Dear followers of Project Jatropha,Apoorva and I are currently in a program in Labland Biotechs where we are learning the various agronomic practices of Jatropha cultivation and the details of the extraction and conversion of Jatropha oil into biodiesel. Currently, it is day 3 of our course. On the first day, we learned about the selection criterion that is used to determine the seeds that Labland Biotechs germinates in order to sell as seedlings. The process involved softening the seed coats with a dilute hydrochloric acid solution in order to speed up germination. In addition, Apoorva and I created a batch of artificial soil that the seeds were planted in. The soil was a mixture of sand, red dirt, manure, and coconut husks, designed to supply plenty of water and nutrients to the seeds after they sprout.
Yesterday and today, Apoorva and I will be converting both regular, edible vegetable oils and Jatropha oil into biodiesel on both a commercial and laboratory scale. While both processes are similar, the conversion of Jatropha oil is more complex since it is inedible. The Jatropha biodiesel that Apoorva and I are making will be given to us so we can run it in our vehicles. Labland Biotechs has been running a Chevy Tavera on a 10% Jatropha biofuel blend for a year; the biodiesel blend gets on average 4-5 more kilometers per liter than straight diesel. In addition, Labland Biotechs plans to increase the amount of biodiesel in the blend yearly by 10% and see the effects of the biodiesel on the engine and the vehicle's performance.
Sincerely,
Adarsha
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Hi Project Jatropha team,
ReplyDeleteIt is wonderful to hear the exciting updates. I was wondering what is going on as there were not toomany updates. I did not realize that there will be problems with internet access. I was worried that you guys may be sick. I saw the pictures on the T4P web site. very nice. I did not see Callie's pictures though? Was she in India too? We would love to read her experience. As it is a team effort, I am sure as one of the team member she must be busy with the project as well. It is great that Labland Biotechs offer classes to outsiders. Write more. One more thing! Congratulations on winning Ecohero awards. By the end of Oct you will be seeing my article about project Jatropha too. You will be pleased!
I had a great time at UC Davis. I heard that Adarsha was in the Academic bowl that won first place! When I heard his name by COSMOS friends, I knew it was him. I also saw his photo in UC Irvine COSMOS page. I had no clue he was doing that program. I will keep a constant watch on the progress of the web site. You might know that my friend, Rajiv got swine flu and could not visit India.It hit him pretty bad and was hospitalized for 10 days. that put a huge dent on our work. No problems. We will keep on trying! Good luck.
Cheers
Lilian
How much does the Labland Biotechs course cost in terms of US $? Great job on the awards!
ReplyDeleteMrs. Andorra
Hi Mrs. Andorra
ReplyDeleteThank you! The Labland Biotechs course costs around $200 for 7 days.
Sincerely,
Apoorva