Progeny evaluation of Jatropha curcas and Pongamia pinnata with comparison to bioproductivity and biodiesel parameters

Vinod Kumar Patil?Prithviraj Bhandare?Pramod B.Kulkarni?G.R.Naik

Progeny evaluation of Jatropha curcas and Pongamia pinnata with comparison to bioproductivity and biodiesel parameters

Vinod Kumar Patil?Prithviraj Bhandare?Pramod B.Kulkarni?G.R.Naik

Progeny studies of Jatropha curcas and Pongamia pinnata were carried with respect to bioproductivity, pod and seed characters which is one ofthe selection methods in tree improvement programmes.Variations in bioproductivity and biodieselparametersofboth theplantswere compared every 6 months for 4 years of investigation and analyzed by analysis ofvariance and correlation coefficient by Pearson’s method using software Graphpad instat 3.06 (for Windows and Mac).P.pinnata has better germination rate(71.4%),100 pod weight(PW)(311.59 g)and 100 seed weight(SW)(173.46 g)as compared to J.curcas for germination rate(43.2%),100 PW(111.29 g)and 100 SW (67.46 g).P.pinnata has strong correlation forplantheight to canopy growth(CG)(0.948),collar diameter(CD) (0.994),numberofbranches perplant(NBP)(0.995)and to numberofleavesperbranch(NLB)(0.862)ascompared to J. curcas which showed good correlation among plantheightto CG(0.976),CD(0.970),NBP(0.988),NLB(0.920)and to number of pods per branch(0.657).However,J.curcas depicted negative correlation for pod breadth to seed length (SL)(-0.447),seed breadth(-0.248)and to seed thickness (ST)(-0.364)and among the 100 PW to SL(-0.199),ST (-0.220)and to 100 SW(-0.704).About4 kg of P.pinnataseeds were required for each liter of crude oil which yields 896 ml of biodiesel on transesterification as compared to 5.66 kg of J.curcas seeds fora literofcrude oil,producing about663 mlofbiodiesel.The quality ofbiodieselmeetsthe major specification of American Society for Testing and Materials(ASTM)standards forbiodiesel.The crude glycerin and seed cake obtained as byproduct during biodiesel production were also measured which can be purified and used in composting,animal feeds,pharmaceuticals and cosmetic industries.

BiodieselBiofuelplantsBioproductivityJatropha curcasPongamia pinnata

Introduction

India is the fifth largest energy consumer in the world and imports 70%of its total petroleum,oil and lubricants (POL)which grew to US$155.6 billion in 2011–12 showing a higher growth of 46.9%as compared to 21.6%a year ago with an average price of US$111.6 per barrel (India foreign trade 2013–2014).So the issue of biofuel production needs careful and well thought strategy as the demand for diesel is five times more than the demand for petrol.The biofuel policy of India emphasizes that the biofuel production particularly biodiesel should be without competing with land and water resources which are much needed forfood production.The major emphasis should be on developing wastelands which are unsuitable for crop growth.Based on extensive research,over 300 diverse species oftrees yielding oilbearing seeds are identified,out of these 37 species were found to be appropriate for conventionalbiodieselproduction throughoutthe world(Azam et al.2005;Subramanian et al.2005).

The major sources of non-edible oil yielding plants in India with high oil content(OC)are Jatropha curcas (30–35%),Pongamia pinnata(30–40%),Simarouba glauca(60–65%),Madhuca indica(30–35%),Ricinus communis(30–35%),Azadirachta indica(30–35%)and these are considered as potentialfeedstock for biodieselproduction which areabundantly grown in semiarid regionsin many partsoftheworld including India(Karmeeand Chadha2005; Puhan etal.2005;Akpan etal.2006;Dash etal.2008;Rao etal.2008).Among the majornon-edible oilyielding plants, J.curcas and P.pinnata are judged as the prominentspecies, so the Planning Commission of India referred both plants as promising candidates for biodiesel programmes due to its multiple benefits and wide adaptability(Wanietal.2009). These species are resistant to drought and salinity,nongrazing,easy in propagation,high seed yield,high protein manure and sustain theirgrowth in semiarid climate,hence concerted efforts are required to harness the potentials through wellplanned technology oriented developmentof J. curcas and P.pinnata initiatives.

