Date: October 24, 2008 at 08:20:46
From: Rhanie, []
URL: http://newcrop.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/duke_energy/Copaifera_langsdorfii.html
Subject: Links zu Energiepflanzen

Hallo! http://newcrop.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/duke_energy/Copaifera_langsdorfii.html Copaifera langsdorfii Desf. Caesalpiniaceae Diesel tree Source: James A. Duke. 1983. Handbook of Energy Crops. unpublished. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Uses Folk Medicine Chemistry Description Germplasm Distribution Ecology Harvesting Yields and Economics Energy Biotic Factors References -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Uses That the oleoresin called copaiba could be obtained by incising the trunk was first reported in England in 1625, in a work published by Purchas, "...a single tree is said to yield about 40 litres." (Grieve, 1931, reprinted 1974). Quoting nobel-laureate Calvin, Maugh says (1979), "Natives ... drill a 5 centimeter hole into the 1-meter thick trunk and put a bung into it. Every 6 months or so, they remove the bung and collect 15 to 20 liters of the hydrocarbon. Since there are few Rabbit diesels in the jungle, the natives use the hydrocarbon as an emollient and for other nonenergy-related purposes. But tests have shown, he says, that the liquid can be placed directly in the fuel tank of a diesel-powered car." (Maugh, 1976). The copal is used in lacquers, massage preparations, medicines, and paints. Wood and resin can be used for fuel. The wood is used in carpentry (Burkart, 1943). Folk Medicine According to Hartwell (1967-1971), balsam of one species is used in folk remedies as a fomentation, for tumors of the prostate gland. Grieve (1931) describes the balsam as stimulant, diuretic, carminative, laxative; in large doses purgative, causing nausea, vomiting, strangury, bloody urine, and fever. A good remedy for chronic catarrh and bronchitis, as it assists expectoration and is antiseptic; given with advantage in leucorrhoea, chronic cystitis, diarrhea, and hemorrhoids. It is chiefly used in gonorrhea (though not advocated for chronic cases), often combined with cubebs and sandal. It has also been recommended externally for chilblains. Both the volatile oil and resin are greatly altered when expelled in the urine, and when precipitated by nitric acid might be mistaken for albumen; it is considered a valuable hydragogue diuretic in obstinate dropsy. It creates an irritant action the whole mucous membrane, imparts a peculiar odor to the urine and breath, causes an eruption resembling measles attended with irritation and tingling; it is the resin, not the oleoresin, that is used as diuretic. Duke and Wain (1981) note that this species is a folk remedy for dermatosis, eczema, and gonorrhea. In Panama, Yaviza negros mix cabismo resin with honey and give it to the newborne, to impart knowledge and ward off hexes. The gum is also used for treating venereal diseases, for massage, and for hair oil (Duke, 1972, under "cabismo"). Chemistry In what could as well apply to other species, Hager's Handbuch lists delta-elemene, copaene, alpha- and beta-cubebene, cyperene, alpha-bergamoten, beta- and gamma-elemene, beta-farnesene, alloaromadendrene, alpha- and beta-humulene, beta-bisabolene, alpha- and beta-selinene, delta- and gamma-cadinene, ar-curcumene, calamenene. From the wood, Langenheim (1981) reports the following diterpenoids: polyalthic acid; (-)-jkaur-16-en-19-oic acid, (-) 16 betakauren- 19-oic acid and eperu-8(20)-en-15,18-dioic acid. In 1980, Calvin published the chromatogram of products obtained from Copaiba oil. Langenheim (1981) compares the sesquiterpenes of Hymenaea, shall we call it the "kerosene tree," and Copaifera, Calvin's "diesel tree." Sesquiterpene Hydrocarbons Hymenaea Copaifera Allo-arodendrene -- wood alpha-Bergamotene -- wood beta-Bisabolene wood wood delta-Cadinene leaf-pod-stem cortex wood, leaf gamma-Cadinene leaf-stem cortex leaf Calamenene -- wood Calarene pod -- Caryophyllene leaf, pod-stem cortex wood, leaf alpha-Copaene leaf-stem cortex wood, leaf beta-Copaene leaf-stem cortex wood*, leaf* alpha-Cubebene leaf-stem cortex wood, leaf* beta-Cubebene -- wood Curcumene -- wood Cyclosativene pod -- Cyperene