Waterland has signed a Memorandum of Understanding “MOU” with a leading supplier of bio-fuels for the aviation industry and will supply its Jatropha Oil for use as feedstock for aviation fuel.
(PRWEB) July 7, 2010 — Waterland International has signed a Memorandum Of Understanding “MOU” with a leading supplier of bio-fuels for the aviation industry. Waterland is pleased to announce it is making its first delivery of Jatropha Oil for use as feedstock for aviation fuel to the EU Airline Industry this week. The Agreement stipulates a long term take off agreement for Waterland’s Jatropha oil which is produced from the plantations it oversees in Central Java, Indonesia.
The interest in Waterland’s jatropha plantations from aviation companies has led the Company to begin planning a new oil expelling and purification center at Kedu Selatan and another at Cilicap, Indonesia which will allow for further commercial quantities of Jatropha Oil to be shipped to the airline industry, and after further refining to be used as jet fuel.
Jatropha jet fuel has a lower freezing point and demonstrated higher energy density per unit mass than typical jet fuel, enabling airplanes to travel farther using less fuel. For all of the test flights, the blended biofuel displayed no adverse effects on any of the aircraft systems. Jatropha oil, when refined has almost exactly the same chemical properties as the Jet-A1 fuel that currently powers the commercial aviation industry. According to Boeing test data, Jatropha based jet fuel exceeds fuel performance requirements, requires no change to airplanes or engines, requires no change to infrastructure, and can be mixed or alternated with jet fuel. Not all Jatropha oil is created equal and therefore only oil that meets stringent quality specifications can be used in the aviation industry.
“I’m happy to report that our Jatropha oil is of the highest quality and the fact that we have been chosen as a preferred supplier to the aviation industry proves this” stated Waterland CEO, Dr. Nolten,. Waterland’s Jatropha Oil is produced to the exact FFA specification level and passes the purity test for use as aviation fuel. “Our secret is the quality management system we have implemented which combines expert agronomic knowledge in the growing and picking process of the Jatropha plants as well as a controlled environment for processing the fruits from the plant. In addition, we have engineers from Holland overseeing our oil expelling process” concluded CEO Dr. Nolten. Producing high quality Jatropha oil is dependent on the correct timing of the Jatropha’s harvest as this determines the chemical composition of the oil. Waterland constantly monitors farmers’ harvest results for proper fruit ripening and continually holds training sessions for farmers on its plantations. In addition, “the processing of the Jatropha fruit, when not managed properly causes the oil to have a high percentage of (FFA) Free Fatty Acids which result in oil which has a very short shelf life as well as other impurities” stated Waterland CEO, Dr. Nolten
In order to continue to supply the aviation industry with high quality jatropha oil Waterland is in the process of obtaining building permits to build a new oil expelling and purification center at Kedu Selatan and another at Cilicap, Central Java, Indonesia.
For Interested Parties : please email [email protected]
About Jatropha based Jet Fuel for the Aviation Industry :
Based on the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Aviation is accountable for approximately 13% of CO2 emissions from total transportation. Until the recent economic recession had hit air traffic volume, global aviation was among the fastest growing polluters. Furthermore, CO2 emitted by aircrafts high above the ground level remains in the atmosphere, and the warming effect is twice as serious than CO2 emissions on the ground.
However, the aviation industry is going green and airlines are required to measure their own carbon footprint and cut emissions. The industry is taking responsibility by formulating and committing significant emission reduction initiatives based on concrete targets. Any sustainable biofuel will have to be compliant with existing aircraft engines and hardware infrastructure for distribution, storage and fuelling systems with no or minimal modifications required. In addition, green aviation fuels must be suitable for blending with fossil based jet fuel. Several airlines have already successfully tested jatropha based jet fuel. The world’s annual consumption of jet fuel (non-military) is about 2 billion barrels and IATA proposes 10% of jet fuel to come from biofuels by 2017. This translates into a $100 billion plus business opportunity. Among major airlines, British Airways, Delta and United will have CO2 emissions in excess of 3 million tons and could be confronted with offset payments of approximately $50 million each. The right choice of biofuels offers an escape route to these payments.
About Waterland International :
Waterland is an agricultural technology enterprise with headquarters in Jakarta, Indonesia. The Company that has developed high yielding Jatropha plants which give a superior yield and oil content which is a result of years of research and development. Waterland is leader in Jatropha research and development in Asia and together with its partners have successfully established first class research and technology bases in Indonesia, Germany, The Netherlands, India, Vietnam and Malaysia that are accelerating the commercialization of next generation biofuels and renewable power generation. Combining agricultural and technological innovations, intellectual property rights and extensive hands on operational plantation experience, Waterland controls all aspects of Jatropha research, development, and cultivation, including bio-engineering, high tech conversion technologies, commercialization of valuable by-products and the processing of high grade biodiesel. The Waterland Group Asia was established to support a joint investment initiative by several European based companies who own and operate power-plants in Europe, which required sustainable bio-mass energy sources to operate. Waterland currently produces Jatropha oil from over 12,000 hectares that have reached production status and the Group currently has over 60,000 hectares of planted Jatropha that will come into production next year. The Group cornerstone is its social farming model where it endeavors to empower the local farmers with the aim of bringing prosperity, independence and self-sustainability to the communities surrounding the forest on a commercially sustainable basis.