Energy Sources Part A-recovery Utilization and Environmental Effects, Vol.38, No.6, 797-804, 2016
Biophysicochemical evaluation and micropropagation study of Jatropha curcas and Ricinus communis for biodiesel production
The upcoming energy sources of Jatropha curcas and Ricinus communis promise to mitigate the energy crisis and environmental pollution belonging to the Euphorbiaceae family. Both of them have been researched in terms of availability, cost, and biochemical parameters. The seed oils of various jatropha and castor biotypes were screened out and evaluated for their physiochemical parameters viz. oil content (34-49%), biodiesel yield (30-81%), density (0.875-0.971 g/cm(3)), viscosity (0.6032-2.004 mm(3)/s), iodine value (75-450.45 mg/g), free fatty acid value (0.986-3.400 mg/g), saponification value (59.29-93.79 mg/g), flash point (133-218 degrees C), fire point (163-262 degrees C), fatty acid composition, and ash content (0.065-0.398%), and were estimated for comparison between jatropha and castor biotypes. Various combinations of auxins with cytokinins were used for a regeneration study. The best shoot regeneration (70%) was observed in MS medium supplemented with NAA (0.5 ppm) and BAP (2.5 ppm). Root induction (95%) was successfully obtained in plane MS. Acclimatization and hardening was quite successful with a survival rate of 70%.