Extensive research is necessary for identification of elite cultivars by comparing their bioproductivity parameters and to characterize the variability among these biofuel species(Kaushik et al.2007;Vasav et al.2011).In the present investigation,a comparison between progenies of J.curcas and P.pinnata for their bioproductivity,pod and seed characters and biodiesel parameters is attempted to select a suitable cultivar to grow in semi-arid condition.

Materials and methods

Plantmaterial

A survey was conducted foridentification and collection of locally available,high oil yielding wild cultivars of J. curcas and P.pinnata from North Karnataka regions of India based on their yield potentials during their respective fruiting season.The seedlings of J.curcas and P.pinnata were raised in beds(black soil:sand:farm yard manure in 2:1:1 ratio)in three replicates.After attaining 1 year of age (or60 cm in height),the progenies were transferred to field trials(fallow land)in 60 cm3pits and 1.8 m spacing between the plants of J.curcas and 3.6 m among P.pinnata.The experiments were conducted at the Biodiesel Technology Park of the University campus,the area receives an annual average rainfall of 832 mm and temperature ranges up to 44–47C during peak summer.

Bioproductivity studies

Progeny saplings of 50 plants each of J.curcas and P.pinnata were selected randomly forbioproductivity studieslike germination count(GC),seedling height or plant height (PH),canopy growth(CG),collardiameter(CD),numberof branches per plant(NBP),number of leaves per branch (NLB),numberofflowers perbunch(NFB),numberofpods perbranch(NPB)and numberofseeds perbranch(NSB)by the methodology given in Table 1(Kumaran 1991;Divakara and Rameshwar2011).The data was collected periodically every 6 months till4 years ofgrowth.The pod length(PL), pod breadth(PB),seed length(SL),seed breadth(SB)and seed thickness(ST)were measured using Vernier calipers and 100 pod weight(PW),100 seed weight(SW)were measured using an electronic balance and the totalOC in the seeds was estimated by soxhlet extraction method using n-hexane as the solvent(Kaushik etal.2007).

Biodieselproduction

Biodiesel was produced in a transesterification unit,by transesterification of triglycerides in oil with methanol inpresence of an acidic or a basic catalyst.The free fatty acids(FFA)in oilwas estimated by titrating the mixture of oil and isopropanol against 0.1 N NaOH using phenolphthalein as an indicator,The oil containing low FFA (FFA2%)is transesterified by heating the oil to about 70C in a reactor,add sodium methoxide(mixture of sodium hydroxide and ethanol)and stop the reaction when the reaction mixture changes to cherry red color.The reaction mixture can be separated in a separating funnel. The upper layer consisting of fatty acid methyl ester (FAME)forms the biodiesel fraction and lower layer with high density is glycerol.The oil having higher FFA was processed by acid transesterification method,where the FFA’s in oil are converted into their alkyl esters using an acid like H2SO4as the catalyst and all types of esters present in oil were converted into their corresponding FAMEs using the base catalyzed transesterification process as described earlierand the biodieselis purified by wetand dry washing process to remove the impurities(Vivek and Gupta 2004;Karmee and Chadha 2005;Tyagi etal.2010). Biodieselquality tests like copper strip corrosion,viscosity and flash point of biodiesel were performed as per ASTM standards ASTM D130,ASTM D445 and ASTM D93 respectively.

Table 1 Methodology for measuring the bioproductivity of Jatropha curcas and Pongamia pinnata

The formula for calculation of FFA in oil

where MBR is the mean burette reading,N is normality of the titrating solution,w is the weightof the sample of oilin grams and 28.2 is the molecular weight of oleic acid divided by ten.

Data analysis

The data was compiled and the mean,standard error and variance among the parameters ofbioproductivity,pod and seed characters,quantity and quality of biodiesel,glycerin and seed cake was analyzed by analysis of variance (ANOVA)and correlation coefficients were calculated to determine the relationship between the characters by Pearson’s method using software Graphpad instat3.06 for Windows and Mac.

