Engineering Research & Consulting Co. was contracted to collect data about the production of biodiesel from Jatropha in Egypt. This exploratory study was conducted for the purpose of preparing the input data for a prefeasibility study to be performed by our client.

Data were collected from primary and secondary sources, interviews were held with various Egyptian experts, and visits were made to two Jatropha farms. In the process, a clear picture evolved for the status and prospects of producing biodiesel from Jatropha plantations in Egypt, which are presented in this report.

In general, documented data on Jatropha plantations in Egypt remain scarce. The Egyptian experience with Jatropha is not well documented. Data obtained orally from experts in this field do not correlate well upon deeper analysis. Thus, it was important in this study to verify all pieces of information by crosschecking with other experts and by comparison with reliable scientific literature.

Table ‎11 summarizes or gives links to answers of the questions raised in the scope of this study. More information were gathered during the course of this exploratory study and are presented in this report along with some conclusions regarding the viable options of Jatropha/Biodiesel projects in Egypt.

Table ‎11 Summary or links to answers of the questions raised in the scope of this study

Parameter	Value	Comment
Jatropha Water Consumption	3500 m³/acre/year	Values in Egypt tend to be higher than values reported elsewhere. See Section ‎4.1.
Seed production		Productivity is function of many parameters. Wide variation in literature. See Section ‎4.4.
Planting Density		Different patterns are used in Egypt and elsewhere. See Section ‎4.3.
Labor Requirement	0.05 person/acre	Most critical value for the economic model. See Section ‎4.5.
Quality and source of water	Treated wastewater from WWTP	Almost all Jatropha farms in Egypt are irrigated with treated wastewater. See Section ‎4.7.
Field Production Data		See Section ‎4.8 for a description of data available.
Transportation Methods		Two options are available. See Section 4.9.
Data of oil produced, quality and quantity		Oil produced only in experimental quantities. See Section ‎4.10.
Data of pressing plants, costs, contractors, etc.		No pressing plants currently exist in Egypt. Secondary sources were used. See Section ‎4.11
Data about residual of pressing operation		Three options are available. See Section ‎4.12.

Introduction

Our client is currently studying the option to enter in Bio-Diesel business in Egypt. It aims at investing in an integrated farming and processing project based on Jatropha plants. Jatropha could be grown on low quality waters, possibly from sewage or drainage sources. Its plantation requires a large number of workers especially during the harvesting season, contributing to the country's plan of reducing the unemployment, especially in marginalized communities.

Our client is interested in investigating the availability of land, water and labor to establish a pilot plant of an area 1,000 to 10,000 acres.

The full scale project would be established on an area of 100,000 to 200,000 acres.

Study Objectives

The objective of this study is to collect the necessary data needed to develop a preliminary financial model and preliminary costing of a pilot farm and plant for the production of Bio-Diesel from Jatropha plant seeds.

This study will also serve to determine the preliminary technical and financial viability of a full scale project that would be studied in more detail in a second phase.

Scope of the Study

The current study (Phase 1) will focus on the already existing pilot farms in Egypt in order to prepare a final report covering the following points:

Water consumption and relevant seed production
Planting Density (number of trees per acre) and relevant seed production
Labor data including numbers, wages, availability and productivity
Any recorded accidents due to the toxic nature of the plant
Quality of water used and source of such water
Production data and transportation methods
Data of oil produced, quantity and quality
Data of the pressing plant cost, contractor, cost of operation, area used, etc.
Data about the residual of the pressing operation and how it was handled

Implemented Methodology

The research was based on the following three dimensions:

Secondary data collection from published and unpublished sources
In-depth Interviews with relevant experts at different levels
Field Visits to two pilot farms including in-depth interviews at the field level

It is common in such pilot projects, especially when run or supported by governmental bodies to find lots of contradicting data due to the existence of different interest groups also with hidden political agendas. For this reason, we selected the above research combination as to be able to cross check the data gathered, also at its primary sources in the field to assure as much as possible the quality of information.

Study Team

Engineering Research & Consulting Co. put together a team of project managers and experts to conduct this study in the short timeframe that was mandated in its contract with its client. The study team consisted of a core team, contributors and participants. The core team was responsible for managing the study, contacting the experts and writing the final report. The contributors were contracted to spend their time to significantly contribute to the study. The participants were interviewed for this study either by phone or by personal meetings and they participated by sharing their information and expertise with regards to the scope of this study.

Core Team

The core team consisted of the following individuals, all from the ERCC team.

Name	Position	Institute
Seif Fateen	Assistant Professor of Chemical Engineering	Cairo University ERCC
Alaa Fahmy	Assistant Professor of Chemical Engineering	Cairo University ERCC
Ahmed Fayez	Assistant Professor of Chemical Engineering	Cairo University ERCC

The resumes of the core team are provided in Appendix 1.

Contributors

The contributors were experts who were contracted to provide significant contribution to the study. They are listed in Table ‎21.

