 | |
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Bioenergy |
| Founded | 2007 |
| Headquarters | San Diego, California, USA |
| Products | Jatropha hybrid seed |
| Website | www |
SG Biofuels is a privately held bioenergy crop company, which grows and researches Jatropha curcas for the production of biodiesel, bio jet fuel, and specialty chemicals.
SG Biofuels (SGB) is a fully integrated bioenergy crop company using molecular breeding and biotechnology to develop and produce elite hybrid seeds of Jatropha as a low-cost feedstock for biodiesel, bio jet fuel, and specialty chemicals.
SG Biofuels was founded in 2007 and is based in San Diego, California.
The company was officially introduced to the public at the 2009 National Biodiesel Conference and Expo in San Francisco, California.
In September 2010, SG Biofuels secured a series A investment of $9.4 million. The funding was led by two privately held companies involved in the development of renewable energy, chemicals and biotechnology: Flint Hills Resources, a subsidiary of Koch Industries, and Life Technologies. [1]
SG Biofuels grows Jatropha in greenhouses and on plantations in Latin and Central America for sustainable biofuel production and researches methods with which to optimize the Jatropha seeds and growing processes. Jatropha has been growing successfully in tropical and subtropical locations for many years and has been cited as one of the best candidates for biodiesel production because of its high oil content—30 to 40 percent. [2]
The company's research focuses on the domestication and genetic improvement of Jatropha. Areas of focus include increasing oil content per seed, increasing number of seeds per plant, improving flowering synchronicity, and improving pest and disease resistance. The company also researches strains that can sustain colder temperatures for growth in the U.S. [2]
The company's Jatropha Research and Development Center has the world's largest and most diverse collection of Jatropha genetic material. [3] The company's website states that its germplasm library holds over 12,000 unique Jatropha genotypes. Preliminary molecular marker studies indicate that SG Biofuels' Jatropha germplasm collection exhibits on the order of 5 times the genetic diversity observed in a collection of Jatropha from India, Africa, and Asia. [4]
In March 2010, SG Biofuels launched its first JMax100 cultivar, a proprietary cultivar of Jatropha optimized for growing conditions in Guatemala with yields averaging approximately 100 percent greater than existing varieties. [5]
In August 2010, SG Biofuels and Life Technologies announced that they had completed the genome sequencing of Jatropha. [6]
In August 2011, SG Biofuels (SGB) initiated a program with Bharat Renewable Energy Ltd (BREL), a joint-venture of Bharat Petroleum, India’s second largest petroleum company, to develop and deploy elite hybrids of Jatropha for the production of biodiesel in India. [7]
In September 2011, SGB teamed with JETBIO, leader of a multi-stakeholder initiative including Airbus, the Inter-American Development Bank, Bioventures Brasil, Rio Pardo Bioenergia, Air BP, and TAM Airlines, to accelerate the production of crude jatropha oil as a source for aviation bio jet fuel in Brazil. [8] [7]
In October 2013, SG Biofuels sought an Inter-American Development Bank loan for a jatropha oil project in Guatemala. [9]
Biofuel is a fuel that is produced over a short time span from biomass, rather than by the very slow natural processes involved in the formation of fossil fuels such as oil. Biofuel can be produced from plants or from agricultural, domestic or industrial biowaste. Biofuels are mostly used for transportation, but can also be used for heating and electricity. Biofuels are regarded as a renewable energy source. The use of biofuel has been subject to criticism regarding the "food vs fuel" debate, varied assessments of their sustainability, and ongoing deforestation and biodiversity loss as a result of biofuel production.
Biodiesel is a renewable biofuel, a form of diesel fuel, derived from biological sources like vegetable oils, animal fats, or recycled greases, and consisting of long-chain fatty acid esters. It is typically made from fats.
Rapeseed, also known as rape and oilseed rape, is a bright-yellow flowering member of the family Brassicaceae, cultivated mainly for its oil-rich seed, which naturally contains appreciable amounts of erucic acid. The term "canola" denotes a group of rapeseed cultivars that were bred to have very low levels of erucic acid and which are especially prized for use as human and animal food. Rapeseed is the third-largest source of vegetable oil and the second-largest source of protein meal in the world.
Jatropha is a genus of flowering plants in the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae. The name is derived from the Greek words ἰατρός (iatros), meaning "physician", and τροφή (trophe), meaning "nutrition", hence the common name physic nut. Another common name is nettlespurge. It contains approximately 170 species of succulent plants, shrubs and trees. Most of these are native to the Americas, with 66 species found in the Old World. Plants produce separate male and female flowers. As with many members of the family Euphorbiaceae, Jatropha contains compounds that are highly toxic. Jatropha species have traditionally been used in basketmaking, tanning and dye production. In the 2000s, one species, Jatropha curcas, generated interest as an oil crop for biodiesel production and also medicinal importance when used as lamp oil; native Mexicans in the Veracruz area developed by selective breeding a Jatropha curcas variant lacking the toxic compounds, yielding a better income when used as source for biodiesel, because of its edible byproduct. Toxicity may return if edible Jatropha is pollinated by toxic types.
