Page 152 - Biofuels Refining and Performance

Raw Materials to Produce Low-Cost Biodiesel 135

Figure 4.21 Chaulmoogra leaves.
(Photo courtesy of Prof. Gerald D.
Carr [www.botany.hawaii.edu/
faculty/carr/flacourti.htm].)

grow to a height of 12–15 m. The kernels make up 60–70% of the seed
weight and contain 63% of pale-yellow oil. The oil is unusual in that it
is not made up of straight-chain fatty acids but acids with a cyclic group
at the end of the chain [77].

Main uses. Chaulmoogra oil has been used for thousands of years in the
treatment of leprosy. However, it has now been replaced by modern
drugs. The expeller cake is a useful manure and is reported to ward off
ants and other insect pests. It cannot be used for animal feed due to its
toxicity. The oil has been highly active against fungal plant pathogens
including Aspergillus niger and Rhizopus nigricans. There may be a
wide scope of integrating the pharmaceutical industries based on chaul-
moogra, with the fuel and energy industries dealing with production of
petroleum hydrocarbons, such as biodiesel [180].

4.6.4. Papaya oil
Crop description. Carica papaya L. (see Fig. 4.22)—commonly known
as papaya, pawpaw, melon tree, papayier, lechosa, or mamon—belongs
to the family Caricaceae and grows in tropical to subtropical areas.
Native to South America, now the crop is widely distributed through-
out the tropics. Papaya is a short-lived rapidly growing plant (not a
true tree) having no lignified tissues. The seeds contain 25–29% oil
[77, 179]. The oil contains mainly unsaturated fatty acids, around 70.7%,
and may contain toxic components that make it unusable in human
foods [75]. Fatty acid composition of the oil includes oleic acid (79.1%)
and palmitic acid (16.6%) [179].

Main uses. Papaya is mainly used as fresh fruit, and for the production
of drinks, jams, and so forth. In some places, the seeds are used for treat-
ment against worms [181]. The green fruit is also a commercial source