Table ‎21 List of contributors to the study

Name	Position	Institute
Sayed Khalifa	Consultant to the Afforestation and Environment Sector	Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation
Mohamad Mostafa	Undersecretary of State for Afforestation and Environment	Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation
Fathy Taha	Private Consultant	Previous Amiral Employee Governmental Relationship Officer
Mohamad Abdel-Naim	Professor of Soil and Water Quality – Manager of Abou Rawwash Pilot Farm	Agricultural Research Center Soil Water and Environment Research Institute
Ashraf Ghanem	Professor of Irrigation and Hydraulics	Cairo University

Interviewees

Table ‎22 lists the names and positions of the experts interviewed in this study.

Table ‎22 List of study interviewees

Name	Position	Institute
Awad Shafiq	Manager of Luxor Forest	Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation
Mohamad Abdel Wahab	Agricultural Contractor	Worked in the land preparation of Amiral Farm
Gamal Riad	Private Consultant	Previous Amiral Employee Governmental Relationship Officer
Guzine El Diwani	Professor of Chemical Engineering	National Research Center

Jatropha in Egypt

Different entities are interested or have experience in Jatropha in Egypt. The current Jatropha farms are shown in Figure ‎31.

Figure ‎31 Map showing the current Jatropha farms in Egypt

Ministry of Agriculture

The Afforestation and Environment Sector at the Ministry of Agriculture is responsible for planting trees in the desert belt. This sector has planted Jatropha in many wastewater-irrigated forests as shown in Figure ‎31. Table ‎31 lists the locations of the wastewater-irrigated forests that grew Jatropha along with their area and start of plantations.

Table ‎31 Ministry of Agriculture's artificial forest that has Jatrpha trees

Governorate	Location	Allocated Area (acre)	Planted Area (acre)	Jatropha Area (acre)	Jatropha planting Date
Sohag	Alcola	750	200	200	2003
Luxor	Luxor	2000	600	200	2003
Al-Wadi Al-Gadid	Mout, Eldakhla	700	300	280	2005-2006
Aswan	Elalaki	400	300	100	2007

The purpose of these plantations is to make use of the wastewater and to reclaim the desert. No significant efforts have been made to optimize the production of Jatropha seeds.

The Holding Company for Water and Wastewater

The Holding Company of Water and Wastewater has a pilot area (2 acres) in Abu Rawwash that is currently being used as an experimental field for the plantation of Jatropha. Agricultural experiments are being evaluated with the purpose of increasing the productivity of the Jatropha seeds.

Amiral

Amiral Holdings Ltd is a private company that was in control of the Sokhna Port Development Company until Dubai Ports World acquired 90% of the SPDC in October 2007 for $670 million. Amiral has large-scale plans to produce biodiesel from Jatropha through an investment of $115 million. It has partnered with Austria's Power Tech International, an engineering and construction company, to establish the Sokhna Biodiesel Company at Sokhna Port to produce biodegradable diesel fuel from Jatropha and other plants. In 2005, the company was reportedly planning to build two oil-pressing plants, based on proven technology to produce 80,000 tons of oil per year at full capacity.

The company has invested in preparing a 20-year master plan for the production of biodiesel from Jatropha plantations, which will be located in various sites. The company had requested to use 115,000 acres in its first phase and is planning to extend its land use to 255,000 acres in the second phase.

In Suez, 7,000 acres were assigned to Amiral, from which only 300 acres were planted. The farms are managed by Karston Middle East, which is a subsidiary of Karston in South Africa. Amiral had an agreement with Aswan Governorate to use 10,000 acres of land for Jatropha Plantation. However, Aswan Governorate has recently decided to withdraw this land because Amiral had not started planting after two years from signing the agreement. Yet, in this past week, Amiral was able to extend its agreement and committed to the Governorate that it will speed up its planting schedule.

The oil-pressing and biodiesel processing plants are planned to be constructed at Sokhna Port. Project managers reportedly believe they can price a ton of biodiesel from the plant, including shipping costs, at two thirds of the prevailing price in Europe. Foreign Direct Investment magazine reports that Amiral Biodiesel has already contracted to off-takers in Europe.

LIFE – Integrated Water Resources Management

LIFE–IWRM is a joint activity between the Egyptian Ministry of State for Environmental Affairs (MSEA) and the Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation (MWRI), and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

One of the tasks assigned to this project was to investigate using treated wastewater in irrigation. They issued a report in March 2007 (El Helepi 2007) that had a preliminary market study on the production of Jatropha in Egypt. With regards to Jatropha, the report concluded that

To be economical as a biofuel, Jatropha needs to be cultivated on a large scale, thousands of feddans, and shipped to a refining facility in a country with an insufficient domestic supply of fossil-based fuels. It might also be commercially cultivated for export purposes only, but has to be exported in the form of processed oil, and various byproducts such as glycerin, cake animal feeds, and organic fertilizers. Jatropha best fit within a fully integrated business model that incorporates the whole supply chain, including producer, processor, and exporter. Moreover, it would best for Jatropha to be intercropped during early years of cultivation with non-perennial crops such as flax or sorghum—if that is technically possible. At this point, Jatropha needs more intensive applied agronomy and marketing research work.