leaf wood, leaf beta, delta, and gamma-Elemene -- wood beta-Farnesene -- wood alpha-Himachalene pod -- beta-Humulene leaf-stem cortex leaf* alpha-Muurolene pod -- beta-Muurolene -- wood gamma-Muurolene leaf-stem cortex wood, leaf* alpha-Selinene leaf-stem cortex wood, leaf* beta-Selinene leaf-stem cortex wood, leaf* Selina-4(14), 7(1l)-diene pod -- Selina-4(14), 7-diene pod -- *probably present Langenheim (1981) Description Evergreen tree to 35 m tall, to 1 m in diameter, otherwise rather resembling Copaifera officinalis, which see. In Argentina (Territorio de Misiones) it is 6-12 m tall, with paripinnate glabrous, subcoriaceous leaves 5-10 cm long; leaflets 2-4 pairs, opposite or semialternate petiolulate, elliptic ovoid, 2-6 cm long, 1.2-2.5 cm broad with finely pinnate reticulate nervation, glandular-punctate. Flowers in terminal racemes to compound panicles with numerous, subsessile whitish flowers. Sepals 4 lanceolate, concave, firm, glabrous outside, pubescent inside. Petals absent. Stamens free, (8-)10, the anthers elliptic, versatile. Ovary hirsute; briefly stipitate; fruit ovoid, compressed, ca 2 x 3 cm, coriaceous, with one large seed partially covered with a thick aril (Burkart, 1943). There is some question about the distinctness of the species. This species, called "Copaiba" in Brazil, is called "Cabismo" in Venezuela, a name applied in Darien Panama to what was identified by Duke (1972) as Copaifera officinalis, but has since been relegated to another species. Duke describes "cabismo" as one of the finest timbers in Darien. Calvin (1980) mentions another similar species, Copaifera multijuga. Germplasm Reported from the Middle and/or South America Center of Diversity, the diesel tree, or cvs thereof, is reported to tolerate some waterlogging. Seedlings germinate well in dense shade. In his lecture at Beltsville, Calvin states that he has obtained somatic fusion of Copaifera and Euphorbia. Perhaps he has changed his mind since then. (2n = 2) Distribution Because of the taxonomic obscurity of the species, I cite only northern and Amazonian South America. Ecology Probably ranging from Subtropical Dry to Wet through Tropical Dry to Wet Forest Life Zones, this copaiba probably tolerates annual precipitation of 10 to 40 dm, annual temperature of 20 to 27°C (with no frost), and pH of 4.5 to 7.5. Early USDA publications suggest that most copaiba comes from regions with annual precipitation of 3500 mm or more and annual temperature ca 27°C. Harvesting A cross section of the trunk shows that the hydrocarbons collect in thin capillaries that may extend the full 30-meter height of the tree. A holedrilled into the tree probably collects hydrocarbons from capillaries ruptured by the drilling, Calvin speculates, so that it may be possible to increase the yield by drilling additional holes. An acre of 100 mature trees might thus be able to produce 25 barrels of fuel per year. Unfortunately, in the United States the tree would probably grow only in Southern Florida. The Brazilian government has already established experimental plantations. Calvin concedes that copaifera will probably never represent a significant source of diesel fuel for the U.S. It is of interest chiefly as an example of the great diversity of materials produced by plants (Maugh, 1979). Old USDA information summaries give a slightly different harvesting story. "The wood of the tree is honeycombed with a network of connected cavities in which the oleoresin forms. To tap the tree, a drainage reservoir is hollowed out near its base by cutting inward and downward into the center of the trunk. The cavities containing the oleoresin gradually drain into these hollowed-out wells. This process is repeated several times during the season. When first obtained, copaiba is thin and clear but on aging becomes thicker and acquires a yellowish tinge." Yields and Economics USDA once reported per tree yields as high as 53 liters (14 gallons). A tree yields 53 liters of "diesel" and diesel sells for $1.00 per liter, it would pay the natives to gather the material. Apparently this is not happening to any great extent. Back in 1938, the U.S. imported from Brazil nearly 100 tons worth only ca $30,000 then, 106 tons worth ca $34,000 in 1939, and 102 