Biodiesel from Rapeseed – Rapeseed Oil as Biofuel

Rapeseed oil is one of the more prominent oils used for Biodiesel preparation. In Europe, rapeseed is the most common base oil used in biodiesel production.

• How to Make Biodiesel from Rapeseed Oil - The process of converting vegetable oil into biodiesel fuel is transesterifaction. This means adding a catalyst (such as lye) to an alcohol (ethanol or methanol), heating and stirring this mixture before adding it to vegetable oil (fresh or waste fryer oil) to yield biodiesel (ethyl ester or methyl ester). Glycerin is left on the bottom after the mixture has settled. Read more from this page @ Angelfire
• Applicability of used rapeseed oil for production of biodiesel - from Industrial Oil Products article, Mar 2004 issue (PDF)
• Rapeseed Bio-diesel from Cogeneration.net
• The Power of Rapeseed – from Deutsche Welle, Germany
• Rapeseed Methyl Ester – from BioMatNet
• Development of Rapeseed Bio-diesel for Use in High-speed Diesel Engines – from Biodiesel.org (PDF)
• Biodiesel Experiences in Yugoslavia – from Biodiesel.org (PDF)
• Biodiesel Production Potential from Industrial Rapeseed (PDF)
• Economic Evaluation of Biodiesel Production from Oilseed Rape (PDF)

Content derived from Wikipedia article on Rapeseed

 Rapeseed - From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 Rapeseed (Brassica napus)

Scientific classification

Kingdom: Plantae

Division: Magnoliophyta

Class: Magnoliopsida

Order: Capparales

Family: Brassicaceae

Genus: Brassica

Species: B. napus

 Binomial name - Brassica napus L.

 Rapeseed (Brassica napus), also known as Rape, Oilseed Rape, Rapa, Rapaseed and (one particular variety) Canola, is a bright yellow flowering member of the family Brassicaceae (mustard or cabbage family). The name is derived through Old English from a term for turnip, rapum (see Brassica napobrassica, which may be considered a variety of Brassica napus). Some botanists include the closely related Brassica campestris within B. napus. (See Triangle of U)

Contents

1 Cultivation and uses

2 Nutritional value

3 Biodiesel

4 Rapeseed and health

5 Controversy

6 Production

7 Pests and diseases affecting rapeseed

7.1 Animal pests

7.2 Diseases

8 See also

9 Sources

Cultivation and uses

Rapeseed is very widely cultivated throughout the world for the production of animal feed, vegetable oil for human consumption, and biodiesel; leading producers include the European Union, Canada, the United States, Australia, China and India. In India, it is grown on 13% of cropped land. According to the United States Department of Agriculture, rapeseed was the third leading source of vegetable oil in the world in 2000, after soybean and oil palm, and also the world's second leading source of protein meal, although only one-fifth of the production of the leading soybean meal. World production is growing rapidly, with FAO reporting that 36 million tonnes of rapeseed was produced in the 2003-4 season, and 46 million tonnes in 2004-5. In Europe, rapeseed is primarily cultivated for animal feed (due to its very high lipid and medium protein content[citation needed]), and is a leading option for Europeans to avoid importation of GMO products

 Natural rapeseed oil contains erucic acid, which is mildly toxic to humans in large doses but is used as a food additive in smaller doses. Canola, originally a syncopated form of the abbreviation "Can.O., L-A." (Canadian Oilseed, Low-Acid) that was used by the Manitoba government to label the seed during its experimental stages, is now a tradename for low erucic acid rapeseed that is sometimes mis-applied to other varieties[citation needed].

 The rapeseed is the valuable, harvested component of the crop. The crop is also grown as a winter-cover crop. It provides good coverage of the soil in winter, and limits nitrogen run-off. The plant is ploughed back in the soil or used as bedding. On some ecological or organic operations, livestock such as sheep or cattle are allowed to graze on the plants.

 Processing of rapeseed for oil production provides rapeseed animal meal as a by-product. The by-product is a high-protein animal feed, competitive with soya[citation needed]. The feed is mostly employed for cattle feeding, but also for pigs and chickens (though less valuable for these). The meal has a very low content of the glucosinolates responsible for metabolism disruption in cattle and pigs[citation needed]. Rapeseed "oil cake" is also used as a fertilizer in China, and may be used for ornamentals, such as Bonsai, as well.

 Rapeseed leaves and stems are also edible, similar to those of the related bok choy or kale. Some varieties of rapeseed (called 油菜, yóu cài, lit. "oil vegetable" in Chinese; yu choy in Cantonese; and 菜の花, nanohana in Japanese) are sold as greens, primarily in Asian groceries.

 Rapeseed is a heavy nectar producer, and honeybees produce a light colored, but peppery honey from it. It must be extracted immediately after processing is finished, as it will quickly granulate in the honeycomb and will be impossible to extract. The honey is usually blended with milder honeys, if used for table use, or sold as bakery grade. Rapeseed growers contract with beekeepers for the pollination of the crop.

Nutritional value

Canola oil (or rapeseed oil) contains both omega-6 and Omega-3 Fatty Acids in a ratio of 2:1 and is only second to flax oil in omega-3 fatty acid. It is one of the most heart-healthy oils and has been reported to reduce cholesterol levels, lower serum tryglyceride levels, and keep platelets from sticking together.