National Research Center

The Department of Chemical Engineering in the National Research Center has a group of researchers headed by Dr. Guzine El-Diwani, who have been performing research on the conversion of Jatropha crude oil in biodiesel. They have tested the conventional transesterification biodiesel process for the conversion of Jatropha crude oil obtained from Luxor farm seeds. Their results, summarized in a Techno-Evaluation presentation hosted on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs web site, were based on pilot plant experiments and do not significantly differ from the scientific background in this area. Their economic cost estimate is too elementary to be considered in a commercial-based feasibility study.

Other Interested Parties

Many parties are interested in producing biodiesel from Jatropha, most notably from Germany and Korea. The German Technical Cooperation (GTZ) has sent many delegates to meet with various authorities in Egypt to investigate the possibility of such venture. Since Germany is set to meet the European Union's target for biofuel use of 5.75% in 2010, it is expected that these scoping studies will continue in the near future. To our knowledge, no clear commitments have been made yet.

The "Koreans" have recently signed a protocol with the Ministry of Environmental Affairs to invest $160 million to start a pilot Jatropha project. They are reportedly looking for 16,000 acre in Al-Saff or 45,000 acre in Abu Rawwash.

There are small scale research experiments done in Rafah, North Sinai in 1998 by Dr. Mohamed Abdel-Wahab of the Desert Research Center. The trees were irrigated using ground water in the summer and rain in the winter and resulted in production of 1.5 kg/tree/year.

Production Facts and Figures

Water Consumption

Jatropha can be irrigated either by drip or by surface irrigation. Dripping usually uses about 40% less water. The water consumption values are presented below for the governmental farms, the experimental farm in Abu Rawwash, and Amiral farm.

Governmental Farms

The existing governmental farms are drip irrigated with 20-25 m³/day/acre (7,000-9,000 m³/year/acre). The main target of the governmental artificial forests is to get rid of as much water as possible. Thus, no effort has been made to reduce the amount of consumed water or to optimize the water for optimum seed production.

Experimental Farm in Abu Rawwash

This year, the experimental farm in Abu Rawwash has just started monitoring of the water use. Their method of irrigation is surface irrigation. They have an irrigation program that depends on the needs of the plant, the season and the stage of growth. Their main researcher predicts that the average yearly water consumption of Jatropha plant in Egypt would be in the range 5000-6000 m³/year/acre using surface irrigation. When drip irrigation is used, he predicts a consumption level between 3000 and 3500 m³/year/acre.

Amiral Farm

The water consumption in Amiral farm ranges between 6 to 10 m³/day/acre with an average value of 8 m³/day/acre. The average yearly water consumption is calculated to be 3000 m³/year/acre.

Recommended Range for the Feasibility Study

With proper agreement with the government, water can usually be given for free. This sort of agreement was made between Amiral and both the Holding Company for Water and Wastewater concerning the Suez and Aswan farms. Thus, its rate of consumption is not a critical factor in the direct cost estimate. Obviously, the rate of water consumption affects the pumping and water network system. However, the saving in the pump capacities is not a major factor.

Nonetheless, an accurate estimate of water consumption is important for the calculation of the total area to be cultivated. A value of water consumption of 3000 m³/acre/year using drip irrigation is thus considered reasonable for the feasibility study.

Planting

Planting is usually done by direct seeding. Seeds are available from Luxor and from Abu Rawwash for 3 EGP/kg. The seed germination rate reaches 90%.

If direct seeding is the chosen plantation method, the growing trees would start producing seeds after two years of plantation. In case of planting using seeds cuts, the growing trees would start producing seeds after 8 months of plantation. However, stems would need to be cut from existing trees and wrapped to ensure they survive the transportation to the new site. This would increase the cost of plantation. Otherwise, seed cuts can be generated from already existing trees in the farm. It is estimated that one acre can generate seed cuts sufficient for planting ten acres.

Planting is done through digging a small hole for the seeds, seedlings or seed cuts to lie in. Agriculture experts give a cost of 0.5-0.75 EGP per hole of size 30x30x50 cm. The seeds can be purchased from Abu Rawwash farm for 3 EGP/kg which would suffice for planting one acre.

Planting Density

Jatropha trees are planted in a 3 x 3 pattern in the governmental farms, which gives a density of 470 trees/acre.

The Abu Rawash experimental farm has trees in a 3 x 3.5 pattern, which gives a density of 400 trees/acre). Their main researcher suggests that 3 x 3.5 is the optimum distance for labor movement, sunlight penetration and ease of harvest. Though, they have not experimented with any other distances.

It is reported that in India the trees are planted in a 2 x 2 pattern, which gives around 1000 trees/acre. The size of the trees is reportedly controlled through pruning operations.

A production model in Ghana uses a 2 x 3 pattern in their calculations (Caminiti, et al. 2007).

Table ‎41 shows the number of trees per acre for different planting spacing.

Table ‎41 Number of trees per acre for different planting spacing

Pattern (space between trees in m)	Number of trees per acre
2 x 2	1000
2 x 3	670
3 x 3	470
3 x 3.5	400

The number of trees per acre is an important parameter that affects the productivity of oil per acre. Increasing the planting density does not necessarily mean higher productivity. No published study reports the optimum planting density in Egypt or anywhere else. A pilot project must be developed to investigate this point further to arrive at an optimum value that will ensure proper sunlight penetration, enough space for labor movement and seed harvesting, minimum labor cost and maximum oil production.

