Preparation of biodiesel from Idesia polycarpa var. vestita fruit oil

The feasibility of producing biodiesel from Idesia polycarpa var. vestita fruit oil was studied. A methyl ester biodiesel was prepared from refined I. polycarpa fruit oil using methanol and potassium hydroxide (KOH) in an alkali-catalyzed transesterification process. The experimental variables investigated in this study were catalyst concentration (0.5–2.0 wt.% of oil), methanol/oil molar ratio (4.5:1 to 6.5:1), temperature (20–60 °C) and reaction time (20–60 min). A maximum yield of over 99% of methyl esters in I. polycarpa fruit oil biodiesel was achieved using a 6:1 molar ratio of methanol to oil, 1.0% KOH (% oil) and reaction time for 40 min at 30 °C. The properties of I. polycarpa fruit oil methyl esters produced under optimum conditions were also analyzed for specifications for biodiesel as fuel in diesel engines according to China Biofuel Systems Standards. The fuel properties of the I. polycarpa fruit oil biodiesel obtained are similar to the No. 0 light diesel fuel and most of the parameters comply with the limits established by specifications for biodiesel.     

Characterization of biodiesel and bio-oil from Sterculia striata (chicha) oil

This work describes the mechanical and solvent extraction of Sterculia striata seed oil. It was determined that the seeds contain up to 41% in oil, which has an unusual composition. Indeed, up to 50% of the fatty acid contain cyclopropenoid ring. The oil was used as raw material to produce bio-oil and biodiesel and their physical-chemical properties were evaluated. Some of the studied physical-chemical properties of the S. striata biodiesel are in acceptable range for use as biodiesel in diesel engines, showing a promising economic exploitation of this raw material in semi-arid regions. It was also observed that the cyclopropenoid ring remains after transesterification and is decomposed during pyrolysis.     

Determination of selection criteria for seed yield and seed oil content in Vernonia (Vernonia galamensis variety ethiopica)

The magnitude of relationships among different traits is important in plant breeding programs to identify the best selection criteria and improve the efficiency of selection. This study was conducted to determine relationships between seed yield and seed oil content with other important agronomic traits among 36 diverse accessions of Vernonia (Vernonia galamensis variety ethiopica), a potentially novel industrial oilseed crop. Field evaluations were conducted during 2005, 2006 and 2007 at the Limpopo Province in South Africa using a partially balanced lattice design. Simple correlation and path analysis were performed to identify the best selection criteria for increased seed yield and seed oil content. Simple correlation and path analyses revealed that the formation of productive primary heads strongly associated with increased seed yield (r_g = 0.81, p < 0.001). Furthermore, path analysis indicated selection for increased number of primary heads would bring about simultaneous and favorable change towards reduced days to maturity and shorter plant height. Further associational study of traits with seed oil content showed a significant (p < 0.05) correlation between oil content with 1000 seed weight (r_g = 0.4). The path analysis, however, exposed seed yield followed by 1000 seed weight with significant direct effect on seed oil content. The study demonstrated that selection for increased number of productive primary heads is the principal selection criterion to improve seed yield. Whereas selection for 1000 seed weight and increased seed yield serve as major selection criteria to achieve increased oil content in V. galemanesis.     

Chemical composition and profile characteristics of Osage orange Maclura pomifera (Rafin.) Schneider seed and seed oil

