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BIOMASS AND BIOENERGY 32 (2008) 95 – 100

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http://www.elsevier.com/locate/biombioe

Review

Prospects and risks of the use of castor oil as a fuel

Volkhard Scholza,, Jadir Nogueira da Silvab

a
Leibniz-Institut für Agrartechnik Potsdam-Bornim e.V., Max-Eyth-Allee 100, 14469 Potsdam, Germany
b
Depto. Engenharia Agrı́cola, Universidade Federal de Vic- osa, Campus Universitário, 36570-00 Vic- osa, Brazil

art i cle info ab st rac t

Article history: Castor oil is more than just a raw material in great demand by the pharmaceutical and
Received 18 December 2006 chemical industries. In several southern countries its use as a fuel is also being discussed in
Received in revised form connection with social and ecological aspects. A few properties, in particular the extremely
14 August 2007 high viscosity and high water content, complicate the use of straight castor oil as a fuel for
Accepted 22 August 2007 internal combustion engines. A better perspective may be possible by transesterification
Available online 17 October 2007 and the addition of this biodiesel to fossil diesel fuel. This, however, calls for considerably
lower castor oil prices than are at present being paid on the world market.
Keywords:
& 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Castor oil
Rizinus communis L.
Biofuel
Straight vegetable oil (SVO)
Characteristics
World market
Brazil

Contents

1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
2. Production . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
3. World market . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
4. Chemical composition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
5. Physical properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
6. Conclusion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
Acknowledgements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99

1. Introduction energy. The programme is intended to encourage the use of

biofuels and also to reduce considerably the tax burden on
In the summer of 2004, the government of Brazil started a small producers. The new programme is estimated to create
vegetable oil programme focussing on the fight against jobs for 250,000 peasant families. In future, particularly the
poverty, environmental protection and the provision of cultivation of oil palms in the north of Brazil and castor in

Corresponding author. Tel.: +49 331 5699312; fax: +49 331 5699849.
E-mail address: [email protected] (V. Scholz).
0961-9534/$ - see front matter & 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.biombioe.2007.08.004
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96 BIOMASS AND BIOENERGY 32 (2008) 95– 100

the northeast of the country will be politically encouraged about 4 years. At present, the cultivated varieties grow to a
and subsidised. The question is whether castor oil is suitable height of 60–120 cm in 1 year, and several metres in perennial
as a fuel and whether it has a chance on national and cultivation. Castor grows in the humid tropics to the sub-
international markets for other purposes. tropical dry zones (optimal precipitation 750–1000 mm, tem-
perature 15–38 1C) and can be also cultivated in southern
Europe [1–5] (Fig. 1).
2. Production Harvesting castor oil is fairly complex. When harvested by
hand the ripe fruit (humidity o45%) are selectively cut, and
Castor oil, Ricinus communis L., (castor bean, castor, castor oil later the capsules are removed. Due to the varying stages of
plant, ricin, higuerilla, mamona, mamoeira, palma christi) is a ripeness of the seeds up to five separate harvests are
member of the tropical spurge family (Euphorbiaceae) and necessary. In mechanical harvesting modified combine har-
can nowadays be found naturalised and cultivated in all vesters are normally used, and these partly separate the unripe
temperate countries of the world. Castor is originally a tree or capsules. In this case the plants must be leafless, which may
shrub that can grow above 10 m high, reaching an age of require the use of defoliants [1,2]. Since the seeds are very

Fig. 1 – Castor plant during growth period.

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BIOMASS AND BIOENERGY 32 (2008) 95 – 100 97

