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Market and product advantages
Our biological non-food oil is used in the cosmetics and pharmaceuticals industries amongst others.
It is also the raw material for the production of bio-diesel on the fuels market.
Our biological non-food oil is regenerative because it is won from plants which
continuously grow again. It is gaining increasingly in economic attractiveness because
the price on the world market for mineral oil is constantly rising. Its life cycle assessment
shows lower CO2 values as a bio-fuel in comparison with mineral fuel products and gives
off less carbon monoxide and hydrocarbons in comparison with conventional diesel
combustion systems. Flora Ecopower bio-fuel contains no sulphur and,
therefore does not cause acid rain. Our bio-fuel produces an increase in performance
in the engine through clean combustion and fullfills the qualifications of DIN EN 14214.
With regard to transportation, our biological oil has a low flash point and is readily
biodegradable should it be spilled on the ground.
In view of the fact that our biological oil is an out-and-out non-food bio-oil,
it has no effect on the market mechanisms in the foodstuffs sector.
Cultivation and harvesting
As a first step, Flora Ecopower has leased a plot of land in Ethiopia for the next fifty years
covering an area of 15,000 hectares (ca. 37,500 acres). This is where our plants are planted in
environmentally appropriate conditions for our biological non-food oil. An upsizing to more than
50,000 ha (ca. 125,000 acres) is expected to take place this year.
Two indigenous plants are involved: the castor-oil plant and the jatropha tree.
The castor-oil plant (ricinus communis) belongs to the spurge family.
It makes no particular demands of the soil. In Africa it is a fast-growing bush which bears
abundant fruit after a short period of time - known as castor-oil nuts - which are full of oil.
The castoroil plant is useful for about four years and is then ploughed under.
After that, the agricultural soil can be directly planted with all other sorts of plants and can also
be used by the local population in the meantime for their own cultivation. No monoculture results.
The second economically useful plant is the jatropha tree, which is enjoying a lot of attention
in the meantime. This undemanding plant grows even on soil where nearly nothing else can
exist and is moreover capable of regenerating eroded soil. Its seeds, the pips, consist to a high
degree of oil. Some three to four years go by from planting until first yield.
The jatropha tree has a life-span of some forty years.
Both plants have in common that they are not suitable for human consumption.
They grow either on existing surfaces or, because of their extremely undemanding nature,
they can be cultivated on barren soil which does not take away any water from the local population
for extensive irrigation. They require no intensive fertilisation and irrigation.
Their cultivation is not in conflict with the interests of plantations in the foodstuffs sector.
Our newly established oil mill went into service at the end of 2007. At present the oil mill is
designed to produce 110 tonnes of oil from the plants every day.
The plan is to double the capacity and the annual production is intended to be
increased to 80,000 tonnes. |
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