Biodiesel Yields of Various Oilseeds

Here is an article on "Biodiesel Benefits for Cattle Producers" by Greg Lardy, Ph.D., prepared for the Western Organization of Resource Councils.He has given the list of projeted oil yields and biodiesel yields from various oilseeds.

Oilseed	Fat content, %	Pounds of Oil per Ton	Pounds of Biodiesel 1	Gallons of Biodiesel2
Camelina	40.4	808	808	110.7
Canola	40.5	810	810	111
Mustard	34.4	688	688	94.2
Safflower	32	640	640	87.7
Sunflower	41.9	838	838	114.8
Soybeans	19.2	384	384	52.6

1 all oil is extracted from the meal. 100 pounds of oil plus 10 pounds of methanol yields 100 pounds of biodiesel and 10 pounds of crude glycerol.
² Assuming 7.3 pounds per gallon

full article here

Unique Properties of Camelina Oil

Camelina oil has good potential for food and industrial use. The oil contains about 64 percent polyunsaturated, 30 percent monounsaturated, and 6 percent saturated fatty acids. Importantly, camelina oil is very high in alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), an omega-3 fatty acid which is essential in human and animal diets and has important implications for human health. The oil also contains high levels of gamma-tocopherol (vitamin E) which confers a reasonable shelf life without the need for special storage conditions. The unique properties of camelina oil could lead to development of a wide array of high value markets for the oil and its components in foods, feeds, cosmetics and industrial products (biolubricants). Some ideas currently being researched include:

• Nutritional: Using camelina oil to increase the nutritional value of a range of baked foods such as bread, and spreads including peanut butter.
• Health: Potential health benefits of omega-3 from camelina oil are being evaluated in a breast cancer risk study for overweight or obese postmenopausal women.
• Biodiesel: Camelina biodiesel has been produced and evaluated by commercial biodiesel manufacturers including Core IV, Wyoming Biodiesel, Peaks and Prairies and Great Northern Growers. Camelina biodiesel performance appears to be equal in value and indistinguishable from biodiesel produced from other oilseed crops such as soybean.
• Biolubricant: Camelina oil can be converted to a wax ester that will replace more expensive and less available Jojoba waxes in a range of industrial and cosmetic products.
• Soil and seed amendments: The gum layer that surrounds each camelina seed can be removed and utilized as a seed coating for other seeds to improve their germination in challenging environments. Camelina gum also has the potential to be used as a soil amendment to stabilize exposed soils for erosion control as in road construction.

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Physico-Chemical Properties of Camelina sativa Oil

Researchers of Department of Food Science and Technology, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia have done a research on "Physico-Chemical Properties, Composition and Oxidative Stability of Camelina sativa Oil".

According to them Camelina oil is a rich source of α -linolenic acid (35.2 %), only linseed oil has more (up to 60 %). Camelina oil contains 14.9 % of gondoic acid (20:1), which is absent in the most common vegetable oils and 1.6 % of erucic acid (22:1), which determines the applicability of oil for human consumption,but in the Slovene camelina oil it was well below the permitted value of 5 % and also significantly lower than the values reported by others.

Full article here

Nutrient Content of Camelina Meal

Camelina sativa (L.) Crantz (camelina) is an oilseed producing plant in the family Brassicaceae (Cruciferae) originating from the Mediterranean to Central Asia. Camelina meal (CM) is the by-product of camelina oil extraction and has a crude protein content similar to canola meal. If growing camelina becomes a viable crop, the integration of the resultant meal into turkey diets would further increase the value of the crop.

Here the results of the nutrient content of camelina meal obtained from trials conducted at the Utah Agricultural Experiment Station (Turkey Research Facility) in Ephraim, Utah.

According to their findings, high concentrations of CM in poult diets inhibited growth. We do not recommend levels greater than 5% of diet.

They have given the selected nutrient and mineral content of various feed ingredients compared to camelina meal( Refer the following table).

(%)	Camelina meal	Canola meal	DDGS*	Soybean meal
Dry Matter	98.0	90.0	91.0	90.0
Protein	(32.6, 33.4)**	37.7	28.1	48.0
Fat	(16.8, 18.9)	1.5	10.0	0.60
Calcium	(0.19, 0.28)	0.65	0.20	0.20
Phosphorus(tot)	(0.61, 1.41)	1.17	0.70	0.67
Potassium	(1.24, 1.56)	1.45	0.92	2.55
Sodium	(0.001,0.003)	0.09	0.09	0.05
Chloride	0.002	0.05	0.17	0.05

* DDGS = distiller’s dried grains with soluble.

** Numbers in parentheses represent the lower and upper 95% confidence interval of the mean (n = 4).

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Fatty acid Composition of Camelina

I have come across a research article of Estonian Research Institute of Agriculture entitled "Possibilities of growing Camelina sativa in ecological cultivation". According to the researchers, Camelina has some preferences as an oilseed crop than oilseed rape.

They have given the fatty acid consistence of Camelina oil and spring rape (Refer the following table).