poisonous caution is needed during harvesting and processing: ing wholesalers have joined together in the International
only 0.18 g kg 1 of body mass can result in death [6,7]. Castor Oil Association Inc. (ICOA), which was founded in 1957.
Castor oil seeds are predominantly cleaned and sorted by At the moment they produce over 90% of the entire castor oil
machine. Subsequently, the oil is obtained by pressing the world trade [8].
seeds one to three times and extracting it. During cold As a result of fluctuations in production and speculation,
pressing, which is preferred for pharmaceutical and cosmetic the price of castor oil varies considerably. In the past, it was
use, the yield of oil is 30–36% of the mass of seeds. Warm between US$650 and 1500 t 1 without tax ex Rotterdam. The
pressing (470 1C) produces about 38–48% [8]. The remaining average price in the past 10 years was about US$900 t 1 and
oil can to a large extent be extracted by using solvents. When therefore almost twice the price of rapeseed oil in Germany
processed according to good professional practice only 1–2% (Fig. 3).
of oil remains in the pressed cake [9,10].
At present, the yield of castor oil seeds in Brazil is about
0.9 t ha 1. The average in the world is about 1.1 t ha 1 [11]. 4. Chemical composition
Under very favourable conditions, 4–5 t ha 1 may be obtained
[1]. The bean-shaped seeds of the castor oil usually contain Just like other vegetable oils, castor oil is a triglyceride of
40–55% oil. With a mean oil content of 47% and mean various fatty acids and about 10% glycerine. The fatty acids
estimated oil yield of 90%, the world average yield is therefore consist of approximately 80–90% ricinoleic acid, 3–6% linoleic
around 460 kg castor oil ha 1. It may be possible to obtain a acid, 2–4% oleic acid and 1–5% saturated fatty acids. The high
maximum of 2000 kg oil ha 1 [8]. Therefore, castor is amongst content of ricinoleic acid is the reason for the versatile value
the plants with the highest oil yield potential [12]. of castor oil in technology [14–17] (Table 1).
Compared with other vegetable oils, castor oil has a very
high proportion of simply unsaturated fatty acids (18:1).
A comparatively high proportion of those acids can be found
3. World market only in the oil of the high oleic (HO) sunflower, appearing,
however, as oleic acid. In castor oil it is ricinoleic acid, the
Castor oil merely has less than 0.15% in the international oil only unsaturated fatty acid occurring in natural vegetable oils
seed trade market. For this reason Oil World, a well-known with a hydroxyl function of the carbon atom 12. The
vegetable oil statistics, only note the production, trade and extraordinarily high viscosity of castor oil is attributed to
consumption data in the margins [13]. At present, about the presence of this hydroxyl group [18].
1.3 Mt of castor oil seeds are produced in total per year
corresponding to about 550 kt of oil [11]. Since the beginning
of the 1970s, castor oil seed production has increased 5. Physical properties
continuously but it is, in some cases, subject to yearly
fluctuations of 20%, which are above all the result of storm Castor oil provides an odourless, viscous, non-drying oil,
damage in the main regions of cultivation (Fig. 2). which in its natural state has an initially mild later
About half of all the castor oil produced in the world is unpleasant taste and is yellow–green to yellow–brown in
exported. India alone exports 80% of this and therefore largely colour. In its processed state it can also be clear. As opposed
dominates the market. More than 30 internationally operat- to other vegetable oils it is characterised by its indigestibility,

1.6 Brazil
India
1.4
China
1.2 Other
Production, Mt

1.0

0.8

0.6

0.4

0.2

0.0
70 9 72 974 9 76 9 78 9 80 9 82 9 84 9 86 98 8 9 90 992 9 94 9 96 9 98 0 00 0 02 0 04
19 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 2

Fig. 2 – World production of castor oil seed according to FAO [11].

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98 BIOMASS AND BIOENERGY 32 (2008) 95– 100

1400
Castor oil Rape oil
1200
Soya oil Palm oil

Average price, US$ t-1

1000

800

600

400

200

0
1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004

Fig. 3 – Price trend of castor oil and other vegetable oils in Germany (not adjusted for inflation).

Table 1 – Castor oil and rape oil fatty acid compositions

Fatty acid Proportion

Castor oil Rape oil

According to DIN According to According to

55939 (%) [20] Bockisch (%) [29] Schuster (%) [30]

Ricinoleic acid C 18:1-OH 86–92 82–90 0

Linoleic acid C 18:2 2.8–6 3–6 15–30
Oleic acid C 18:1 2.5–4 2–4 50–65
Palmitic acid C 16:0 1–1.5 1–1.5 1–5
Stearic acid C 18:0 0.5–1.5 – 0.5–2
Linolenic acid C 18:3 0.2–0.8 0.2–0.6 5–13