tons worth ca $36,000 in 1940. Energy Although not specifically recommended as a firewood, the balsamiferouswood, with density of 700-900 kg/m3, should burn readily, perhaps even when green. Calvin (1980) reports yields of 40 liters of hydrocarbon per tree per year, which can be "used directly by a diesel-powered car." Calvin sent a sample to Mobil Corporation to obtain a cracking pattern. "It produces the same kind of mixture in general as the oil from the E. lathyris [mostly aromatics (50%), LPG (25%), and low-molecular-weight fuel gas (3 to 4%) and coke]." (Calvin, 1980). In his seminar at Beltsville, Calvin (1982) seems to favor the terpenes of Copaifera to those of Euphorbia and hopes, by somatic hybridization to develop a Euphorbia, suitable for our climates, which will produce the sesquiterpenes. Apparently N-fixation has not been reported for this species. Biotic Factors No data available. References Burkart, A. 1943. Las leguminosas Argentinas. Acme Agency. Buenos Aires. Calvin, M. 1980. Hydrocarbons from plants: Analytical methods and observations. Naturwissenschaften 67:525-533. Calvin, M. 1982. Oil from plants. Lecture at Beltsville, MD., September 8, 1982. Duke, J.A. 1972. Isthmian ethnobotanical dictionary. Publ. by the author. Harrod & Co., Baltimore. Duke, J.A. and Wain, K.K. 1981. Medicinal plants of the world. Computer index with more than 85,000 entries. 3 vols. Grieve, M. 1931. A modern herbal. Reprint 1974. Hafner Press, New York. Hartwell, J.L. 1967-1971. Plants used against cancer. A survey. Lloydia 30-34. Langenheim, J.H. 1981. Terpenoids in the Leguminosae. p. 627-655. In: R.M. Polhill and P.H. Raven (eds.), Advances in legume systematics. 2 vols. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Maugh, T.H., II. 1979. Unlike money, diesel fuel grows on trees. Science 206:436. Complete list of references for Duke, Handbook of Energy Crops -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- last update July 8, 1996 Sind 40 Liter pro anno/staude jetzt viel? Oder hier: http://www.goodnewsindia.com/Pages/content/discovery/honge.html Honge Oil proves to be a good biodiesel. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Non-edible oils as biodiesels is the right solution for India," says Dr. U. Shrinivasa. One evening in early 1999, Dr.Udipi Shrinivasa from the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore was having tea with some locals in Kagganahalli village. He had for some years been investigating various strategies that would sustain continuous economic development of this semi - arid area. "Oh there is nothing much here," a villager was saying. "No river, no wells, no electricity; just hundreds of Honge trees and tonnes of seeds. Not much use now. Our grandparents used the uneatable oil for lamps!" Dr.Shrinivasa perked up! Useless? If it can burn in lamps, it can surely run diesel engines. After all Rudolf Diesel used peanut oil to run the first ever diesel engine. The adventure begins: Back in the Institute, he quickly extracted some oil, poured it into an engine and started it. Of course it ran! And ran well too. "It was a sobering moment," he says. "Here we were,- all scientists- looking at technical solutions like windmills, gasifiers, solar panels and methane generators for rural India, and we had not made the obvious connection with the potential of non-edible oils known from Vedic times as fuels." As he excitedly researched this 'bio-diesel' or 'eco-fuel', astonishing facts and scenarios came tumbling out. In the 1930s the British Institute of Standards, Calcutta had examined, over a 10 year period, a series of eleven non edible oils as potential 'diesels', among them the oil from Pongamia Pinnata ['Honge' in Kannada]. In 1942, during those dark war years the prestigious US journal, 'Oil and Power' had in an editorial euologised Honge Oil as technically a fit candidate to generate industrial-strength power. The Cinderalla oil: What happened then? War was over, oil fields were secure again, everyone got lazy and the petroleum industry got smart: it pumped out and flooded the world with fuels, at times cheaper than the cost of water. Honge oil fell from favour and waited like Cinderalla, for its prince charming. Even the rural Indian was