Biodiesel

Rapeseed oil is used in the manufacture of biodiesel for powering motor vehicles. Biodiesel may be used in pure form in newer engines without engine damage, and is frequently combined with standard diesel in ratios varying from 2% to 20% biodiesel. Formerly, due to the costs of growing, crushing, and refining rapeseed biodiesel, rapeseed derived biodiesel cost more to produce than standard diesel fuel. Prices of rapeseed oil are at very high levels presently (start November 05) due to increased demand on rapeseed oil for this purpose. Rapeseed oil is the preferred oil stock for biodiesel production in most of Europe, partly because rapeseed produces more oil per unit of land area as compared to other oil sources, such as soy beans.

Rapeseed and health

Rapeseed has been linked with adverse effects in asthma and hay fever sufferers. Some suggest that oilseed pollen is the cause of increased breathing difficulties. This is unlikely however, as rapeseed is an entomophilous crop, with pollen transfer primarily by insects. Others suggest that it is the inhalation of oilseed rape dust that causes this, and that allergies to the pollen are relatively rare. There may also be another effect at work; since rapeseed in flower has a distinctive and pungent smell, hay fever sufferers may wrongly jump to the conclusion that it is the rapeseed that is to blame simply because they can smell it.

Controversy

The Monsanto Company has genetically engineered new cultivars of rapeseed that are resistant to the effects of its herbicide Roundup. They have been vigorously prosecuting farmers found to have the Roundup Ready gene in Canola in their fields without paying a license fee. These farmers have claimed the Roundup Ready gene was blown into their fields and crossed with unaltered Canola. Other farmers claim that after spraying Roundup in non-Canola fields to kill weeds before planting, Roundup Ready volunteers are left behind, causing extra expense to rid their fields of the weeds.

 In a closely followed legal battle, the Supreme Court of Canada found in favor of Monsanto's patent infringement claim for illegal growing of Roundup Ready in its 2004 ruling on Monsanto Canada Inc. v. Schmeiser. The case garnered international controversy as a court-sanctioned legitimation for the global patent protection of genetically modified crops.

 There was also major concern that the extensive use of herbicide led to significant loss of biodiversity as wildflowers are killed, leaving other wildlife dependent on the wildflowers unable to survive[citation needed]. These concerns are offset by the reduced need to till soil during cultivation when herbicide resistant crops are used, which promotes the conservation of topsoil.

Production

Worldwide production of rapeseed (including canola) rose to 46.4 million metric tons in 2005, the highest recorded total (source: FAO).

Top Rapeseed Producers - 2005

(million metric ton)

China 13.0

Canada 8.4

India 6.4

Germany 4.7

France 4.4

United Kingdom 1.9

Poland 1.4

Australia 1.1

World Total 46.4

Source:

UN Food & Agriculture Organisation (FAO)

Worldwide Rapeseed Production

(million metric ton)

1965 5.2

1975 8.8

1985 19.2

1995 34.2

2005 46.4

Source:

UN Food & Agriculture Organisation (FAO)

Pests and diseases affecting rapeseed

Animal pests

Harlequin bug (Murgantia histrionica)

Flea beetles (Phyllotreta sp.),

Diamondback moths (Plutella xylostella),

Bertha armyworms (Mamestra configurata),

Root maggots (Delia sp.)

Grasshoppers

Lygus bugs (Lygus)

Bronzed field beetle larvae

Snails and slugs

Diseases

Beet Western Yellows virus

Blackleg, caused by the fungus Leptosphaeria maculans

Clubroot, caused by protist Plasmodiophora brassicae

Sclerotinia white stem rot

See also

Canola

Biosafety

Transgenic plants

Triangle of U

End of Wikipedia content

Notes:

• We’d like to regularly add more useful content and web resources to Oilgae.com. Should you know of any good web resource for Biodiesel production from algae, do let us know by sending a note to [narsi]@[esource].[in] (remove [ ] for the email address). Many thanks for your patience.
• All content at Oilgae are available for reproduction and usage under the GNU Free Documentation License. Please see explanation at the end of this page for more details.
  

Add Links/Submit Links: Do you have a web resource that belongs to here? If you have a web site that you wish to include in this page, do let us know the details by sending a note about your URL to [narsi]@[esource].[in] to add URL (pl remove the [ ] to get my email address!). We’ll quickly review the web site, and if found relevant, add it to the database. Thanks!

Oilgae.com content is available under GNU Free Documentation License: All content at Oilgae.com is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation (GFDL). Put simply, under this license, anyone is free to copy & use any amount of content @ Oilgae.com, make changes to it and use it in any way they wish, as long as they also allow the same rights to anyone else for this content and give credits to Oilgae by giving a link to the specific page/s from where the content was taken (a mention of Oilgae.com and a brief description about the site is enough for offline usage). Put not so simply, see the Oilgae.com GNU Free Documentation License .

This page uses material from the Wikipedia article Rapeseed

About Oilgae - Oilgae - Oil & Biodiesel from Algae has a focus on biodiesel production from algae while also discussing alternative energy in general. Algae present an exciting possibility as a feedstock for biodiesel, and when you realise that oil was originally formed from algae - among others - you think "Hey! Why not oil again from algae!"

To facilitate exploration of oil production from algae as well as exploration of other alternative energy avenues, Oilgae provides web links, directory, and related resources for algae-based biofuels / biodiesel along with inputs on new inventions, discoveries & breakthroughs in other alternative energy domains such as Solar Wind nuclear, hydro, Geothermal hydrogen & fuel cells, gravitational, geothemal, human-powered, ocean & Wave / Tidal energy.