GFE Global selected Jatropha due to its numerous desirable characteristics to produce biodiesel and other valuable byproducts. Jatropha has emerged as one of today’s pre-eminent oil producing, biofuel plants. As biojetfuel, Jatropha has been successfully proven by the U.S. Armed Forces, Boeing, Rolls Royce, Virgin, Mexicana, Taca, Air New Zealand and other commercial airlines. (See video below)
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Over the past three years the GFE Global research team has successfully “domesticated” a Jatropha Curcas L strain via the conditioning of the plant’s seeds to local climate and soil conditions. GFE Global has now enhanced the initial seed containing 34% oil by weight to seeds containing 48% oil by weight (harvested May, 2011). Through various cultivation techniques, GFE Global has now produced 29+% increased oil content.
The first five years of the Jatropha plants lifecycle are vital to crop yield. GFE Global’s “Best Farming Practices” use a variety of techniques and programs created by the company’s Standard Operating Procedures (SOP’s) to achieve the highest possible crop yield. |
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GFE Global’s stages to establish the Jatropha plantation are broadly defined as follows:
- Site evaluation
- Soil analysis
- Germination and seedling development
- Plantation implementation
- First harvest and pruning
- Implementation of maintenance SOP for first five years
- Six-month harvest cycles
- Process the fruit into CJO (Crude Jatropha Oil)
- Refine CJO into biodiesel
Once the plantation is established, harvesting occurs twice a year to further optimize oil yield. The oil extraction process yields approximately 85% to 90%+ of the oil from the seed. The oil is then filtered and sold as CJO …… or …. refined into biodiesel (B-100).
The remaining by-product (“seedcake”) is used as feedstock for the Anaerobic Biodigesters.