Results

As shown in Table 2,ANOVA of all the bioproductivity parameters revealed a significant variation between and within the species of J.curcas and P.pinnata during their growth.The data wascollected afterevery 6 monthsby field studies on bioproductivity which shows gradualincrease in plantheight,CG,CD,NBP and NLB which directly correlates the relation among the bioproductivity parameters.

Major growth in plantheightof Jatropha was observed between 24–30 months after germination and CG between 30–36 months,early flowering was observed in Jatropha with 5.8 flowers per bunch.The highest OC was observed when pods get matured around 56 months after flowering. J.curcas showed approximately two times increase in number of flowers and number of pods during 3,642 months after germination(Table 2).P.pinnata showed high value in PW(311.59 g),SW(173.46 g)and OC(42.61%)which ultimately increase the biodiesel production as compared to J.curcas which has PW (111.29 g),SW(67.46 g)and OC(33.54%)as shown in Table 5.

The correlation coefficient between the bioproductivity parameters was calculated by Pearson’s method using Graphpad instat 3.06 version for Windows and Mac.J. curcas showed high significance with plant height to CG (0.976),CD(0.970),NBP(0.988),NLB(0.920)and to number of pods per bunch(0.657)and good correlation was observed between CG to CD(0.997),NBP(0.973), NLB(0.972)and number of pods per bunch(0.719).On contrary,Pongamia showed high correlation between plant height to CG(0.948),CD(0.994),NBP(0.995),NLB (0.862)and to number of pods per bunch(0.602)and fair correlation was observed among CG to CD(0.958),NBP (0.942),NLB(0.969)and to NFB(0.596).The correlation between pod and seed characters of P.pinnata showed positive results for 100 PW to SL(0.622),SB(0.791),ST (0.749),100 SW(0.889)and to OC(0.741)and between SL to SB(0.712),ST(0.516),100 SW(0.781)and to OC (0.705),however Jatropha showed negative correlation between PB to SL(-0.447),SB(-0.248)and to ST (-0.364)and between 100 PW to SL(-0.199),ST (-0.220)and to 100 SW(-0.704).The descriptive statistical analysis and correlation with respect to morphological growth characteristics(bioproductivity),pod and seed characters are presented in Table 3,4.

Seed weightis an importantfactorto determine the seed OC and thus a better biodiesel quantity is expected but negative correlation among 100 SW to 100 PW(-0.704), SL(-0.462),SB(-0.758)and to ST(-0.187)of Jatropha affects the quantity of biodiesel/liter of oil(663.35 ml), quantity of glycerin/liter of biodiesel(347.42 ml)and also seed cake/kg of seeds(710 g).However in Pongamia, better correlation was observed between 100 SW to PL (0.408),100 PW(0.889),SL(0.781),SB(0.968)and to ST(0.851),so the quantity of biodiesel per liter of oil is 895.96 ml,quantity of glycerin/liter of biodiesel is 202.93 ml and seed cake is 580 g/kg of seeds as given in Table 4,5.

Table 3 Correlation coefficient matrix of bioproductivity of Jatropha curcas(J)and Pongamia pinnata(P)from germination to anthesis and seed maturity

Table 4 Correlation coefficient of pod and seed characters of Jatropha curcas(J)and Pongamia pinnata(P)

Table 5 Oil and biodiesel quality parameters with their correlated parameters of Jatropha curcas and Pongamia pinnata in North Karnataka region

The quality of biodiesel viz.copper strip corrosion showed negative for both Jatropha and Pongamia,viscosity is 5.4 cstof Jatropha and 4.86 cstof Pongamia and flash pointis 158C of Jatropha and 152C of Pongamia when tested as per ASTM standard methods ASTM D130, ASTM D445 and ASTM D93 respectively and the biodiesel quality meets the ASTM D6751 standards for biodiesel.Thus,according to the results obtained from the studies on bioproductivity,pod and seed characters and their correlation and even the biodiesel parameters,P. pinnata can be considered as a good candidate biodiesel plant on semiarid tropical conditions of North Karnataka.