Studies were conducted on the properties of seeds and oil extracted from Maclura pomifera seeds. The following values (on a dry-weight basis) were obtained for M. pomifera seed, respectively: moisture 5.88%, ash 6.72%, oil 32.75% and the high protein content 33.89%. The carbohydrate content (20.76%) can be regarded as a source of energy for animals if included in their diets. The major nutrients (mg/100 g oil) were: potassium (421.65), calcium (218.56) and magnesium (185.00). The physicochemical properties of the oil include: the saponification number 174.57; the iodine value 141.43; the p-anisidine value 1.86; the peroxide value 2.33 meq O₂/kg; the acid value 0.66; the carotenoid content 0.59 mg/100 g oil; the chlorophyll content 0.02 (mg/100 g oil) and the refractive index 1.45. Polymorphic changes were observed in thermal properties of M. pomifera seed oil. This showed absorbency in the UV-B and UV-C ranges with a potential for use as a broad spectrum UV protectant. The main fatty acids of the crude oil were linoleic (76.19%), oleic (13.87%), stearic (6.76%) and palmitic acid (2.40%). The polyunsaturated triacylglycerols (TAGs) LLL, PLL, POL + SLL, OLL, OOL (L: linoleic acid, O: oleic, P: palmitic acid and S: stearic acid) acids were the major TAGs found in M. pomifera seed oil. A relatively high level of sterols making up 852.93 mg/100 g seed oil was present. The sterol marker, β-sitosterol, accounted for 81% of the total sterol content in the seed oil and is followed by campesterol (7.4%), stigmasterol (4.2%), lupeol (4.1%) and Δ⁵-avenesterol (3.2%). The seed oil was rich in tocopherols with the following composition (mg/100 g): α-tocopherol 18.92; γ-tocopherol 10.80; β-tocopherol 6.02 and δ-tocopherol 6.29. The results showed that M. pomifera seed oil could be used in cosmetic, pharmaceutical and food products.     

Microemulsion-based palm kernel oil extraction using mixed surfactant solutions

This study introduces a novel technique using surfactant microemulsion-based oil seed extraction. To achieve this objective, microemulsion formation with palm kernel oil was studied first. Then, the selected microemulsion system was used for palm kernel extraction. The results showed that the mixed surfactant of 3 wt% Comperlan KD and either 0.1 wt% Alfoterra145-5PO or 145-8PO provided an ultralow interfacial tension with the palm kernel oil (0.0197 and 0.0359 mN/m, respectively). By using those two aqueous surfactant systems for palm kernel oil extraction, the extraction efficiency was 93.99 and 94.13% at the optimum crushed kernel size between 0.212 and 0.425 mm, using 1 g seed load to 10 ml of solution and 30 min of contact time. The extracted oil quality was evaluated for water content, fatty acids composition and surfactant partitioning into oil phase. The results showed that the quality of the oil obtained using the surfactant microemulsion-based technique is of similar or better quality than when extracted by hexane solvent.     

Trichoderma harzianum seed treatment controls Fusarium verticillioides colonization and fumonisin contamination in maize under field conditions

In northern Italy, the most frequently occurring class of mycotoxins in maize are fumonisins, mainly those produced by Fusarium verticillioides. Currently, good agricultural practices (GAPs) represent the best line of defense for controlling the contamination of maize by Fusarium-toxins. Annual fluctuations in weather conditions can strongly reduce the advantages conferred by GAPs, and thus integration with biological control strategies can be a sustainable way to achieve reliable control of Fusarium colonization and toxin contamination. Trichoderma harzianum is a good biocontrol agent against a wide range of plant pathogens, and previous studies have reported its ability to reduce F. verticillioides colonization under greenhouse conditions. Field trials were conducted in two locations to assess the effect of seed treatment with T. harzianum strain T22 on F. verticillioides kernel colonization and on fumonisin contamination under various natural conditions. An average reduction of 58% in fungal infestation and 53% in mycotoxin contamination was observed during our three-year experiments. This research suggests that seed biopriming with T. harzianum T22 can be a promising and environmentally friendly way to control F. verticillioides kernel colonization and fumonisin accumulation.     

Development and application of molecular markers for TSW (thousand-seed weight) related gene BnaGRF7.C02 in Brassica napus

Brassica napus L. (rapeseed) is one of the most important oil crops with large cultivated area in China. Seed size and seed weight play crucial roles for yield and harvest. In this study, a type of 15 bp-deletion in BnaGRF7.C02 coding region was identified through sequence alignment of BnaGRF7.C02 in 42 rapeseed varieties, and association analysis indicated that the 15 bp-deletion was related to the rapeseed Thousand-Seed Weight (TSW) phenotype. Furthermore, we developed two InDel markers to identify this 15 bp InDel. The tissue-specific expression patterns showed that BnaGRF7.C02 prominently expressed in the late stage of seed development. These findings may assist in InDel markers-based breeding efforts to select higher TWS varieties and improve the crop yield of B. napus.     

