Does Biodiesel from Jatropha Curcas Represent a Sustainable Alternative Energy Source?

Ovando-Medina, Isidro; Espinosa‐García, Francisco J.; Núñez‐Farfán, Juan; Salvador-Figueroa, Miguel

doi:10.3390/su1041035

Cited by 18 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…These are attributed to the production of fertilizers, and pesticides, fungicides, and insecticides (PFIs) used in the cultivation of the jatropha fruits. This agrees with the results of other studies [52,53]. Given the predominance of the agricultural stage, the corresponding impacts are shown in detail in Figure 3.…”

Section: Potential Environmental Impactssupporting

confidence: 81%

A Three-Dimensional Sustainability Evaluation of Jatropha Plantations in Yucatan, Mexico

et al. 2016

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This paper presents a unique sustainability analysis of one of the first attempts to establish a biodiesel industry in Mexico. From 2008, several companies established medium to large-sized Jatropha curcas plantations in Yucatan, hiring local peasants to carry out the agricultural work. After five years, the plantations were abandoned due to poor seed yields and a lack of key knowledge for large-scale cultivation. Based on a multidisciplinary approach, we performed a three-dimensional sustainability evaluation of the potential biodiesel production chain, which included household interviews, a socioeconomic survey, and a life-cycle assessment (LCA). We identified both negative and positive effects in the three dimensions analyzed. Socially and culturally, the local peasant families understood sustainability as their ability to preserve their traditional lifestyle, and associated environmental services with their sense of identity. They therefore considered the jatropha plantations to be positive for sustainability, since they brought income, even though some perceived damage to the natural resources of the surrounding areas. Economically, peasants' annual household income increased by approximately $1080 USD due to the increased salaries paid by the jatropha companies. The LCA predicted large savings of greenhouse gas emissions (>50% compared to fossil diesel), but also potential negative impacts in some categories (human/ecological toxicity and eutrophication potentials) associated with the use of mineral fertilizers, insecticides, and pesticides applied during the cultivation stage. Biodiesel production would be potentially energetically self-sufficient, in addition to producing a 40% energy surplus. Finally, even though the sustainability indicators suggested a positive overall assessment, the reality was that the jatropha projects failed because they were predicated on unrealistically optimistic projections and poor agronomic knowledge of the plant.

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Section: Potential Environmental Impactssupporting

confidence: 81%

A Three-Dimensional Sustainability Evaluation of Jatropha Plantations in Yucatan, Mexico

et al. 2016

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“…Biodiesel has a clearly lower viscosity and lower flash point than the untreated oils and can therefore be used as a fuel in conventional Diesel-engines. However, biodiesel is based on vegetable oils and has fallen under increasing criticism because of its competition with regional and world food supply and the fact that its production can cause environmental damage [69]. Researchers quickly recognized these problems and looked for solutions.…”

Section: An Example In Practice: Biofuels From Vegetable Fatsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Potential of Non-Formal Laboratory Environments for Innovating the Chemistry Curriculum and Promoting Secondary School Level Students Education for Sustainability

2015

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Developing skills and attitudes among students in terms of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) requires that educators address issues of sustainability in both formal and non-formal education. However, up to now, ESD seems to have been insufficiently implemented in secondary science education in many countries in general, and in high school chemistry learning in particular. A lack of suitable experiments, coupled with missing teaching and learning materials and insufficient teacher professional development have been identified as the reasons for this gap. This paper describes a project of innovation and research in the field of ESD for secondary school chemistry education. Within the project, both half-and full-day learning environments have been developed for non-formal, laboratory-based learning of secondary level students at the university. The research-based development focuses on teaching-learning modules which link formal and non-formal learning. The pedagogy employed is both learner-centered and inquiry-based. All the modules focus on sustainability issues in chemistry-related contexts. Data was collected by questionnaires from teachers and students both prior to and after the visit of the non-formal learning environment. Likert-items were analyzed statistically and the evaluation of the open-ended questions was done by Qualitative Content Analysis. An overview of the project, OPEN ACCESSSustainability 2015, 7 1799 a case from the non-formal laboratory setting, and findings from accompanying research and evaluation are discussed in this paper. Potential impacts on teacher professional development and curriculum innovation are also outlined.

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“…Environmental protection and proper land use are some of the main concerns of mankind. Significant emission levels of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) and other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere as a consequence of burning petroleum products for various human activities and its impact on global climate is quite obvious [1]. Actions to mitigate, reduce the effects of climate change (https://www.apha.org/topics-and-issues/climate-change) offer an excellent opportunity to provide innovative methods in order to control air pollution and greenhouse gas emission.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Gene expression profiling identifies pathways involved in seed maturation of Jatropha curcas

Maghuly

Deák

Vierlinger

et al. 2020

Preprint

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Background: Jatropha curcas, a tropical shrub, is a promising biofuel crop, which produces seeds with high content of oil and protein. To better understand the maturation process of J. curcas seeds and to improve its agronomic performance, a two-step approach was performed in six different maturation stages of seeds: 1) generation of the entire transcriptome of J. curcas seeds using 454-Roche sequencing of a cDNA library, 2) comparison of transcriptional expression levels using a custom Agilent 8x60K oligonucleotide microarray. Results: A total of 793,875 high-quality reads were assembled into 19,382 unique full-length contigs, of which 13,507 could be annotated with Gene Ontology (GO) terms. Microarray data analysis identified 9,111 probes (out of 57,842 probes), which were differentially expressed between the six maturation stages. The expression results were validated for 75 selected transcripts based on expression levels, predicted function, pathway, and length. Result from cluster analyses showed that transcripts associated with fatty acid, flavonoid, and phenylpropanoid biosynthesis were over-represented in the early stages, while those of lipid storage were over-represented in the late stages. Expression analyses of different maturation stages of J. curcas seed showed that most changes in transcript abundance occurred between the two last stages, suggesting that the timing of metabolic pathways during seed maturation in J. curcas occurs in late stages. The co-expression results showed that the hubs (CB5-D, CDR1, TT8, DFR, HVA22) with the highest number of edges, associated with fatty acid and flavonoid biosynthesis, are showing a decrease in their expression during seed maturation. Furthermore, seed development and hormone pathways are significantly well connected. Conclusion: The obtained results revealed differentially expressed sequences (DESs) regulating important pathways related to seed maturation, which could contribute to the understanding of the complex regulatory network during seed maturation with the focus on lipid, flavonoid and phenylpropanoid biosynthesis. This study provides detailed information on transcriptional changes during J. curcas seed maturation and provides a starting point for a genomic survey of seed quality traits. The results highlighted specific genes and processes relevant to the molecular mechanisms involved in Jatropha seed maturation. These data can also be utilized regarding other Euphorbiaceae species.

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Does Biodiesel from Jatropha Curcas Represent a Sustainable Alternative Energy Source?

Cited by 18 publications

References 16 publications

A Three-Dimensional Sustainability Evaluation of Jatropha Plantations in Yucatan, Mexico

A Three-Dimensional Sustainability Evaluation of Jatropha Plantations in Yucatan, Mexico

The Potential of Non-Formal Laboratory Environments for Innovating the Chemistry Curriculum and Promoting Secondary School Level Students Education for Sustainability

Gene expression profiling identifies pathways involved in seed maturation of Jatropha curcas

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