Discussion

In India,the domestic supply of crude oil will satisfy only 27–30%of the demand and the rest have to be met from imported oil.Fluctuating global prices,depletion of reserves,dependence on imports and environmental pollution are major concerns associated with fossil fuel energy.Biofuels derived from renewable biomass resources can increasingly satisfy the energy needs thereby providing an eco-friendly fuel with higher degree of national energy security.Among the tree borne non-edible oil yielding species,J.curcas and P.pinnata have became more popular for mass propagation in India and abroad for production of biodiesel.Although 42%seed OC from Jatropha has been reported in India(Suniletal.2008),but poor yield and lack of variability in the germplasm has become a disadvantage to consider it,however P.pinnata which is native to India has emerged as an alternative tree for biodieselproduction.Azam etal.(2005)projected that the area required for biodiesel production from P.pinnata is less than half thatis required for J.curcas.Tree breeding programme is largely dependenton the extentof variability in the base population which is measured by genotypic and phenotypic variance.Identification of better genotypes or superior phenotypes having better yield and OC is the initial step in any tree improvement strategies(Surendran et al.2003).

Performance evaluation of selected progenies will provide necessary and valuable information for establishing large scale plantations comprising of quality planting materials.Being an agricultural country,India offers a great promise as a producer of surplus raw materials for biodiesel production,there are large patches of degraded forest land,unutilized public land and fallow land.Indigenous production of biofuel will save foreign exchange worth several million dollars and also generate employmentopportunities in ruralareas.The association between the seed size and germination efficiency with fresh seeds in P.pinnata has been reported(Manonmani et al.1996), hence seeds with good width may be selected forproducing better progenies in addition to 100 pod and SW.In the present study,progeny studies on locally available,high yielding wild varieties of J.curcas and P.pinnata seeds which have grown in semiarid climate and variation during the growth was clearly evident.

All the parameters exhibited considerable amount of variation during early growth as well as the progeny trials of the trees,with respect to increase in plant height,NBP, NLB and CD of Jatropha and Pongamia.However in comparison,only Pongamia showed good bioproductivity and correlation between plant height to CG(0.948),CD (0.994),NBP(0.995),NLB(0.862)and significant correlation was also studied in 100 pods weight to SL(0.622), seed width(0.791),ST(0.749),100 SW(0.889)and oil percentage(0.741).

The high OC may influence seed structure and germination and similar results have been reported on other tree borne oil seeds(Kaura et al.1998).Biodiesel from J. curcas,P.pinnata,M.indica and A.indica seeds are known to provide a useful substitute for diesel by the transesterification process(Ma and Hanna 1999;Hideki et al.2001;Kumar et al.2003).The amount of biodieselproduction depends on the SWas itdirectly dependson OC in seeds(Srivastava and Verma 2008),the seed cake can be used in organic farming,biogas production etc.and glycerin obtained as byproduct depends on unsaturated fatty acids in oil which can be purified and used in food,pharmaceutical or cosmetics industries.

AcknowledgementThe authors thank UGC,Government of India, New Delhi,for funding the project UGC-MRP No.F.No.-39-258/ 2010(SF)date 28.12.2010 and also to Karnataka State Biofuel Development Board,Bengaluru for establishmentof Biodieselunitin Gulbarga University,Gulbarga.

