Influence of cultivation parameters on production and quality of biodiesel obtained from Jatropha curcas seeds

In recent years several research groups have been trying to study and develop different techniques to convert vegetable oil into biodiesel. They have also been working to produce biodiesel from plants which do not compete with food crops for the people. One plant that meets all these requirements is the Jatropha Curcas and it is the object of this work. This plant is of great importance as it allows its cultivation under difficult environmental conditions; its production cycle is only 40 years. In this project the oil extraction and the biofuel production from the seeds of this plant has been studied. The seeds used are of Brazil origin, grown in “Gavia” and “Fondo de Barranco” soils, with superficial and ground-based irrigation, using desalinated water and treated with doses of 75% and 100% ETP. Both the extracted oil and biofuel obtained were characterized using the procedures corresponding to European Standard UNE-EN 14214. Finally, for both soils studied, the optimal culture parameters for Jatropha curcas irrigated with desalinated water is proposed.