Petroplants

The giant leap for the clean and green future.

1. PETROPLANTS University Seminar by, Urmila N Pai S8 BTE SCET

2. Contents Introduction Different types of Petroplants . Economic and social Advantages. Conclusion References

3. Introduction Hydrocarbons are products of various plant species belonging to different families that convert substantial amount of photosynthetic products into latex.

4. Latex producing plants are the families like Euphorbiaceae,Apocynaceae , Asclepiadaceae , Sapotaceae , Urticaceae and Convolvulaceae .

5. The latex of such plants contain liquid hydrocarbons of high molecular weight. This hydrocarbon can be converted to high grade transportation fuels. These hydrocarbon producing plants are called petroplants and their crop is called petrocrop .

6. hydrocarbon yielding plants included : i .   Euphorbia lathyris Linn. ii.    Euphorbia tirucalli . Linn. iii.  Euphorbia caducifolia Haines. iv.  Euphorbia nerifolia Linn. v.     Pedilanthus tithymalides Linn. vi.   Pedilanthus tithymalides Linn. vii.   Calotropis procera viii.   Calotropis gigantea

7. High molecular weight hydrocarbon yielding plants Parthenium argentatum Linn Non edible for yielding plants Jatropha curcas Simmondsia chinenesis Short rotation energy plants Tecomella undulata Prosopis juliflora Pithocellobium dulce Azadirachta indica

8. Euphorbia This is resembled to cacti but they differ in the milky latex production. In italy this is set to produce gasoline intially . Euphorbia lathrys is an annual herb and E.tirucalli is a perennial. Chemical analysis is done. In organic solvents revealed that the heptan extract and either soluble fraction constituted about 8% terperoid extract. This produces about 40 tonnes of drymatter /ha/yr.

9. E.tirucalli E.lathyris

10. Calotropis Asclepidacea family Occur in hot regions of India on waste dry places, riverbeds roadsides and forest clearings. It produces a latex which causes irritation to the skin. Latex contain high amount of hydrocarbons. The ratio of C,H,O in the hexane extract are 78.03%,11.22%,10.71% respectively. The ratio of the C and H is similar to crude oil, fuel cell and gasoline.

11. The hydrocarbon yield and energy value of calotropis are comparable to euphorbia. The research is done on central arid zone research institute, Jodhpur. Milkweed underexploited crop up to now It is a perennial plant belonging to Order Gentianales , Family Asclepiadaceae .

12. Algal hydrocarbons Dead algal scum of Botryococcus b raunii , a unicellular algae of chlorococcales of green algae ,contains 70% of hydrocarbons. Due to the metabolic activity hydrocarbons are synthesized during growth phase of the algae. Algal hydrocarbons resemble the crude oil. So it can be used as direct production of hydrocarbons. Botryococcus braunii in brackish as well as fresh water. In addition chlorella pyrenoidosa,a fresh water algae is known to be converted to hydrocarbons as golden liquid.

13. Hydrogenation is done in a steel reactor at high temperature(> 400c ) and pressure (12000 p.s.i ) in presence of catalyst(cobalt molybdenate ). The algae is suspended in mineral oil in the reactor. It is carried out for an hour. The 50% of algal biomass is converted to oil with little amount of by-product(ammonium carbonate). Oil is a clear golden colored liquid which is seperated from the reactor and blended with light gas oil in refineries and processed for the use.

14. Jatropha Curcas It is native to North America, Africa as well as Central America and in particular, a town called Tempate in northern Costa Rica.  This special agro-fuel crop has many beneficial uses in addition to the oil producing seeds from which biodiesel is made, including medicinal and cosmetic applications for the seedcake, glycerin and latex. 

15. Jatropha thrives with heavy rainfall but is also extremely drought tolerant and can still produce in the worst of soil conditions.  It is most productive in areas with average annual temperatures above 20 degrees Celsius but it can also grow at higher altitudes and even tolerate a slight frost.

16. Social and economic advantages Growers can sustain their own clean-fuel needs. Growers will have long-term sustainable income in emerging clean-fuel markets.  Many oleaginous crops like Jatropha offer multiple profit centers through various by-products with commercial, industrial and cosmetic applications. The planting of agro-fuel crops that perform well in marginal soils allows for the use of unproductive land at little or no cost to the grower / green investor.

17. The use of clean-fuels in transportation results in fewer pollutants - particulate matter, sulfates, carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons and other breathable toxins. The robust, drought resistant demeanor of plants like Jatropha curcas allows for tremendous cost savings via the lack of any need for fertilizers, pesticides or irrigation. Most oleaginous plant species involve relatively low-input systems, including the planting, maintenance, harvesting and clean-fuel production.

18. Disadvantages Variation in quality of biodiesel Not suitable for use in low temperatures Food shortage Increased use of fertilizers Clogging in engine Regional suitability Water shortage Slight increase in nitrogen oxide emissions

19. Clean-fuel Crop Implementation 1. Land preparation 2. Material for planting and growing media  3. Nursery 4. Intercropping 5. Crop cultivation  6. Equipment: tractor, power tiller, digger, tumblers, extractors, etc. 7. Labor: crop planting, crop maintenance, harvesting, processing 8. Propagation 9. Harvesting technologies and practices 10. System management 11. Processing & logistics infrastructures

20. Conclusion There is an increase in dependence on petroleum products and it impose economically and socially burdens on the development in future. So this is time for the development of substitute supplies of hydrocarbons. Efforts also may be required to increase the biocrude potential of these species of plants through genetic manipulation.Therefore approach must be adopted to alleviate the scarcity of petroleum products as well as to create healthy environment.

21. References Evaluation of fuel properties for microalgae Spirulina platensis bio-diesel and its blends with Egyptian petro- diesel,Soha S.M. Mostafa aNour Sh. El- Gendy . Cosmetic potentials of physic nut ( Jatropha curcas Linn.) seed oil:A review,Warra , A. A. Hydrocarbon source plant-New source of energy for future,Dipul Kalita .(RRL,CSIR).