Seed Production

Seeds are defined as the three seeds that are collected from the fruit, not the fruit itself.

Harvesting is reported to be done two times per year (Jongschaap, et al. 2007). The amount harvested from Luxor farm was never measured. Estimates range from 1-2 tons/acre.

For Abu Rawash experimental farm, it is predicted that the production of seeds begins at 0.5 ton/acre after one year to reach an average of 4 ton/acre after five years with good farm management. Their recommended number of trees is 400 tree/acre.

Abu Rawash main researcher asserts that the harvesting can be done four times per year. His estimate for the yield per tree ranges from 1 kg/year in the first year to 5 kg per year after four years with good farm management. This yield is based on the weight of the total fruit and the high value is only an estimate but is similar to reports in the literature.

The productivity will vary with the age of the tree. Table ‎42 shows an estimate by Dr. Abdel-Naim for the acre productivity with prudent farm management.

Table ‎42 Seed Production per acre versus the age of the farm

Year	Productivity, ton seeds/acre
1	0.5
2	1
3	1.5
4	2
5	2.5
>5	3

A scientific report (Jongschaap, et al. 2007) published in October 2007 (Appendix 5) discusses various claims on Jatropha Curcas and gives a 0.25 to 1.7 ton seeds/acre for the reported yields and projects a maximum yield of 3.1 ton seeds/acre for mature trees.

Oil constitutes between 20 to 40% of the seed mass. A value of 30% is typically reported as basis for feasibility studies calculations.

Labor

Planting Jatropha on a large scale naturally requires a large number of workers. In fact, the cost of labor is the most critical value in the economic model. Thus, labor requirement is discussed here in some details.

A typical hierarchy of labor in an Egyptian involves a farm manager, farm agricultural and mechanical engineers, supervisors and laborers.

Farm manager

The farm manager is the most important person in the farm. He needs to be qualified with experience in managing large farms for oil production. His job description includes the following activities:

planning finances and production to maintain farm progress against budgeted parameters;
buying supplies, such as fertilizer and seeds;
arranging the maintenance and repair of farm buildings, machinery and equipment;
maintaining and monitoring quality of Jatropha seeds;
ensuring that farm activities comply with government regulations;
maintaining a knowledge of pests and diseases and an understanding of how they work;
applying health and safety standards across the farm;
monitoring and documenting all yields and land use to meet funding requirements;
protecting the environment and maintaining biodiversity;
keeping financial records up to date.

Due to the importance of this position, Amiral has hired a South African company with experience in grape production to manage their farm in Suez.

The typical salary of a farm manager in Egypt ranges between 6,000 and 10,000 EGP per month. One farm manager is needed for every farm.

Farm engineers

A farm needs agricultural and mechanical engineers. The agricultural engineers are responsible for the following activities:

managing the fertilizer dosing and timing;
managing the pruning schedule and implementation;
managing the irrigation program;
assisting the farm manager perform his tasks;
managing the harvesting process.

The mechanical engineer would be responsible for all farm machinery such as the pumps, tractors, generators, etc.

Farm supervisors

Farm supervisors manage the work force. Typically, each farm supervisor manages 20 workers.

Farm labor

Labor is needed to perform the following tasks:

Planting
Maintenance
Weeding
Pruning
Harvesting

The governmental farms utilize one person per 20-25 acre with extra labor hired during harvesting. Even though the typical labor requirement in Egypt for this type of plantation is one person per 10 acres, Jatropha planations in governmental farms does not require much labor work. On the other hand, the experimental farm in Abu Rawwash utilizes two workers per acre due to the labor-intensive surface-irrigation method used in the farm. Its main researcher suggested using one person per acre in a production farm.

A recent study (Jongschaap, et al. 2007) reports that labor input for crop maintenance increased from 1 person per 40 acres during the first year to 1 person per 13 acres after 6 years.

Since labor cost is a major component of the farm cost, it is important to minimize labor use by prudent management policies and efficient training. With these conditions, it is possible to use 1 person per 20 acres as is used in Luxor farm.

During the harvest season, extra labor is needed for the collection of seeds. Since the fruits have variable ripening time, the harvest window is large which does not necessitate a large number of workers during the harvest time. Based on the direct observation during harvest process in Abou Rawwash farm, we estimate that one worker can harvest one acre per day.

Wages

Wages depend on the location of the farm and the quality of the labor. Table ‎43 presents the typical salaries of farm workers in Egypt.

Table ‎43 Typical salaries of farm workers

	Upper Range (Delta and reclaimed desert in Lower Egypt)	Lower Range (Upper Egypt)
Farm Manager	10,000 EGP/Month	3,000 EGP/Month
Farm Engineers	4,000 EGP/Month	1,000 EGP/Month
Supervisors and Technicians	2,000 EGP/Month	600 EGP/Month
Normal Labor	800 EGP/Month	300 EGP/Month
Seasonal Labor	30 EGP/Day	12 EGP/Day

Summary of labor requirement

The labor requirement for a Jatropha farm varies with the farm size. For a reasonable estimate of labor cost, two bases are presented Table ‎44. It is important to note, as discussed later, that no wastewater treatment plant in Egypt produces sufficient water to irrigate a 100,000-farm. Thus, the values in Table ‎44 are shown for illustrative purposes only.