Synthesis and characterization of hazelnut oil-based biodiesel

The demand for diesel fuel far exceeds the current and future biodiesel production capabilities of the vegetable oil and animal fat industries. New oilseed crops that do not compete with traditional food crop are needed to meet existing energy demands. Hybrid hazelnut oil is just such an attractive raw material for production of biodiesel. Hazelnut oil was extracted from hybrid hazelnuts and the crude oil was refined. Hazelnut oil-based biodiesel was prepared via the transesterification of the refined hazelnut oil with excess methanol using an alkaline catalyst. The effects of reaction temperature, time and catalyst concentration on the yield of diesel were examined, and selected physical and chemical properties of the biodiesel were evaluated. The biodiesel yield increased with increasing temperature from 25 to 65 °C and with increasing catalyst concentration from 0.1 to 0.7 wt%. The increase in yield with reaction time was nonlinear and characterized by an initial faster rate, followed by a slow rate. Hazelnut oil-based biodiesel had an average viscosity of 8.82 cP at 25 °C, which was slightly higher than that of the commercial soy-based diesel (7.92 cP at 25 °C). An approximate 12 °C higher onset oxidative temperature and a 10 °C lower cloud point of hazelnut oil biodiesel than those of its commercial soy counterpart indicated a better oxidative stability and flowability at low temperature. The average heat of combustion of hazelnut oil biodiesel was 40.23 kJ/g, and accounted for approximately 88% of energy content of diesel fuel. The fatty acid composition of hazelnut oil-based biodiesel was the same as the nature oil.     

Variability assessment in Pongamia pinnata (L.) Pierre germplasm for biodiesel traits

Wide variability in oil content was observed in 75 germplasm accessions of Pongamia pinnata (L.) Pierre collected from Telengana region of Andhra Pradesh, India. Out of these, fatty acid profiles of 21 accessions with varying seed oil content were examined. Large variation was observed in stearic, oleic and linoleic fatty acid composition i.e. 1.83–11.50%, 46.66–65.35% and 12.02–32.58% respectively while less variation i.e. 9.25–12.87% was found with palmitic acid content. Saponification number (SN), iodine value (IV) and cetane number (CN) of fatty acid methyl esters of oils varied from 183.3 to 200.91, 74.78 to 100.98 and 50.85 to 59.11 respectively. Fatty acid composition, IV and CN were used to predict the quality of fatty acid methyl esters of oil for use as biodiesel. Fatty acid methyl esters of oils of P. pinnata accessions DORPP 49, 72 and 83 were found most suitable (CN more than 56.6) for use as biodiesel and they meet the major specification of biodiesel standards of USA, Germany and European Standard Organization. The range of variability found for various biodiesel standards in accessions of P. pinnata can be utilized for the establishment of plantations of promising genotypes through clonal means for increased productivity.     

Seed yield components,oil content,and fatty acid composition of two cultivars of moringa (Moringa oleifera Lam.) growing in the Arid Chaco of Argentina

Moringa oleifera Lam. (M. pterygosperma Gaertn [Moringaceae]) is a fast-growing small tree native to the sub-Himalayan tracts of Northern India. The recognition that moringa oil has value in cosmetics has increased interest in cultivating it for seed-oil. The experimental trials were conducted in a semi-commercial moringa plantation in the subtropical northwestern region of Argentina, considering the similar climate conditions to the plant native region. Pods per tree, seeds per pod, weight of seed per pod, kernel weight, kernels oil content and fatty acid composition of PKM-1 and African cultivars were determined. One individual, E₄-9, a PKM-1 plant, had significantly (P < 0.05) higher production than all other plants. In addition, this individual was the highest extrapolated oil producer in both 2003 and 2004, with 595 and 564 kg ha^?1, respectively (ave. 580 kg ha^?1). Seed weight (200-seed wt.) was significantly greater in 2003 than 2004; no other traits studied showed significant differences between years. Both cultivars produced-oil with practically identical fatty acid composition, and the monounsaturated ω-9 oleic fatty acid accounted for more than 70% of the total for both cultivars. The polyunsaturated ω-6 linoleic fatty acid content of the African cultivar was slightly, but significantly (P < 0.05), higher than that of PKM-1.     

