Reclaimed Water Use in Biofuel Production

Water

Mar໚ del Pino Palacios-Diaz²  Vanessa Mendoza-Grimón²  Idaira Hernández Brito³  Juan Ramón Fernández-Vera³  José Manuel Hernández-Moreno¹ 

[1] Departamento de Biología Animal, Edafología y Geología, Universidad de La Laguna, San Cristóbal de La Laguna 38200, Spain; E-Mail:;Dpto Producción Animal, Grupo Investigación GEOVOL, Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Fac. Veterinaria, Arucas 35013, Spain; E-Mail:;Laboratorio Agroalimentario y Fitopatológico del Cabildo de Gran Canaria (Agri-Food and Phytopathological Laboratory); Arucas 35013, Spain; E-Mails:

关键词: Jatropha curcas;    water consumption coefficient;    partial root-zone drying (PRD);    biodiesel;    subsurface drip irrigation (SDI);   

DOI  :  10.3390/w7094848

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

Jatropha curcas L., a toxic species that does not interfere with the food chain, produces biodiesel of better environmental quality than mineral oils. However, in order to cultivate it sustainably, it is necessary to optimize the limited resources used, mainly water and soil. Therefore, in arid areas, it is necessary to cultivate under intensive conditions, irrigate with reclaimed water and cut production costs. To optimize water consumption, partial root-zone drying (PRD), which keeps a part of the root system dry, was used. This water management strategy, employed successfully in other oil crops, yielded less fruit per bunch, but more fruit bunches per plant. This fact will probably allow to establish higher planting density and, consequently, higher productivity per surface unit. This is one of the few available options for improving profitability as production per tree is stable (1.25kg seed plant⁻¹ year⁻¹ for the most productive trees, with excellent climate and soil, and no limitations water use). A high percentage of fruit lying on the ground (24%) and non-uniform timing in fruit production (except some specimens) greatly hinder its mechanization. Although this crop’s environmental and socio-economic benefits are not taken into account, it is very difficult, with only the calculated water consumption (15.5 m³ water per L of oil or 5.6 m³ water per L of oil according to our best estimations), to consider it a profitable option.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2015 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.