Background
The PCJ’s Planning & Implementation Unit (PIU) currently manages the Corporation’s Font Hill Farm, which consists of 2,700 acres (1,092.6 hectares) of land in St. Elizabeth. Font Hill Farm is located on the South Coast of the island. PCJ’s Centre of Excellence for Renewable Energy worked collaboratively with the PIU to introduce a biodiesel experiment at the Farm. The Biodiesel Experiment is designed to meet four primary objectives:
- To ascertain the yield and oil content per acre of various varieties of c
astor, jathropa, sunflower and grapeseed (Phase 1).
- To build knowledge capacity regarding the growing of biodiesel feedstocks on marginal lands (Phases 1 & 2).
- To investigate the financial costs and benefits of biodiesel farming and small scale bio-oil production (Phases 1 & 2).
- To inform policymakers of the local opportunities and challenges of pursuing biodiesel production, arising out of this experiment (Phases 1, 2 & 3).
The Experiment was designed around three phases as follows:
Phase 1, FY2008-9: This will involve the development of a trial plot and the planting of Nordistan seeds donated by the Federal Republic of Brazil on a one acre site. Additional seed varieties will be sourced based on research by the core team. A multi-cropping approach will be used to facilitate comparative analyses of feedstocks on an additional 99 acres of land. Minimal application of fertilizers, pesticides, fungicides and herbicides will be carried out. Fertilizer requirements will be supplemented by the plant waste derived from the biodiesel seed crushing operations. Field experiments will monitor plant height of the varieties selected, seed weight harvested at maturity, stem girth at harvest, percent oil content of beans and percent germination. The focus of the study is on the various varieties of feedstock hence the treatment, spacing and irrigation of the seeds will be consistent across the site. Fences will be used to delineate the experimental plots.
Phase 2, FY 2009-10: This will involve the selection of the oleaginous plants with the “best yields and oil content” relative to the site conditions. The planting of 300 acres is envisaged. This phase will also involve the optimization of production systems to support maximum yields.
Phase 3, FY 2010 - 11: This phase will involve the full-scale expansion of the project to 600 acres. The full scale expansion will consider the national programme plans and priorities and will be integrated into that activity. It is believed that the solutions developed in Jamaica will have applicability to other farms, and other island nations and developing countries that are considering local biodiesel production.
VARIETY of CASTOR BEAN: Nordistan
QUANTITY of SEEDS: 10kg or 6lbs
ACREAGE PLANTED: 2,430 sq m. (26,136 sq. feet)
PLANTING DATES: March 19 & 26, 2008
The first 50% or 3lbs. of seeds were planted on March 19, 2008 by direct seeding and the remaining 3lbs were presoaked and planted on March 26, 2008. The castor plot is divided into two sections, one 21 m (70 ft) wide and the other 7 m (23ft), separated by an area 6 m (20 ft) wide. The length of the plot is 90 m (295 feet). A spacing of 1.2 m (4ft) x 0.9 m (3 ft) was used when planting the castor. The first section was originally land used for a nursery and has 19 rows of castor plants. The second section has five rows. There is a plot of cantaloupes to the left of the castor plot (35 m by 13.4 m). Additionally, there are 2 rows of corn to the left of the cantaloupes. The terrains slope angle at about 39o from North to South.
Figure 1. PCJ’s CASTOR PLOT
Plot Latitude:18 4 N degree minutes and Longtitude: 77 56 W degree minutes
Drip irrigation was applied from the beginning of planting. Wire fencing was erected around the castor plot to protect the plants from animals and intruders. Growth and vigor of the two castor plots is satisfactory. However, the castor plants seems to need wider spacing as trees were leaning to increase photosynthesis and leaves in the shade were turning brown. Application of 25 kilogrammes of 14-28-14 was done at 2oz per plant on the May 5, 2008 when the plants were one and one half (1 ½) months old. In this experiment, two rows of plants were unfertilized to observe if there is any specific difference in production in fertilized against the unfertilized. Flowering was observed at the 6 week stage and this has been progressing satisfactorily.
On July 29, 2008 the older plants measured an average of 2.3 m (7 ft) tall. The largest castor plants 2 – 3 m tall were observed to the left of the castor plot, especially towards the top and bottom sections of the plot. The plants got smaller in size as one moved right. The plants towards the right of the first plot were approximately 1 – 1.5 m tall and had one fruit bunch at the very top of the plant. A few of the plants were yet to start bearing fruit.
On August 13, 2008 the plants were observed to have thick trunks that split into several stems. Stems split to form spikes and leaves, spikes have arrays of castor capsules. Leaves are broad umbrella like: insects such as spiders use it as shelter. Leaves chang
e from green to yellow before they fall off. Plants are hollow except at the joints where they are solid. Plants are fragile so they have to be handled gently (bending plants more than 30 degrees can cause them to break). Plants having fruits at 2m (6 ft) or more have to be bent carefully during harvesting. Plants showed continuous outward growth (new shoots were seen developing at joints). The large umbrella like leaves have 6 pointed, finger like lobes. Long purple leaf-stems were attached near the center of the leaves. Red and light green blossoms were produced in narrow upright clusters. Before harvest the capsules are green, with a soft spiny exterior. When the fruit is ready for harvest, the soft green exterior dries and strips away, leaving a hard brown capsule. Due to the windy conditions, the decision was taken to support the plants by staking.
The condition of the soil where the smallest plants were observed seemed drier and tougher than where the largest plants were seen. This is attributed to the fact that the land was previously used as a plant nursery. As a precautionary measure, a fungicide/insecticide mixture has been applied. Manual weed control has been done twice, but with the aggressive weed growth, an application of herbicide has been done and this is proving quite effective. Bees and wasps are attracted to the fruit blossoms. Small insects also took shade under the underside of some leaves.
The harvesting of castor bean capsules began on Friday July 18, 2008. The beans are currently being dried on canvas to support seed maturity and oil extraction. On average, each plant has produced a minimum of three to a maximum of fifteen fruits. Each fruit contains a minimum of thirty three (33) to a maximum of eighty (80) capsules. Each capsule contains three castor beans. The largest of the castor plants had 15 stems, with 10 fruit bunches. On average the castor plants observed had two to four fruits. The length of the fruit bunch on the largest tree was 1 ft, while the leaves measured approximately 0.6 m in width by 0.8 m in length. The girth of the trunk towards the root of the plant measured 28 cm (11 inches); while a trunk girth measurement of 20 cm (8 inches) was obtained closer to the top. The girth of the largest stem was measured at 13 cm (5 inches). The harvested seeds are dark brown in colour and oval shaped with a shiny, thick outer coat. It was observed that delays in harvesting may cause dehiscence and shedding of seeds to the ground. During dehiscence capsules make a popping sound when discharging their seeds.
PCJ is seeking to produce 16.5 million gallons (64 million litres) of biodiesel for distribution to the Jamaican market. This will require the identification of about 50,000 acres o sub-par or marginal lands and the collection of waste vegetable oil. At the national level, a phased approach to biodiesel production and development is being proposed. In the first stage it is envisaged that a small scale 5 ton a day plant (500 gallons per day) and nut sheller will be procured to process the biodiesel. In the second stage, the project will be expanded by procuring a 50 ton a day plant (5,000 gallons per day) with grain storage silos and testing capabilities. In the third phase of the project, the national market demand will be met by building a large scale 16 million gallon per year plant, with the requisite tank storage, lab testing and quality control capabilities. These plants will be designed to use the transesterification process and bi-products such as fertilizer meal and pharmaceuticals will be recovered for resale.
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