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DEVELOPMENT-BRAZIL: Alternative Energy in Castor Beans
By Mario Osava - Tierramérica*
RIO DE JANEIRO, May 27, 2003 (IPS) - In the search for more environmentally
friendly fuels, the use of castor oil as "biodiesel" has proven to have
technical and ecological benefits, and stands as an opportunity for
agricultural development in arid and impoverished areas like northeast
Brazil.
The oil extracted from the castor bean (ricinus communis) already has a
growing international market, assured by more than 700 uses, ranging from
medicines and cosmetics to substituting petroleum in manufacturing plastics
and lubricants.
Castor oil is used in fibre optics, bulletproof glass and bone prostheses.
And it is indispensable for preventing fuels and lubricants utilised in
aircraft and space rockets from freezing at extremely low temperatures.
"But its major market is beginning to open in the energy field, with the
growth of biodiesel," says Napoleao Beltrao, who has spent the last 18 years
studying the properties of castor oil at the state-run Brazilian Enterprise
for Agricultural Research (EMBRAPA) at its labs in the northeastern city of
Campina Grande, in Paraíba state.
Biodiesel, chemically known as an ester, is the result of the reaction
between any oily acid and ethyl (ethanol) or methyl (methanol) alcohol. In
Europe and the United States, nearly two billion litres of biodiesel are
consumed annually, though their oil sources are primarily rapeseed and soy.
But castor oil is the best substance for producing biodiesel because it is
the only one that is soluble in alcohol, and does not require heat and the
consequent energy requirement of other vegetable oils in transforming them
into fuel, Beltrao explained to Tierramérica.
European and U.S. farmers have created national and international
associations to promote this type of alternative fuel, which reduces urban
air pollution and emissions of greenhouse gases associated with the burning
of fossil fuels.
Beltrao is optimistic that castor oil will be competitive with other
vegetable oils in energy market.
The castor-oil plant is easy to grow and is resistant to drought, which
makes it an ideal crop for the extensive semi-arid region of northeast
Brazil. That area, says Beltrao, holds some four million hectares of
appropriate land that could yield up to 1.5 tons of castor beans per
hectare, compared to the global average of 750 kilos per hectare.
And castor beans could become a farming alternative, providing income for
"15 million people who suffer hunger" in Brazil's poorest region, said the
expert.
Recent studies and genetic improvements have increased the oil content of
the castor bean from 24 to 48 percent. In comparison, soy is just 17 percent
oil, noted Beltrao.
The plant has also been bred to mature at a shorter height. Whereas the
castor-oil plant traditionally reaches three meters in height, making
mechanised harvest difficult, there are now varieties that grow to just 1..7
meters.
The market for castor oil is "unlimited" because its uses continue to
multiply, says Roberto Veneziani, director of the Sao Paulo-based Braswey
company, which exports the product to Europe and throughout the Americas.
Castor oil is best for making special dyes and for uses in the high
technology field, including in nuclear reactors, Veneziani said.
But in order to conquer the biodiesel market two key factors must be
resolved: the development of castor bean harvesting equipment and dramatic
fluctuations in castor oil prices, he pointed out.
For decades, Brazil was the world leader in producing and exporting castor
oil, but has fallen to third place, behind India and China. Brazilian output
of 500,000 tons in the late 1980s fell to less than 120,000 tons last year,
according to Veneziani.
A clear signal that Brazil plans to move towards biodiesel would jump-start
the recovery of the castor-oil crop.
However, that remains to be seen, says Fernando Baratelli, of the state-run
petroleum giant Petrobrás. He says that prices remain an obstacle for
widespread use of biodiesel.
"Soy oil costs twice as much as diesel fuel. In Germany, biodiesel advanced
because the government cut the taxes on it, a move that would be difficult
for Brazil to implement," said Baratelli, who heads the Petrobrás gas and
energy research centre CENPES.
He does acknowledge, however, that castor oil is "promising due to its
social and environmental aspects." CENPES is currently conducting a pilot
program in castor oil viability as an energy alternative.
* Originally published May 24 in Spanish by Latin American newspapers that
are part of the Tierramérica network. Tierramérica is a specialised news
service produced by IPS with the backing of the United Nations Development
Programme and the United Nations Environment Programme: www.tierramerica.net
(END)
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