moving away from remembered traditions: Kerosene had arrived in Indian villages. And yet a Honge oil economy did survive in India, though once removed from direct contact with people. Dr.Shrinivasa estimates that the size of trade in Honge oil['Karanji' in Hindi and 'Pungai' in Tamil] controlled by the Bombay commodities market is 1 million tonnes feeding mostly soap making and lubricants industries. In Warrangal, Andhra Pradesh, the Azamshahi Textile Mills, set up by the Nizam of Hyderabad in 1940, generated all the power needs of the factory using non-edible oils until its recent closure; and it had surplus power left over for the city's needs! However the Honge is a much ignored tree now. It grows on regardless, waiting for its virtues to be re-discovered. It is a hardy tree that mines water for its needs from 10 metre depths without competing with other crops. It grows all over the country, from the coastline to the hill slopes. It needs very little care and cattle do not browse it. It has a rich leathery evergreen foliage, that is a wonderful manure. From year-3 it yields pods and production is a mature average of 160kG per tree per year from year-10, through to its life of 100 years. Ten trees can yield 400 litres of oil, 1200 kg of fertiliser grade oil cake and 2500kg of biomass as green manure per year. Quick economics: Dr.Shrinivasa ran through some quick numbers. A litre of Honge was equivalent in performance to a litre of diesel. If the farmer collected the seeds free from his land, had it milled and sold the oil cake at Rs.3 per kG, the cost of oil to him was Rs.4 per litre. [The cost of diesel is Rs.18 a litre today.] If he bought the seeds at Rs.3.50 per kilo, the cost was Rs.9 per litre and if he bought the ready oil from the market it was Rs.20. The potential to drive the rural economy, make it autonomous and put some cash in its pockets was obvious. "We are mindlessly increasing food grain production without caring to see how the poor would buy them. That it is why food rots and people go hungry. If the power and fertiliser needs are met by Honge, villages would have cash surpluses," says Dr.Shrinivasa. In fact the opportunity is enormous for the country's macro-economy too. "...30 million hectare equivalent [planted for biodiesels] can completely replace the current use of fossil fuels, both liquid and solid, renewably, at costs India can afford," says Dr. Shrinivasa. Our oil bill is $6 billion a year; we can put a third of that cash in the hands of rural Indians, have our oil needs met and save the two thirds. Do we have the land? Sure! Currently about 100 million hectares are lying waste in India. Cost? About Rs.1000 crores per year for 20 years and we should become self-sufficient forever in oil. Proving grounds: The idea had to move from paper to the ground. Two breaks came his way. The first was from the industry, always quick to spot an opportunity. Dandeli Ferroalloys [Dandeli Town-581 325, Karnataka] established in 1955,is a heavy consumer of electricity. Power forms 60% of their variable costs. P.V.Jose of the company read an early press release about Dr.Shrinivasa's findings on Honge oil and got in touch with him. Coordinating with Dr.Shrinivasa, Dandeli converted all five of their 1 megaWatt diesel engines to run on biodiesel. [Jose reported in Feb., 2001 that they had generated 760,000 kWH of energy entirely from Honge oil. And they are continuing the usage.] The second break came from Karnataka's Rural Development and Panchayat Raj department. A sanctioned fund of Rs. 278 lakhs was allowed to run a Honge oil programme in seven villages around Kagganahalli. Dr.Shrinivasa prepared a master plan and has been executing it at Kagganahalli. The full weight of current scientific arts was brought to bear on India's rural development. Rs.200,000 was spent on sourcing satellite images to identify fracture lines and from them, deep water sources were identified using electrical sensitivity measurements. 