Promising Biodiesel Crop Needs Time to Prove Itself

Australia, Business News/Analysis, Farming/Growing, Feedstocks, Field/Orchard/Plantation Crops/Residues, India, Infrastructure

October 31, 2011

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by Nina Chestney (The Peninsula) Several new companies are betting on the little-known pongamia pinnata tree as a biodiesel feedstock that does not hurt food production, but a decade or more of research and development is still needed to determine its value as a commercial crop.

Pongamia pinnata, also known as millettia pinnata, is native to Australia, India and parts of southeast Asia. Its oil has so far been used in medicines, lubricants and oil lamps. Pongamia is attractive because, after six years of cultivation, its oil yield is estimated to rise to around 23 tonnes per hectare per year — almost double yields of 12 tonnes from jatropha, another tree that is a biodiesel feed crop, and 11 tonnes from palm oil.

…The medium-sized evergreen pongamia can grow on marginal arid or semi-arid land and is a nitrogen-fixing tree, which means that it helps fertilise the soil.

“The tree and oil composition look basically promising. However, it may take a long time to a large-scale, truly sustainable biofuel production,” said Birger Kerckow, secretariat at the European Biofuels Technology Platform.

…Some companies are betting on its commercial potential. Tree Oils India Ltd has bought uncultivated land in India for pongamia and jatropha plantations, while several Australian firms are investing in pongamia plantations. READ MORE

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