Akpan UG,Jimoh A,Mohameed AD(2006)Extraction,characterization and modification of castor seed oil.Leonardo J Sci 8:43–52

Azam MM,Amtul-Waris Nahar NM(2005)Prospects and potential of fatty acid methyl esters of some non-traditional seed oils for use as biodiesel in India.Biomass Bioenergy 29:293–302

Dash AK,Pradhan RC,Das LM,Naik SN(2008)Some physical properties of simarouba fruit and kernel.Int Agrophysics 22(2):111–116

Divakara BN,Das Rameshwar(2011)Variability and divergence in Pongamia pinnata forfurtheruse in tree improvement.JForestry Res 22(2):193–200

Hideki F,Kondo A,Noda H(2001)Biodiesel fuel production by transesterification of oils.J Biosci Bioeng 92:405–416

India foreign trade(2013–2014)RBI monthly bulletin,August 2014

Karmee SK,Chadha A(2005)Preparation of biodieselfrom crude oil of Pongamia pinnata.Bioresour Technol 96:1425–1429

Kaura SK,Gupta SK,Chowdhury JB(1998)Morphological and oil content variation in seeds of Azadirachta indica A Juss.(neem) from northern and western provenances of India.Plant Foods Hum Nutr 52:121–128

Kaushik N,Kumar S,Kumar K,Beniwal RS,Kaushik N,Roy S (2007)Genetic variability and association studies in pod and seed traits of Pongamia pinnata(L.)Pierre in Haryana,India. Genet Resour Crop Evol 54:1827–1832

Kumar S,Gupta AK,Naik SN(2003)Conversion of non-edible oil into biodiesel.J Sci Ind Res 62:124–132

Kumaran K(1991)Genetic analysis of seed and juvenile seedling attributes in neem(Azadirachta indica A.Juss.)and pungam Pongamia pinnata(Linn.)Pierre.M.Sc.Thesis.Tamil Nadu Agricultural University,Coimbatore,India

Ma FR,Hanna MA(1999)Biodieselproduction:a review.Bioresour Technol 70(1):1–15

Manonmani V,Vanagamudi K,Vinaya Rai RS(1996)Effectof seed size on seed germination and vigour in Pongamia pinnata. J Tropical For Sci9:1–5

Puhan S,Vedaraman N,Rambrahamam BV,Nagarajan G(2005) Mahua(Madhuca indica)seed oil:a resource of renewable energy in India.J Sci Ind Res 64:890–896

Rao TV,Rao GP,Reddy KH(2008)Experimental investigation of Pongamia,Jatropha and neem methylesters as biodieselon C.I. engine.Jordan J Mech Ind Eng 2(2):117–122

Srivastava PK,Verma M(2008)Methyl ester of Karanja oil as an alternative renewable source energy.Fuel 87:1673–1677

Subramanian AK,Singal SK,Saxena M,Singhal S(2005)Utilization of liquid biofuels in automotive diesel engines:an Indian perspective.Biomass Bioenergy 9:65–72

Sunil N,Varaprasad KS,Sivaraj N,Suresh Kumar T,Abraham B, Prasad RBN(2008)Assessing Jatropha curcas(L)germplasm insitu—a case study.Biomass Bioenergy 32:198–202

Surendran C,Sehgal RN,Paramatma M(2003)Textbook of forest tree breeding.Indian Council of Agricultural Research,New Delhi,p 247

Tyagi OS,Atray N,Kumar B,Datta A(2010)Production,characterization and developmentof standards for biodiesel—a review. J Metrol Soc India 25(3):197–218

Vasav VP,Narkhede SS,Rane AD,Gunaga RP,Rewale AP,Bhave SG(2011)Evaluation of progenies of candidate plus trees of Pongamia pinnata(L.)Pierre.for seed germination and seedling vigour.Curr Sci 100(4):465

Vivek Gupta AK(2004)Biodiesel production from Karanja oil.J Sci Indian Res 63:39–47

Wani SP,Shreedevi TK,Marimuthu S,Rao AVRK,Vineela C.2009. Harnessing the potential of Jatropha and Pongamia plantations for improving livelihoods and rehabilitating degraded lands.In: 6th International Biofuels Conference,pp.256–272

3 November 2012/Accepted:13 June 2013/Published online:13 January 2015

Project funding:This work was supported by the project UGC-MRP No.F.No.-39-258/2010(SF),UGC,Government of India,New Delhi

The online version is available at http://www.link.springer.com

Corresponding editor:Chai Ruihai

Department of Biotechnology,Gulbarga University, Gulbarga 585106,Karnataka,India

e-mail:grnaikbiotech@gmail.com