The biofuel concept has been that if you just burn plant materials, you put out a lot of bad pollutants. However, if you heat the materials in a container without oxygen (“pyrolysis”), you leave most of the carbon as “biochar,” which makes an excellent soil additive (in fact Amazon Indians built up rich soils over hundreds of years using biochar). The gas that is given off by pyrolysis can be processed into clean­burning fuel.

3.2.2.1 Woodpellets

Jatropha fruit shells have a high fuel heat value of 4000 kcal/kg and this is similar to coal. Jatropha fruit shells can be dried and compressed into woodpellets in combination with woodchips — a very environmentally friendly fuel.

3.2.2.2 Polyol

If you buy a fridge, a PC, a notebook, a television, or prepacked meat in a super­market the product is packed in styrofoam. This is the white packaging material that makes an impossible squeaky noise if you scratch it with your fingernails! Styrofoam is made of oil, it is not degradable, and it is patented by the American chemical giant DuPont. Out of Jatropha you can produce polyol, which has the same properties as styrofoam, but it is biodegradable! Thus, anyone who produces 1 million tonnes of polyol will be made very welcomed by the Sony’s, Mitsubishi’s, and Apples’ of this world to offer them green packaging. Polyol can be used in the packaging and insulation industry.