Energy Saving Potential using Elite Jatropha Curcas Hybrid for Biodiesel Production in Malaysia

The world continues to search for renewable energy resources, due to the devastating effect of global warming and the dwindling resources of fossil fuels. Without needing much modifications to the existing diesel engines, biodiesel is regarded as one of the most promising ways to treat these two issues simultaneously. However, the production of biodiesel is always associated with a higher cost compared to its counterpart; the petroleum-derived diesel. In addition, the type of feedstock used in the production of biodiesel also has also become a big concern due to the never-ending fuel vs food debate. Jatropha curcas is a second generation feedstock which can be specifically grown to avoid the usage of edible oils as feedstock to produce fuel. In this paper, the energy saving potential of using elite Jatropha curcas hybrid for biodiesel production in Malaysia are evaluated by conducting a full chain energy analysis. It was found that the new hybrid consumed 25.32 MJ of energy in order to produce 1kg of biodiesel. The net energy balance (NEB) and net energy ratio (NER) when by-products are not utilized are found to be 15.89 MJ/kg and 1.63, respectively. However, the NEB and NER increase to 26.72 MJ/kg and 2.84 when the by-products are used in the biodiesel conversion process. Hence, this new hybrid of Jatropha curcas has a huge potential to be used for the production of biodiesel.