Fatty acid composition of Camelina and spring rape (Makowski, 2003)

	Camelina		Spring rape
	Average	In Trials (ERIA)
Oil content	35…40	36…37	40…45
Palmitic (C16:0)	5…8	6.07	3…6
Stearic (C18:0)	2…3	2.54	1…3
Oleic (C18:1)	13…21	13.2	55…65
Linoleic (18:2)	15…20	20.8	20…25
Linolenic (18:3)	30…40	35.5	6…14
Eicosenoic(20:1)	13…20	12,35	0…2
Erucic (22:1)	3…4	3.6	0…2

Summary of the project:

1. Camelina sativa is a cruciferous crop which suits for ecological cultivation since the danger of diseases and pests is relatively small.
2. Agrotechnology of Camelina (soil tillage) is similar to agrotechnology applied in rape cultivation.
3. The method of eradicating weeds in ecological cultivation – harrowing – is not suitable in early stadium of growing Camelina.
4. By sufficient growth density Camelina plants can suppress weeds.
5. Growing in the mixture with pea, Camelina is a good supporting crop for pea. Pea fixes air-nitrogen by which it guarantees the need for nitrogen at the time of Camelina growing.

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Generation of Transgenic Plants of Oilseed Crop Camelina sativa

Here is the abstract of a research done by researchers at Department of Plant Sciences and Plant Pathology, Montana State University, USA.

Abstract: Camelina sativa is an alternative oilseed crop that can be used as a potential low-cost biofuel crop or a source of health promoting omega-3 fatty acids. Currently, the fatty acid composition of camelina does not uniquely fit any particular uses, thus limit its commercial value and large-scale production. In order to improve oil quality and other agronomic characters, we have developed an efficient and simple in planta method to generate transgenic camelina plants. The method included Agrobacterium-mediated inoculation of plants at early flowering stage along with a vacuum infiltration procedure. We used a fluorescent protein (DsRed) as a visual selection marker, which allowed us to conveniently screen mature transgenic seeds from a large number of untransformed seeds. Using this method, over 1% of transgenic seeds can be obtained. Genetic analysis revealed that most of transgenic plants contain a single copy of transgene. In addition, we also demonstrated that transgenic camelina seeds produced novel hydroxy fatty acids by transforming a castor fatty acid hydroxylase. In conclusion, our results provide a rapid means to genetically improve agronomic characters of camelina, including fatty acid profiles of its seed oils. Camelina may serve as a potential industrial crop to produce novel biotechnology products.

Process of Bio-Diesel Production from Camelina Oil

Here is the results of a project conducted by researchers at Crops Research Centre, Oak Park, Ireland. The aim of the project was to examine the potential of alternative vegetable oils, oil wastes or animal fats as bio-diesel feedstocks, and the performance of road vehicles using bio-diesel blends made from these materials. Three feedstock materials were considered: waste cooking oil from the catering industry, Camelina oil, and beef tallow.

They have showed that the oil yield from Camelina sativa is similar to that of rape, but it requires lower fertiliser and pesticide inputs, which leads to a lower cost and a more favourable energy ratio.

They have also provided the low-temperature properties of blends of waste cooking oil ester and mineral diesel( refer the following table).The ester yields for camelina oil were higher than for waste cooking oil. The fuel properties of the methyl ester were also within specifications with the exception of cold filter plug point (CFPP).

Camelina ester %	Mineral diesel %	Cloud point oC	CFPP oC	Pour point oC
100	0	+3	-3	-4
80	20	+3	-7	-6
60	40	+3	-9	-9
40	60	+3	-11	-12
20	80	+3	-13	<-18
0	100	+3	-15	<-21

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Camelina Seems to Be One of The Best Crop for Desert Land

Here is a promising attempt of a camelina grower. Mark Wiest, of Sams Valley, Oregon, United States, just completed harvesting about three acres of camelina on a piece of ground that has been otherwise unproductive. His first planting of camelina was last year when he and Dalton Straus planted 26 acres in the Sams Valley area. Wiest is contracting with BioMass Processors out of Rickreall. Once the camelina has been harvested and dried, it is sent north. There the harvested camelina is crushed and the camelina oil is extracted. This oil can be used in making fuel. Wiest is working with others from Beatty to Murphy to turn their bare land into productive land.

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Oil Composition of Camelina Cultivars

While searching for the oil composition of camelina, I came across a research paper on "Camelina sativa, A Montana Omega-3 and Fuel Crop". According to that paper, Camelina sativa is a new crop with a variety of uses. It is relatively easy to breed, and easy to grow with low input costs. Its meal is valuable as animal feed, and its oil has an important nutritional components (alpha linolenic acid and gamma-tocopherol). The industrial potential of this crop, given the current fuel crisis, is rather large.

They have given the Oil Composition of European Camelina cultivars [‘Celine’ (France), ‘Calena’ (Austria), and ‘Ligena’ (Germany)] and 3 Montana breeding lines (MT-1, MT-3, and MT-5).(Refer the following chart)



See the full paper here