Table ‎44 Labor requirement for two different size farms

	5,000-acre farm	100,000-acre farm
Farm Manager	1	1
Agricultural Engineers (1 per 2500 acres)	2	40
Mechanical Engineers	1	3
Supervisors (1 per 200 acres)	25	500
Normal Labor (1 per 20 acres)	250	5000
Seasonal Labor (harvest seasons – man-day/year)	10,000	200,000

Plant toxicity and reported accidents

The outer skin of the fruit is reportedly carcinogenic. Thus, protective gloves should be used during harvesting.

During an experimental planting in North Sinai in 1999, the workers reported that six goats died after being fed with plant leafs. In the same experimental farm, a group of labor was poisoned after eating Jatropha seeds. They were hospitalized and later recovered.

It is reported that a non-toxic Brazilian variety is available.

Irrigation water sources and quality

Planting Jatropha on treated wastewater is an attractive option. In fact, irrigating Jatropha with ground water, surface water or rainfall is not a viable option in Egypt. The Egyptian government is seeking creative solutions to make use of the vast amount of wastewater that is currently being pumped out of the waste water treatment facilities. The available treated wastewater is estimated to be 2.5 billion m³ per annum, which can irrigate up to 830,000 acre of Jatropha.

The treated wastewater is available close to the wastewater treatment plants, which are in turn close to the populated cities. Thus, a viable option would be to distribute Jatropha farms close to the major treatment plants to make optimum use of the excess water.

The quality of wastewater has been shown in the current Egyptian farms to be very suitable for Jatropha growth. Treated waste waters are rich in nitrogen and potassium, which are two of the primary nutrients that any plant needs. The third primary nutrient is phosphorus, which is lacking in the wastewater. However, with its current constituents and without any additives, wastewater was very successful in growing Jatropha in Luxor farm. A good option is to use a fertigation system that mixes the wastewater with additional nutrients, especially phosphorus, before application to the plants. This process will adjust the water pH, provide the third essential nutrient and eliminate the need to manually apply fertilizers to the plants as is being done in Abu Rawwash experimental farm.

Field production data

The field production data were collected from various farms that grow Jatropha in Egypt. These production data are included in Appendix 2. A brief discussion of the various parameters can be found below.

Planting Method

According to Luxor Farm experience, direct seeding and seedlings were equally feasible.

Seed cuts are used successfully in Abu Rawwash farm with drastic reduction in time to harvest from two years to eight months.

Due to the high salinity level of the soil in Suez, Amiral has used compost and rice straw in the holes prepared for the seeding.

Irrigation Method

Drip irrigation is the preferred irrigation method when treated waste water is used to avoid direct exposure of the workers to the water. Drip irrigation uses less water but it requires the installation of a drip irrigation network. The cost of such network depends on the quality of the pipes and valves used, and it is estimated to be 3,000 to 7,000 EGP/acre.

In Abu Rawwash experimental farm, surface irrigation was used. Using Surface irrigation in a production farm will reduce the land preparation cost from 7,000 EGP/acre to a much lower value that depends on the type of soil and topography of the land. With surface irrigation, 25-40% more water will be needed per tree.

Figure ‎41 Surface irrigation used in the Abu Rawwash Jatrohpa farm

Figure ‎42 Drip irrigation used in Luxor Jatropha farms

Fertilizers Usage

No fertilizers are used in the governmental farms. Abu Rawwash researcher asserts that the wastewater lacks phosphorus which the plant needs. He estimates that the acre of Jatropha annually needs superphosphate fertilizer for about 300-500 EGP.

Amiral apparently used both compost and chemical fertilizers in their farm in Suez. No reliable confirmation could be obtained.

Pest Control and Use of Pesticides

No pest control is used in any of the governmental farms or in Abu Rawwash experimental farm.

In the North Sinai experiment, some diseases impacted the trees. No pesticides were used in that experiment.

(Jongschaap, et al. 2007) reported some diseases that can affect the Jatropha trees.

Pruning and trimming

In the governmental farms, pruning was done only once last year to enhance the production of seeds. In Abu Rawwash farm, pruning is done once a year for the same purpose. When done properly, pruning can increase the tree productivity.

Transportation methods

After harvest, there are two options for transportation.

Transport the seeds as is to the biodiesel plant

Ensures consistent oil-pressing in the centralized biodiesel plant (positive)

Does not require safety precautions since the seeds are not flammable (positive)
Centralizes the location of the pressing residue which can be dealt with uniformly (positive)
Requires large volume of trucks for transportation (negative)

Press the seeds in situ to produce crude oil, which is then transported to the biodiesel plant
1. Requires lower volume of trucks (positive)
2. Requires more expensive truck with higher safety standards to transport the flammable oil (negative)
3. May require nitrogen blanketing in the tanks since Jatropha oil is hydroscopic (negative)
4. Requires swift handling since jatropha oil is high in acid and has a tendency to degrade quickly (negative)

A decision needs to be made to take economic, social and engineering aspects into consideration. However, based on the quick analysis of the pros/cons of the two options, transporting the seeds to the biodiesel plant seems to be a better option.