Castor yield in response to planting date at four locations in the south-central United States

Oilseed crops have potential use in the production of biodiesel. Currently, most oil going into the production of biodiesel is derived from soybean (Gylcine max L.) grown in the central U.S. Inability of the southeastern states to compete with central U.S. soybean production has lead to the search for alternative oilseeds. The high oil content and unique properties of castor (Ricinus communis L.) give it potential for use as biodiesel. However, there is limited information on potential yields, adaptation, and planting dates of adaptation of modern castor cultivars. This study was designed to determine potential yields and ideal planting dates of castor at various locations in Mississippi and Tennessee. A single castor cultivar was sequentially planted at 14 day intervals, at four locations, ranging from Memphis, TN south to Poplarville, MS. Annual planting occurred from 1 April to 1 July at all locations, except the 1 April planting date was excluded from the two northern locations. Mean yield ranged from 89 to 1954 kg ha^?1. Northern most locations and earliest plantings resulted in the greatest yields. Precocious flowering of castor immediately after 1 April planting at Shubuta, MS was associated with a lower yield. This flowering event was also observed at Poplarville, but did not significantly affect yield. The yield reductions due to southern planting coupled with precocious flowering at the southern locations seem to indicate a limited zone of adaptation for castor.     

Lipid analysis of three special nervonic acid resources in China

Nervonic acid plays an important role in nutrition and function of the human body. Malania oleifera, Acer truncatum and Xanthoceras sorbifolium are China’s unique woody plant rich in nervonic acid in seed oil. This study aims to investigate the lipid composition of these 3 special resources. Their fatty acids were detected by gas chromatography coupled with flame detector (GC-FID). Triglycerides (TAGs) and phospholipids (PLs) were detected by shotgun-mass spectrometry (shotgun-MS). Results showed that M. oleifera oil presented the highest level of nervonic acid (46.20 ​± ​0.22%) among the 3 oils. Seeds oil of A. truncatum and X. sorbifolium had 3.53 ​± ​0.20% and 1.83 ​± ​0.21% nervonic acid respectively. 53 species of TAGs and 15 species of PLs were identified in M. oleifera oil, with PLs content of 499.94 ​± ​22.34 ​μg/g. In A. truncatum oil, PL and TAG species were twice more than those in M. oleifera oil, and its’ content of PLs was 76.27 ​± ​3.21 ​μg/g. In X. sorbifolium oil, 75 TAGs and 34 ​PLs were detected, with the lowest PLs at 23.84 ​± ​0.17 ​μg/g. The results demonstrated that these 3 vegetable oils have great potential to become nervonic acid supplements for human health.     

Bacillus megaterium A6 suppresses Sclerotinia sclerotiorum on oilseed rape in the field and promotes oilseed rape growth

Sclerotinia sclerotiorum causes serious yield losses in oilseed rape and other crops worldwide. Field trials were conducted at two locations to evaluate two formulations of oilseed rape seed containing the plant-growth promoting bacterium Bacillus megaterium A6 for suppression of this pathogen. Treatments containing strain A6 in pellet and in wrap formulations resulted in oilseed rape seed yields that were similar to the chemical control and significantly greater than the untreated seed control at both locations. Treatments containing A6 in pellet and wrap formulations also resulted in an incidence of disease caused by S. sclerotiorum that was similar to the chemical control. Both of these treatments significantly decreased disease incidence relative to the untreated seed control and to the respective formulated seed controls (that did not contain strain A6) at both locations. Strain A6 applied to oilseed rape seed in these two formulations promoted growth in greenhouse pot studies conducted with autoclaved soil. In two experiments, these treatments resulted in significant increases in mean shoot dry weight per pot and mean % total N per plant relative to their respective controls containing formulated oilseed rape seed without strain A6 and to the untreated seed control. Both formulations provided stable B. megaterium A6 (≥10⁶ CFU) and seed germination (>85%) over a six month period at room temperature. Experiments reported here indicate the commercial potential of these formulations of B. megaterium A6 for suppression of S. sclerotiorum on oilseed rape.     

