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STAVANGER, NORWAY – According to a recent study conducted by SGS Belgium S.A., jatropha crude oil reduces lifecycle emissions by 78 percent as compared to diesel fuel. A lifecycle view of emissions takes into account not just the emissions from combustion of the final fuel but also emissions associated with the production of the fuel.
The study was commissioned by BioFuel Africa Ltd., a biofuel company focused on growing sustainable alternative fuels in West Africa. SGS Belgium conducted a Lifecycle Analysis for the complete production chain for jatropha crude oil produced by BioFuel Africa, ending in the fuel tank and starting with BioFuel Africa’s plantation near Tamale in the northern region of Ghana and including transport and storage at Ghana’s shipping port in Tema.
In technical terms, diesel currently has a lifecycle emission of 3,536 kg of carbon dioxide per 1,000 kg of diesel fuel, compared to jatropha crude oil that has a lifecycle emission of 690 kg of carbon dioxide per 1,000 kg of jatropha crude oil by utilizing solvent extraction. In terms of carbon dioxide emission per energy unit, diesel emits 82 g of carbon per mega joule (MJ), compared to jatropha oil at 18 g of carbon per MJ. This is a net reduction per energy unit of 77.83 percent.
“The study confirms estimates by looking at all input variables of a real company,” said Steinar Kolnes, BioFuel Africa chief executive officer of BioFuel Africa. “Jatropha is an attractive investment not only from the standpoint of its massive reduction in carbon dioxide, but as an economical alternative to current fossil fuels.”
The new EU directive for renewable fuel standards requires that biofuels achieve at least a 35 percent lifecycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction as compared to fossil fuels. Starting in 2017, the lifecycle GHG emissions of qualifying biofuels produced in existing production plants must be at least 50 percent lower than fossils fuels and at least 60 percent in new plants.
In addition to already meeting the 2017 requirement of a 60 percent reduction in its current operations, BioFuel Africa will begin using crude jatropha oil in all its farm equipment and transport vehicles. It is also set to begin producing electricity by burning jatropha biomass residue, thereby replacing fossil fuels for power generation. Both tactics will lead to an additional carbon reduction, bringing the percentage of greenhouse gas emission reduction to more than 100 percent, making the company carbon neutral.
EDITORIAL CONTACT:
Steinar Kolnes
Chairman of the board - Solar Harvest AS
CEO - BioFuel Africa AS
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