Oil quantity and quality

The oil content of Jatropha seeds is reported to be in the range of 30-35%. Dr. Guzine El-Diwani of the National Research Center reported slightly lower values (25%) by analyzing the seeds from the Luxor farm. Dr. Mohamed Abd-El-Naim also reported that the oil extracted ranged between 30-40% and have reached 45% in some cases.

According to Dr. Abd El-Naim, the oil can be sold as is to European markets for 8 EGP per kg. This value amounts to $1,450 per ton, which seems too high and has not been confirmed. The current quoted price of Jatropha crude oil from Nigeria is $250 per ton. LIFE–IWRM report (El Helepi 2007) gives a value of $320/ton f.o.b for world price of crude oil in March 2007.

Table ‎45 presents the quality of the Jatropha crude oil and biodiesel extracted from the Luxor farm as reported by Dr. Guzine El-Diwani in her presentation.

Table ‎45 Comparison between the properties of Biodiesel obtained from Luxor Jatropha seeds with Diesel sepcifications

Property	Jatropha crude oil	Biodiesel from Jatropha	Standard Specification for Diesel
Density at 15ºC, g/cm³	0.920	0.879	0.82-0.84
Viscosity at 30ºC, cP	52	4.84	3.6
Flash Point, ºC	240	191	80
Neutralization number, mg KOH/g	0.92	0.24
Sulfated ash, % weight		0.014
Cetane number		51	48
Carbon residue, % weight		0.02	<0.05

The specifications of the Jatropha biodiesel from the Luxor seeds are similar to those of the Jatrohpa biodiesel from other parts of the world.

Processing facilities

To convert Jatropha seeds to biodiesel, two major operations need to be undertaken:

Extraction of oil from Jatropha seed and pretreatment.
Manufacture of bio-diesel from Jatropha oil.

These two operations need not be done in the same facility.

The processing steps to convert Jatropha seeds to biodiesel are shown schematically in Figure ‎43.

Figure ‎43 Process block diagram for the conversion of Jatropha seed to biodiesel

During the biodiesel production process, alcohol (methanol or ethanol) and a catalyst (sodium or potassium hydroxide) are used. Also, glycerin is produced as a byproduct. For the calculation of the utilities and raw materials costs, it is important to get estimates of the quantities of raw materials per ton of biodiesel produced. Such estimates were corroborated from various sources and are listed in Table ‎46.

Table ‎46 Main process constituents for biodiesel production

Vegetable oil	1 ton
Alcohol (methanol or ethanol)	120 kg
Catalyst (Sodium or Potassium Hydroxide)	10 kg
Glycerin	110 kg
Biodiesel	950 kg

Equipment Suppliers

The conventional Biodiesel process is a traditional process that has been utilized in industry for tens of years. Thus the equipment can be procured from different countries or manufactured locally. However, procuring equipment from a supplier with experience in the production of biodiesel from Jatropha is preferred, especially that there are many such suppliers.

Table ‎47 lists a number of suppliers with experience in producing biodiesel from Jatropha. This list is far from exclusive.

Table ‎47 Some Equipment Supplier for Biodiesel Extraction from Jatropha

Supplier	Country of Origin	Website
Energea Biodiesel Technology	Austria	www.energea.at
Dedini	Brazil	www.dedini.com.br
D1 PLC	England	www.d1plc.com
Lurgi	Germany	www.lurgi.com
Nova BioSource Fuel Inc	Germany	www.novaenergyholding.com
GHP Biodiesel	Germany	www.ghpbiodiesel.de
Biodiesel Technologies	Germany	www.biodieseltechnologies.com
BDI Biodiesel International	Germany	www.bdi-biodiesel.com
TinyTech Plants	India	www.tinytechindia.com
United Oil Machinery & Spares	India	www.umas-india.com
Gagan International	India	www.oilmillspares.com
Jatrodiesel	USA	www.jatrodiesel.com
Crown Iron Works Company	USA	www.crowniron.com

Some of the above supplier offer modular units that can be easily transported. For example, D1 offers a unit for a capacity of 10,000 t/year. Its dimensions are shown in Table ‎48.

Table ‎48 Dimensions of a typical biodiesel unit and associated distillation column

Equipment	Weight (ton)	Dimensions (L x W x H, m)
D1 30 Modular Unit	23	10 x 3 x 4.3
Distillation Column	5	1.75 x 1.75 x 14.4

Equipment Cost

As there are no biodiesel facilities in Egypt, the equipment cost could not be found from the primary sources that we interviewed. Hence, secondary sources were used to find the estimates of the equipment cost (FOB).

A quotation was obtained from an Indian company for equipment of a Jatropha biodiesel plant. It is reported in Table ‎49 along with equipment cost for a higher biodiesel capacity obtained from a secondary source.