Degradation of ricin in castor seed meal by temperature and chemical treatment

Oil from the seed of the castor plant (Ricinus communis L.) is an important commodity for a number of industries, ranging from pharmaceuticals to renewable energy resources. However, the seed and subsequent seed meal contain ricin (RCA₆₀), a potent cytotoxin, making it an unusable product. In order to investigate the efficiency of previously researched methods of reducing the toxicity of the meal, cold-pressed oil extracted seed meal known to contain ricin was boiled in the presence of 50 mM calcium hydroxide (pH 12.5). However, boiling of this seed meal in the presence of calcium hydroxide produced no significant difference from boiling alone. Therefore, heat and chemical treatments were performed to determine their effects on the denaturation of the ricin within whole seed, milled un-extracted seed, and cold-pressed extracted seed. Boiling and autoclaving showed varying degrees of effectiveness depending on the sample type. Ricin within the cold-pressed extracted meal was rendered unresponsive to antibody probing after 10 min of boiling or autoclaving. In contrast, treatment of cold-pressed extracted meal with 8 M urea and 6 M guanidine–HCl for 60 min produced no observable reduction in the response of the ricin to the antibody. Critically, hot pressing of the castor seed produced meal that exhibited no reactivity with the antibody, indicating that the ricin had been denatured during the oil extraction. By removing the toxic component of the castor meal, this by-product could create a new commodity from the production of castor oil, thereby making castor oil production more profitable.     

Studies on the utilization of Hura crepitans L. seed oil in the preparation of alkyd resins

The utilization of Hura crepitans seed oil in the formulation of alkyd resins was investigated using a two-stage alcoholysis-polyesterification method. The percentage yield of the oil was 36.4%; and the physicochemical characterization revealed that the seed oil is an unsaturated semi-drying oil. The fatty acid profile of the oil showed that it contains linoleic acid (81.6%) as the most abundant fatty acid, and two other fatty acids: palmitic acid (16.92%) and stearic acid (1.76%). Short (I), medium (II) and long (III) oil alkyds were synthesized using the oil, glycerol and phthalic anhydride in different ratios. Properties of the three prepared samples of H. crepitans seed oil alkyds having oil content of 30% (I), 50% (II), and 65% (III) were evaluated. The alkyd resins synthesized compared favourably with the commercially available alkyd resin. The presence of unsaturation in the oil was confirmed by infra-red peak at 2930 cm⁻¹ attributed to CC stretch. The infra-red peaks of the sample also compared well with that of the commercial sample indicating that H. crepitans seed oil has been successfully converted to alkyd resin. Evaluation of prepared alkyds by determination of acid values, solubility in butanol and toluene, resistance of dry film to acid, alkali and water, and drying time revealed that H. crepitans seed oil is a potential raw material for the coating industry.     

Clonal variation and correlation of seed characters in Hevea brasiliensis Muell. Arg.

