic zones of Rajasthan have different prospects of Jatropha cultivation.

Distribution of Jatropha in Rajasthan:

Rajasthan is situated between 23°3’N and 30°12’ N latitude and 69°30’ and 78°17’ E longitude. The total land area of the state is about 3, 42,239 km2, out of which about 1, 96,150 km2 is arid and rest is semi-arid.  Rajasthan has basically two agroclimatic zones:  North West of Aravallis and other is South East of Aravallis and roughly the Aravalli hills divide them into two. The current distribution shows that introduction has been most successful in the drier regions of the tropics with annual rainfall of 300-1000 mm (Fig 1 and 2). It occurs mainly at lower altitudes (0-500 m) in areas with average annual temperatures well above 20°C but can grow at higher altitudes and tolerate slight frost. It   grows on well-drained soils with good aeration and is well adapted to marginal soils with low nutrient content   Present studies aimed at developing agrotechnology for Jatropha cultivation in Rajasthan and yield optimisation with minimum inputs.

The dividing line runs approximately in the vicinity of Mt. Abu to Alwar with prominent of Aravalli hills (Fig 1) The zones lying south east of Aravallis namely  Zone IV A, IV B are natural habitat of wild Jatropha and zone III A and Zone III B have been found suitable in our studies while  Zone V could also have potential. The zones North west of Aravallis Zone I A,B,C  and II A and II B  having rainfall below 300 mm and are not suitable for economically viable Jatropha cultivation. The rainfall pattern as indicated in Fig 2 further elaborates the areas suitable for Jatropha cultivation. Besides it need humid atmosphere at the time of flowering. The flowers shrivel and fall if the flowering is followed by dry season. Besides older plants are able to bear more fruits under natural conditions on slopes then in the flat grounds. The plant is mainly grown on hedges.