Jatropha Biodiesel: Too expensive a proposition?

According to some new scientific reports, the Jatropha plant, which can be processed to make biodiesel which is grown in various parts of India, can cause great harm to the soil in which it’s grown. Not only that, Jatropha cultivation can also harm aquatic life, and if consumed by children, it can cause skin cancer and brain damage.

Researchers say that Jatropha oil contains tumour-promoting substances, and it is extremely dangerous for the human skin. And if consumed by children, Jatropha seeds – just four or five of them – can cause death.

With its 37 percent oil content, Jatropha has been touted as a ‘wonder plant,’ especially since it can grow on wastelands where nothing else will grow, and since its oil can be used in conventional diesel engines with very little modification.

Since Jatropha is being cultivated in many Indian states, and since the plant’s long-term impact on the environment has not been studied fully, environmentalists say that there is a need for great caution while proceeding ahead with any new Jatropha plantations. Maybe Jatropha-derived biodiesel as a replacement for the conventional diesel will be too expensive a proposition after all…