Extractive Plants

Extractive Plants
    Based on exudates and extractives, plants are classified as those bearing:
    i) Latex
    ii) Vegetable oil and waxes
    iii) Resins
    iv) Essential oils
    v) Tannins and phenolic compounds bearing plants
    Latex yielding plant species:
    • Plant species yielding latex belong to Family Apocynaceae, Asclepiadaceae, Euphorbiaceae, Moraceae and Sapotaceae.
    • Potential petro-crops are: Euphorbia antisyphilitica, E. tirucalli, E. lathyris, Pedilanthes tithymaloides, Calotropis procera, Asclepias curassavica and Parthenium argentatum.
    Vegetable oils:
    • Vegetable oils have great potential to be used as liquid fuel or as a source of hydrocarbons.
    • Some of them can be mixed in diesel.
    • The non-edible seed bearing oil tree species can be cultivated on poor, marginal and wastelands.
    • Important species are
    • Seed-oil bearing plants Antinodaphe hookeri, Aleurites triloba, Anacardium occidentale, Aphanamixis polystachya, Azadirachta indica, Calophyllum inophyllum, Cocos nucifera, Croton tiglium, Garcinia indica, Hydnocarpus wightiana, Jatropha curcas, Madhuca indica, Madhuca longifolia, Melia azedarach, Mesua ferrea, Mimusops elengi, Pongamia pinnata, Pittosporum resiniferum, Ricinus communis, Salvadora oleoides, Sapium sebiferum, Schleichera oleosa, Samecarpus anacardium, Shorea robusta, Simmondsia chinesis, Strychnos nux-vomica and Vateria indica etc.
    Resins:
    • Resins are collected mainly from members of family Pinaceae.
    • These are volatile oils (turpentine) and non volatile resins (rosin).
    • The resins are main source for synthetic rubber and other polymers.
    • Turpines are highly combustible and they can be used in various formulations of fuel for automobiles.
    Calorific value:
    • The amount of heat produced when 1 g of fuel is completely burnt in excess of air or oxygen.
    • If one gram of carbon is burned completely, it produces about 30,000J or 30 KJ/g of heat.
    • Therefore, the calorific value of carbon is 30 KJ/g and fuel having high calorific value is regarded as good fuel.
    • CV of hydrogen is 150 KJ/g. However, it is not commonly used fuel because of highly combustible nature and difficulty in its handling.

Last modified: Saturday, 20 October 2012, 6:14 AM