Table ‎49 Equipment cost for small biodiesel plants

Producer	Capacity (t/day)	Equipment Cost	Reference
Tinytech, India	3.6	$30,650	Direct quote
Gagan International, India	13.5	$127,000	(Biswas, Kaushik and Srikanth 2005)

Capital Cost

According to (Biswas, Kaushik and Srikanth 2005), the capital cost for a 10,000 MTPA of biodiesel is $5.1 million. This capacity roughly corresponds to around 20,000 acres of Jatropha farm.

The capital costs for a number of plants under construction are India is shown in Table ‎410.

Table ‎410 Capital cost for commercial biodiesel plants

Company	Capacity (t/day)	Capex	Reference
The Southern Online Biotechnologies Ltd.	30	$3.8 M	(Biswas, Kaushik and Srikanth 2005)
Nova Bio Fuels Pvt. Ltd.	30	$5.1 M	(Biswas, Kaushik and Srikanth 2005)
Jain Irrigation System Ltd	150	$12.2 M	(Biswas, Kaushik and Srikanth 2005)

Operating Cost

The operating cost for a biodiesel plant comprises of the following elements:

Labor
Power
Utilities
Cost of raw materials
Depreciation
Financing

A detailed investigation needs to be performed to arrive at operating cost estimates for the Egyptian market. For comparison, the operating cost per ton of biodiesel produced is estimated at $557/t in Ghana (Caminiti, et al. 2007) and $307/t in India (Biswas, Kaushik and Srikanth 2005). The relatively high cost in Ghana is attributed to the high cost of methanol.

Pressing of residuals and its handling

The residual of the pressing, also called "seed cake," amounts to 70% of the seed weight. For every ton of oil produced, more than two tons of seed cake needs to be economically disposed of. Since the amount of seed cake will be large for any Jatropha seed processing plant, it is important to arrive at an economic use for the seed cake. There are three alternatives that have been discussed by the experts with regards to the use of the seed cake.

Fodder

Despite the fact that the seed cake is toxic, it can be used as an animal feed either by detoxification or by limited additions to other animal food. Detoxification is a complicated process and is expected to be expensive (Jongschaap, et al. 2007). Feeding the seed cake to rabbits at concentrations of up to 20% were successful in an experiment referred by Dr. Guzine El-Diwani of the National Research Center.

To be considered, this option needs to be studied to ensure the existence of a market for such a large amount of toxic animal feed.

Fertilizers

Seed cake is rich in nutrients and can be used as organic fertilizers after composting. Compost price is currently in the range of 50 to 100 EGP/ton.

Biogas production

Seed cake can be used to produce biogas through anaerobic fermentation. Also the remaining compost can be used as fertilizers. It is reported (Biswas, Kaushik and Srikanth 2005) that seed cake has been used in India to provide energy for the biodiesel plant. To date, no technical or economic evaluation has been done in Egypt for such a process.

Waste Water Availability and Prices

Even though the investigation of wastewater availability was not within the scope of this study, we were inadvertently faced by data regarding the location and quantities of wastewater in the course of our study. Here, we present an overview of our findings with the disclaimer that further technical study needs to be performed, perhaps in subsequent phases, to fully pinpoint the options for locating the Jatropha farms and the biodiesel plant.

According to sources from within the Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation, the Egyptian authorities would permit Jatropha planting in large acreages only when treated waste water is used for irrigation, due to limited water resources in Egypt (both Nile water and ground water). Fresh waters would be kept to grow edible products.

Thus, the spontaneous answer to the question "where to grow Jatropha" would be: close to large waste water treatment plants, especially to those where cheap desert land is available. However, there are several factors that need to be studied in more detail to refine this answer to select the most suitable sites for plantation. These factors may include:

Size of the waste water treatment plant. Is the amount of waste water produced sufficient for the establishment of an adequate size of farm to run an economic operation
How much waste water is currently utilized from these treatment plants (for irrigating forest trees, or mixed to agricultural drainage water for further mixing somewhere in the irrigation network)
The degree of treatment (primary or secondary). Tertiary treatment is not available in most waste water treatment plants in Egypt
Desert land availability in the close vicinity to the waste water treatment plant
Connection cost of treated waste water to the closest available desert area, and the bargaining power of the Waste Water Treatment Company versus the investor in bearing the cost of connection
Soil analysis of the available land and its impact on the water consumption per acre.
In case of unavailable lands close to the waste water treatment plants, are the treated waters directed to an agricultural drain, where the water could be utilized at a distant point?

Availability

Precise figures on water availability at different Waste Water Treatment Plants, and how much of it could be directed to planting Jatropha in an economic size of farm cannot be investigated as such without considering many other interacting factors as explained above. This would need a detailed technical study, which is not the scope of the current investigation. However, some key figures that have been extracted from the preliminary information gathered, and presented in Table ‎51, may guide the decision makers at the present stage.

One of the important figures is the total annual quantity of treated waste water in Egypt. This amounts to 6.5 Million m³/day (2.5 billion m³/year). Some of this quantity is currently used in irrigating trees and landscapes. For example, wastewater is used to irrigate forests planted by the Ministry of Agriculture, as mentioned above. The locations of these forests, shown in Figure ‎51, gives an overview about the availability of wastewater that can be used for irrigation and may also serve as a starting point for locating Jatropha farms.