Clonal variation and inter-character correlation of 11 seed characters were evaluated in 21 clones of Hevea brasiliensis. The characters were seed length, width, volume and weight, kernel and shell weight, and ratios of seed length/width, seed/kernel weight, seed/shell weight, kernel/shell weight and seed weight/volume. Clonal variation was evaluated through analysis of variance, F-test and least significant difference. Inter-character phenotypic correlation of clonal means was calculated. Genotypic correlation coefficients were estimated using genotypic variance and covariance obtained through analyses of variance and covariance respectively.There was significant clonal variation for each of the 11 seed characters with outstanding seed and kernel weights in PR 107. Significant phenotypic and genotypic correlation was obtained among six characters that are of importance to farmers and seed-millers. This means that selection can be applied on only one of the six characters for simultaneous improvement in the other desired characters. Among these characters, kernel weight had relatively high and consistent heritability estimate. Kernel weight will therefore be adequate for improvement and, hence, simultaneous improvement in the other five important seed characters (seed weight and ratios of seed/kernel weight, seed/shell weight, kernel/shell weight and seed weight/volume).     

Molecular analyses of genetic variability in soap nut (Sapindus mukorossi Gaertn.)

Sapindus mukorossi Gaertn. (Sapindaceae) is commercially an important plant much valued for its fruits commonly known as soap nut as well as for the seed oil used as a feed-stock for biodiesel production. Molecular polymorphism, determined, using three single primer amplification reaction (SPAR) methods (RAPD, DAMD and ISSR) is used to assess the genetic variability in 69 accessions of S. mukorossi Gaertn., encompassing different geographical regions in India. Cumulative band data generated using the three SPAR methods resulted in 82.49% polymorphism across all genotypes of S. mukorossi Gaertn. UPGMA tree showed two major clusters that were in accordance with the geographical diversity. The intra-population genetic diversity (0.16), Shannon information index (0.24) and polymorphic loci (45.62%) were highest in AS population, while the corresponding lowest values were recorded in HP population. The inter-population average distance ranged from 0.05 (GA and HP) to 0.26 (AP and HP). Based on these distances, the UPGMA tree for the populations was computed, which showed the presence of two major clusters. Cluster I contained all the populations from Himachal Pradesh (HP) and Uttarakhand (GA and KU) and cluster II grouped the populations from North Eastern region (AS, AP, MG). The present study showed that SPAR methods are informative and useful to unravel the diversity among different populations of the soap nut plants and is a prelude for further utilization of promising and genetically divergent materials in the breeding programmes.     

Divergent selection at ultra-low plant density for seed protein and oil content within soybean cultivars

Soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] seed is a major source of protein for animal feed and oil for human consumption. Selection within elite soybean cultivars for the improvement of agronomic and seed traits is assumed to be ineffective due to the belief that cultivars are highly homogeneous. Previously reported data suggest that latent variation among the single plant selections within a cultivar exists and that mechanisms that generate de novo variation may also be present. The main objective of this study was to perform divergent single-plant selection at ultra-low plant density and investigate the presence of genetic variation for seed protein and oil within three elite soybean cultivars. A secondary objective was to investigate the variation for fatty acid composition. In 1995, single plants from the three cultivars were grown in a honeycomb design using a plant-to-plant spacing of 0.9 m. A total of 333 plants from ‘Benning’, 392 plants from ‘Haskell’, and 371 plants from ‘Cook’ were evaluated. Divergent single-plant selection for protein and oil content was performed to select a total of 20 plants for high or low protein and 20 plants for high or low oil from each cultivar. The selected plants were further evaluated in replicated row-plot experiments for 3 years. Our results indicate that single-plant selection at low plant density was successful in discovering significant variation for seed protein and oil within each of the three soybean cultivars. For protein content, the magnitude of intra-cultivar variation between the highest- and lowest-protein lines averaged 19 g kg⁻¹ across the three cultivars and ranged from 13 to 24 g kg⁻¹. For oil composition, the magnitude of variation between the most divergent lines averaged 12 g kg⁻¹ across the three cultivars and ranged from 9 to 14 g kg⁻¹. Significant variation among the selected progeny lines was also discovered for specific fatty acid composition. The magnitude of intra-cultivar variation averaged from 6 to 29 g kg⁻¹ across the five fatty acids of soybean. The genetic variation discovered within the soybean cultivars is most likely due to latent variation and/or newly created variation. Our data provide evidence that single-plant selection at ultra-low plant density within elite cultivars can be effective in improving the seed composition of a soybean cultivar.