Croton Nuts: Africa’s New Biofuel that Literally Grows on Trees

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December 30, 2016

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by Kieron Monks (CNN) Croton nut may be ideal fuel with high oil and protein concentration; Leading producers are expanding rapidly; Analysts say croton avoid ethical issues of other biofuels — The Croton megalocarpus tree is common throughout much of East and Central Africa, and until now it has been used for little more than firewood.

The nuts of the tree have been shown to contain high concentrations of oil and protein, and they are now being used to produce a fuel that could serve as a clean alternative to diesel.

With an abundant supply of croton nuts available at minimal cost, a new industry is emerging with sky-high ambitions.

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In 2012, serial entrepreneur Alan Paul established Eco Fuels Kenya (EFK) to explore the potential of croton, following early research that suggested promise. His company is now the driving the movement to bring croton biofuel to the mainstream.

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EFK put out radio ads to attract local entrepreneurs into partnerships, who assembled teams of smallholders to supply the nuts. When suppliers realized their previously useless trees had become an easy and reliable source of income, the network rapidly expanded.

This has enabled EFK to double production each year, says Katz, up to 1,000 tons of nuts this year from 500 tons in 2015. The company is now in a position to scale up the operation, without having planted a single tree.

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Producing croton nut oil is a low-tech, low-energy process compared with traditional fuel manufacturing.

“It is comparable to any other nut or oil pressing facility,” says Katz. “We modify the equipment to work on croton nuts but essentially we are buying machines used with walnuts or macadamia nuts.”

Much of the fuel is sold to local businesses that run generators, such as tourist camps.

The company has also branched into selling by-products of the nuts, including seedcake from the pressed nut as poultry feed, and organic fertilizer from the shells. This offers insurance at a time investors remain wary of biofuels, says Katz.

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EFK is also planning a first foray into an “orchard model” of planting its own trees on a 500-acre plot in 2017, that will allow the company to test and push the limits of croton capacity.

“There is an interesting topic of crop efficiency,” says Katz. “An indigenous tree with access to normal rainfall might produce 100 kilograms of nuts a year. But the optimum trees will produce over 300 kilograms…The ‘orchard model’ can change outcomes dramatically.”

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Croton can also avoid the ethical pitfalls of other biofuels by benefiting local communities, according to Rodrigo Ciannella, head of the biofuels program at the World Agroforestry Centre.

“(Croton) is providing value from a natural resource that is already abundant in the country and is largely wasted,” he says. “Farmers are already benefiting from receiving additional income…and they could get even more by having access to other components of the value chain such as fertilizer.” READ MORE

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