20 bore wells of depths varying from 200' to 300' were drilled in the project area spread over 40 sq.kM. Submersible pumps were let into the wells and a project-level 440 volt grid was created to power the pumps. At the power station two 63 kVA generators stood waiting for Honge oil. A 20kM network of 3" pipelines was buried underground with outlets at various farm-heads. Honge seeds were collected from the project area, taken to a miller at a nearby town. The only processing done on the oil was to filter the detritus that could clog the fuel pump. Ramanna, a local mechanic recruited for the project poured the oil into the engine and pressed a button. Energy flowed through the project grid, charged the pumps and water sprayed out of a rain gun. For the first time ever in history Kagganahalli witnessed a source of water other than rain. Brought that too, by the produce of that very land! Two visions: Right from the start Dr.Shrinivasa was adamant that water had to be paid for. "Pamper them and you ruin them," he believes. Water was priced competitively at Rs2.50 per kLitre. And the farmers, albeit with some theatrical moans, began to buy. In the last 18 months the fields of Kagganahalli have produced watermelons, mulberry bushes, sugar cane and grains with a confidence that water was assured. So far 40,000 kLitres of water has been sold. Not a single litre of diesel was bought! Dr.Shrinivasa has his visions fixed wide and far. For Kagganahalli, he asked himself how the growing demand for water was going to be met. Thus began the scheme to manage the watershed. Already a stream has become perennial, charged by check-dams. Afforestation of the Huliyurdurga hill nearby has seen small game arrive. Tree plantation programme grows apace. Cash incomes from seed collection and wage work opportunities are beginning to increase. An information centre will soon be ready at Huliyurdurga to impart training to groups from other parts of India. [contact details follow] For the country as whole, he grows misty with his vision. "Sir, the economics are compelling," he says. "We get green cover, environmental rewards, local incomes and nation level independence. I have not drilled through the finer details. We could easily put the oil cake through digesters that would yield a rich fertiliser slurry, methane and drop costs further. The green cover would induce happy micro-climates and increase water resources. It is all so do-able." Nothing quixotic here. Biodiesel investigation is serious stuff worldwide [read more at this link ]. Only in the west the accent has been on vegetable oils [which are far too valuable in India's kitchens] to run automobiles. Dr.Shrinivasa's thrust on the other hand, has been to use non-edible oils to ignite a process of rural enrichment. Biodiesels have many advantages. They are cheap and renewable, they disperse profits, are safe to store [due to a high flash point], need nothing new to be invented to run engines, are kinder on the engines, have a long shelf life, are biodegradable, release no more carbon di oxide than the trees originally consumed and have cooler, clearer exhausts. And to the delight of many investigators the exhaust from an engine on biodiesel "smells of pop corn and french fries!" Why do they bother?: In N.Viswanath the project has a passionate evangelist. An engineer by training, he is an able media activist. Suparna Diwakar is a bubbly consultant. And Dr.Shrinivasa is the unassuming leader of few words with an unassailable conviction. Yet some 30 years ago he grew up in a modest family of fishermen in a small town called Udipi. It was even smaller then than now. The first hop out of his town was into the new institute of technology at Chennai. Since then, a life in academe. Why should he bother beyond the routine of a withdrawn family centred life? He is obviously not personally affluent and yet he dreams of riches for India. How come this supposedly feeble land produces people like him. He and his team are a part of the little known good news about India. If you suspend your cynicism you will find them here and there. Not too many but enough. Dr.U.Shrinivasa, N.Viswanath or Suparna Diwakar SuTRA [Sustainable Transformation of Rural Areas] Dept. of Mechanical Engineering Indian Institute of Science Bangalore 560 012 Karnataka fax: 91-080-360 2435/360 2993 tel: 91-080-360 0080/309 2331 email: udipi@sutra.iisc.ernet.in / udipi@mecheng.iisc.ernet.in In Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pongamia_pinnata Gruß Rhanie.