Croton is an extensive plant genus in the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae. The plants of this genus were described and introduced to Europeans by Georg Eberhard Rumphius. The common names for this genus are rushfoil and croton, but the latter also refers to Codiaeum variegatum. The generic name comes from the Greek κρότος, which means "tick" and refers to the shape of the seeds of certain species.
This article describes the use and availability of biodiesel in various countries around the world.
Biofuel development in India centres mainly around the cultivation and processing of Jatropha plant seeds, which are very rich in oil, ranging from 27 to 40%, and averaging 34.4%. The drivers for this are historic, functional, economic, environmental, moral and political.
Energy crops are low-cost and low-maintenance crops grown solely for renewable bioenergy production. The crops are processed into solid, liquid or gaseous fuels, such as pellets, bioethanol or biogas. The fuels are burned to generate electrical power or heat.
Vegetable oils are increasingly used as a substitute for fossil fuels. Vegetable oils are the basis of biodiesel, which can be used like conventional diesel. Some vegetable oil blends are used in unmodified vehicles, but straight vegetable oil often needs specially prepared vehicles which have a method of heating the oil to reduce its viscosity and surface tension, sometimes specially made injector nozzles, increased injection pressure and stronger glow-plugs, in addition to fuel pre-heating is used. Another alternative is vegetable oil refining.
Jatropha curcas is a species of flowering plant in the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae, that is native to the American tropics, most likely Mexico and Central America. It is originally native to the tropical areas of the Americas from Mexico to Argentina, and has been spread throughout the world in tropical and subtropical regions around the world, becoming naturalized or invasive in many areas. The specific epithet, "curcas", was first used by Portuguese doc Garcia de Orta more than 400 years ago. Common names in English include physic nut, Barbados nut, poison nut, bubble bush or purging nut. In parts of Africa and areas in Asia such as India it is often known as "castor oil plant" or "hedge castor oil plant", but it is not the same as the usual castor oil plant, Ricinus communis.
Indian cassava mosaic virus(ICMV) is a plant pathogenic virus of the family Geminiviridae. It affects cassava (Manihot esculenta) in India and certain other countries. It is considered to be an invasive species.
China has set the goal of attaining one percent of its renewable energy generation through bioenergy in 2020.
Algae fuel, algal biofuel, or algal oil is an alternative to liquid fossil fuels that uses algae as its source of energy-rich oils. Also, algae fuels are an alternative to commonly known biofuel sources, such as corn and sugarcane. When made from seaweed (macroalgae) it can be known as seaweed fuel or seaweed oil.
Sustainable biofuel is biofuel produced in a sustainable manner. It is not based on petroleum or other fossil fuels. It includes not using plants that are used for food stuff to produce the fuel thus disrupting the world's food supply.
An aviation biofuel is a biofuel used to power aircraft and is a sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). The International Air Transport Association (IATA) considers it a key element in reducing the environmental impact of aviation. Aviation biofuel is used to decarbonize medium and long-haul air travel. These types of travel generate the most emissions, and could extend the life of older aircraft types by lowering their carbon footprint. Synthetic paraffinic kerosene (SPK) refers to any non-petroleum-based fuel designed to replace kerosene jet fuel, which is often, but not always, made from biomass.
The use of biofuels varies by region. The world leaders in biofuel development and use are Brazil, United States, France, Sweden and Germany.
Global Clean Energy Holdings (OTC:GCEH) is a Southern California-based renewable energy company with interests in the production and commercialization of non-food-based feedstocks used for the production of biofuels, biomass, and renewable chemicals. It was founded in 2007.
Kamrun Nahar is a Bangladeshi soil scientist and environmentalist. A prominent biofuels researcher of Bangladesh, her research also aimed to lower dependence on petroleum based foreign oil by producing low carbon and sulphur emitting biofuels from the second generation energy crops cultivated in the unused wastelands of Bangladesh for use in home generators to supplement power.
Sustainable Oils is a renewable fuels company specializing in the research and production of Camelina, the only advanced biofuels feedstock with United States Department of Agriculture, Environmental Protection Agency, and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulatory approvals. Oil extracted from Camelina seeds can be processed into a number of renewable products including renewable jet fuel, green diesel, biodiesel, green plastics and renewable oleochemicals. The biomass that remains after oil extraction, generally referred to seedcake or meal, can be used as nutrient-rich animal feed. Camelina offers several advantages over traditional biofuel feedstocks like soy and corn, such as competitive oil yields and shorter growing seasons. Sustainable Oils has its primary operations in the state of Montana and is headquartered in Great Falls.
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