1600
Kinematic viscosity, mm2/s

Castor oil according to

solubility in alcohol, high hygroscopicity and extraordinarily Alberdingk Boley GmbH
1200
high viscosity. With an iodine number of less than 90, castor Rape oil according to
oil is a non-drying oil. Long storage times are unproblematic prestandard DIN 51506
under airtight conditions [8]. The technical demands of castor 800
oil used as a raw material in the chemical industries are
defined by the ICOA standard [19] and by the DIN 55939 [20]. 400
Regarding the fuel-related properties, the high calorific
value and the high cetane number are of advantage along
0
with the low content of phosphorous and carbon residues. 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
The disadvantage is that castor oil has a significantly higher
Temperature, °C
viscosity at temperatures under 50 1C, and possibly also a
higher compressibility, than other vegetable oils. This may Fig. 4 – Kinematic viscosity of castor and rape oil versus
cause problems at extraction and injection [12,21–26] (Fig. 4). temperature [27,28].
A further disadvantage is its hygroscopicity, causing a
relatively high water content and thereby possibly algae
growth, filtration and corrosion problems [8]. Castor oil is partly admissible, since the norm, strictly speaking, only
also characterised by its extraordinary oxidative and low- applies to rapeseed oil.
temperature stability. In Table 2, the most important fuel- So far, only a few experiments on the use of castor oil in
related characteristic values of commercial castor oil are diesel engines have been held. At the beginning of the 1990s,
compared with the limits of the German prestandard DIN castor oil was tested as straight vegetable oil (SVO) for engines
51605 [28] for rapeseed oil fuels. This comparison is only in a laboratory of the German company Motorenwerke
 ARTICLE IN PRESS
BIOMASS AND BIOENERGY 32 (2008) 95 – 100 99

Table 2 – Fuel-specific properties of castor oil and rape oil

Properties contents Unit Rape oil Castor oil

According to DIN 51605 [28] According to various sources [8]

Density (15 1C) kg m 3 900–930 950–974

Flash point according to P.-M. 1C 4220 229–260
Kinematic viscosity (40 1C) mm2 s 1 o36 240–300
Net calorific value MJ kg 1 436.0 37.2–39.5
Flammability (cetane number) – 439 42
Coke residues % o0.40 0.22
Iodine number g 100 g 1 95–125 82–90
Sulphur content mg kg 1 o10 10
Total impurities mg kg 1 o24 ca. 10
1
Neutralisation value mg KOH g o2.0 1.0–4.0
Oxidation resistance (110 1C) H 46.0 95
Phosphorous content mg kg 1 o12 o4
Total content of Mg und Ca mg kg 1 o20 –
Ash content % o0.01 o0.01
Water content % o0.075 0.15–0.30

Bremerhafen AG [31]. Due to the cost of the oil or more vegetable oil in engines. Without the development of special
precisely the lack of cost effectiveness of castor oil cultivation engines, a sustainable turnover is therefore hardly to be
and extraction, these experiments were not continued. expected soon, even in Brazil. Despite the unfavourable
A careful assessment on the basis of these experiments engine-related technical properties of straight castor oil, it
shows that castor oil may possibly be appropriate for motor seems possible to produce a methyl or ethyl ester by
engines suitable for vegetable oil. First experiences with a transesterification, which can be possibly added to fossil
combined heat and power plant (CHP) in a Brazilian rain diesel fuel in small proportions. However, castor oil will only
forest village appear to confirm it [32]. It should, however, be play a minor role in the future oil and fuel market.
taken into account that sometimes even rapeseed oil causes
difficulties in adapted engines and certainly no engine
warranties are available for the use of castor oil as SVO. Acknowledgements
Another way out of this problem is the process of
transesterification. At present, there are several R&D efforts This paper is based on a study that was commissioned by
to produce and use castor oil-based methyl and ethyl esters the German Society for Technical Cooperation (GTZ) and
[33]. It is stated that, with the exception of the viscosity, supported by the National Council for Scientific and Techno-
density and cetane number, there are no limitations in the logical Development (CNPq) Brazil.
use of these esters as fuels and that it may be possible to meet We would like to thank our colleagues Prof. J. Krahl
the limit values by dilution or blending with conventional (FAL Braunschweig), Dr. E. Remmele (TFZ Straubing),
diesel fuel [34]. D. Bockey (UFOP Berlin) and Dr. J. Wolf (ETI Potsdam) for their
helpful information.

6. Conclusion R E F E R E N C E S

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