Seed Oil Project Expected to Ease Burden of Costly Fuel

Tag : oil fuel
Seed Oil Project Expected to Ease Burden of Costly Fuel

Kibiwott Koross
Released : Thursday, October 02, 2008 4:35 AM
Nairobi, Oct 02, 2008 (The Nation/All Africa Global Media viaCOMTEX News Network) -- Kenyans may soon breath a sigh of reliefwhen buying fuel, if a biodiesel project by a university goescommercial.
Retailing at Sh85 a litre, the fuel, which is mostly used intractors, is more than Sh15 cheaper than diesel sold by oildealers.
The Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology,together with Help Self Help Centre, based in Naromoru, nearNanyuki Town, are currently producing between 600 and 1,000 litresof the fuel daily.
The fuel is extracted from locally available seeds such as croton,cape chestnut and castor seeds.
The alternative fuel has seen farmers in Naromoru abandoning whatthey normally cultivate, to turn to the new crops for their seeds,said Mr Paul Maina, the project's field coordinator.
"Seed is being bought from farmers at Sh15 per kilogramme and anacre of land can yield about 1,000 kilogrammes."
He said: "A farmer can earn close to Sh15,000 after investing onlySh4,000 per acre," said Mr Maina.
The seed is first cleaned and then pre-heated in a conditioner toallow the seeds to be flaked in preparation for further cooking.
The flaking is to rupture the oil cells. It eases the next steps ofthe crushing process, and if available, the solvent extraction.
The flaked seed is then fed into a cooker, where the seed'smoisture levels are reduced and temperature increased inpreparation for pressing.Inside the press, a specially designedworm configuration compresses the seeds, allowing the controlledrelease of oil.
The oil is drained from the bottom of the press while the cake isconveyed from the discharge end of the press.
The crude oil at this point contains solids that are removed usinga vibrating screen or a horizontal centrifuge, also called adecanter. Cake from the discharge end of the press goes through acake breaker and cake cooler.
Another seed -- canola or rape seed -- which is also crushed forbiodiesel, is preferred by large scale farmers for rotation withcash crops such as wheat.
"Canola has soil enriching properties and is good for farmersgrowing cereals like wheat. It is also good for the production ofedible oils," Mr Maina said.
The sponsors use an extensive network that involves farmers' groupsto get the seeds.
Harvesting seed
They also offer technical advice to farmers on the growing,management and harvesting of rape seed, castor and croton.
The machine being used at the centre was bought from TheNetherlands for Sh2 million.
According to Mr Peter Grundlehner, a research manager at Help SelfHelp, the project required a lot of seeds to go into large scaleproduction. Farmers need to be contracted to supply the seedsthroughout the year to make the supply constant.
"One would need contracted farmers to supply them throughout theyear. Otherwise production would come to a halt even with theinstallation of the right machines", he said.
He said four kilogrammes of seed are required to produce a litre ofbiodiesel.
And because biodiesel can be produced domestically from a renewableresource, it also reduces dependence on foreign oil, increasesagricultural revenue, and creates jobs, he added.
"Kenya could find herself out of the current fuel problem that iscausing problems all over the world" he told the Nation at thestand at Jamhuri showground where the Nairobi International tradefair is currently running.
This would substantially help reduce rural poverty whilesubsidising incomes from other farm enterprises like dairy andmaize production.
China's ambassador to Kenya, Mr Zhang Ming, who toured the stand,said that the innovation was a step forward in ending the fuelcrisis.
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Keywords:
Agriculture , Food & Beverage , Middle Eastern & African Agriculture , Food & Beverage , Alternative Energy Sources , Business News , Environmental Solutions , Environmental , Ingredients , Food & Beverage Production , Top World News , Africa , East Africa , Kenya , Middle Eastern & African Business News , Middle Eastern & African , Fats , Shortening & Oils , Natural Resources