Figure ‎51 Location of wastewater irrigated forests. Circles correspond to areas of forests

None of the largest wastewater treatment plants alone, such as Elgabal Elasfar in Cairo, and Abou Rawwash, Giza, would satisfy the water needs of a large Jatropha farm of an area of 100,000 acres. In addition, the wastewater coming out of Elgabal Elasfar treatment plant is secondary treated and can be used to irrigate edible food. Thus, based on a planting area in the range of 100,000 acres or above, a large scale project must be composed of a number of farms based on the available waters and lands.

Table ‎51 Quantities of available wastewater close to wastewater treatment plants and corresponding possible planting area

Treated Waste Water Source	Available Waste Water, (Million m³/year)	Corresponding planting area based on 3500 m³/year/acre , (acres)
East of Cairo (Jabal Asfar)	280	80,000
East of Cairo (El Berka)	120	34,000
Giza (Zenien + Abou Rawwash)	320	90,000
West of Alexandria (Borg El Arab)	200	57,000
Sohag (Alkola + Awlad Azzaz)	40	11,000
Aswan (Edfo + Elalaki +Yalana)	24	7,000
Luxor	13.6	3,800
Hurgada	8	2,300

The sample Waste Water treatment plants represent the largest ones in Lower and Upper Egypt, with available desert land close to them.

Other wastewater treatment plants are smaller and scattered in the Nile valley and delta region with unavailable close desert land. Maybe in those specific cases, where the treated waste waters are directed to agricultural drains, these drains could be utilized as a source for irrigation. The Salam Canal, which is fed by mixes of different drainage water sources, could be considered as a source for irrigation of a large Jatropha farm. Yet this possibility needs to be further investigated. Its location may be not as attractive for Jatropha growing as other southern locations, as the winter frost may affect the productivity of the trees.

Prices

In general, the treated waste water as a product of primary treatment is offered for no costs by the Holding Company for Water and Wastewater to the investor. The connection to the planting area is negotiable, and depends on the bargaining power of both the investor and the Water Company.

Evidently, the water company is offering an amount of water at Abou Rawash plant to irrigate an area of 3,000 acres ready to be used at Km 52nd Alex desert road. This area is shown in Figure ‎52

Figure ‎52 Untreated wastewater reservoirs at the west of Giza

There are also 45,000 acres at a distance 35 km to the west of the plant on the Wahat road. The cost of connection, in the range of US$ 150 million, may be carried by the interested investor. The

Conclusions

This exploratory study reports the current status of the Jatropha/Biodiesel industry in Egypt. It presents data gathered from experts and secondary sources to be used in a pre-feasibility study. Even though the data may appear murky, certain conclusions can be drawn:

Results of applied research on planting Jatropha in Egypt for producing oil are scarce or non-existent.
Jatropha is planted by the Ministry of Agriculture in four locations, Luxor, Sohag, Wadi Gadid, and Aswan, for the purpose of afforestation.
One private company, Amiral, is in the development stages for a Jatropha/Biodiesel project.
The Holding Company for Water and Wastewater and Giza Governorate may offer 3,000 acres close to an untreated wastewater reservoir and/or 45,000 acres west of 6^th October city to interested investors.
Not one city in Upper Egypt produces enough wastewater to irrigate a 100,000-acre Jatropha farm. The city with the largest capacity is Sohag and can irrigate 11,000 acres from wastewater coming out of two treatment plants. The next city is Aswan whose wastewater can irrigate up to 7,000 acres.
A Jatropha Research and Development program must be implemented in parallel with any Jatropha/Biodiesel project to arrive at the knowhow for optimum operation that maximizes the biodiesel yield. This knowhow is currently lacking in Egypt and must be possessed to enhance the business decision making process.

Works Cited

Biswas, S, N Kaushik, and G Srikanth. "Biodiesel: Technology & Business Opportunities - An Insight." Technology Information, Forecasting and Assessment Council (TIFAC) Report. Department of Science & Technology,New Delhi, 2005.

Caminiti, Monica, Michelle Cassal, Maitiu OhEigeartaigh, and Yelena Zeru. Feasibility Study of Biofuel Production in Ghana. Washington, DC: The George Washington University, 2007.

El Helepi, Medhat. Economic Feasibility Study of Using Treated Wastewater in Irrigation. Life - Integrated Water Resource Management, International Resources Group, 2007.

Jongschaap, R.E.E., W. J. Corre, P. S. Bindraban, and W. A. Brandenburg. Claims and Facts on Jatropha curcas L. Wageningen: Plant Research International, 2007.

Appendix 1: Resumes of Core Team

Appendix 2: Data of Existing Jatropha Farms

The farm sheets were filled for the following farms:

Luxor
Sohag
Amiral
El-Wadi El-Gadid

Google Earth Image showing the Jatropha farms in Luxor

Appendix 3: List of WWTP Locations and Capacities

Appendix 4: Jatropha Farms Photographs

Appendix 5: Claims and Facts on Jatropha curcas L.