Oil seed crop production in AUS.

[Jacka Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Jacka]

I have a question that I have been hanging out to ask and now I spose is the time


What Oil Seed Crop would be best for Biodiesel production if you had 100acres of land to use?


Rapeseed
Sunflower
Peanut
Mustard
?????? Some other oil seed crop that I have missed.


I am intrested in all aspect's from what it takes to cultavate meaning can you plant and forget till harvest or does it need pestacides or other treatment to how is it harvested to how it is pressed and how effeciant is that pressing in getting % of oil out of the crop to how well it makes Biodiesel and what sort of biodiesel does it make, only good for summer or great for winter or somewere in between type bio.

I know this does not do anything for using the WVO but I am intrested if we were to replace dinodiesel with a Biodiesel product we would not have enough WVO to make it so we would have to crop something and I am intrested in peoples opinion is of what we should crop.

[Terry Syd Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Terry Syd]

Re: Oil seed crop production in AUS.

As much as I dislike referring someone to the JTF website, there is this section which may be able to give you some ideas.

http://journeytoforever.org/biodiesel_yield.html

If I had 100 acres to devote to fuel production, in the area that I want to live, I would be planting Macadamia nut trees. They are perennials, that means there is no annual cultivation. You don't have to till the land, just some maintenance on the orchard and then gather up the nuts after they drop on the ground. Compare that to the annual expenditure of energy devoted to say canola. Take a look at the yields.

It takes 5-7 years before the trees produce nuts. During which time you could crop between the trees with other oil crops, say a legume like peanut. Legumes fix nitrogen to the soil, so not only would you be cropping for oil, you would also be developing your soil.