Jatropha curcas L. and multifunctional platforms for the development of rural sub-Saharan Africa

There is a great need to provide energy to rural Africans in order to spark development and help to alleviate poverty. Although Jatropha curcas L is no longer considered to be a miracle crop, and large scale Jatropha biofuel programs have struggled. Jatropha still has potential to be successfully used in small scale development projects. To this end, there has been a great deal of interest in Jatropha and studies have shown the potential of Jatropha to be used with multifunctional platforms (MEPs) to provide energy to rural sub-Saharan Africa. This is a review paper which examines research on the various aspects of using Jatropha and MFPs to provide energy to rural Africans. Neat Jatropha can be used as a fuel for the type of simple diesel engines used in MFPs. Jatropha oil can, also be converted to biodiesel through esterification and/or transesterification. The Jatropha plant can be used in many other ways and its utility increases the value it can bring to a village. There are challenges to increase the use of Jatropha, and among the greater difficulties are land issues (a Jatropha plantation to provide enough oil to power an MFP for a rural village would probably require about 8 ha after 5 years of growth). Despite the challenges, Jatropha has been successfully used in some development projects and merits further research. (C) 2012 International Energy Initiative. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.