Geltan Biodiesel purchased a machine to produce jatropha oil

It will begin with the production and extraction of vegetable oil from its plantations in Ghana

Press release of Galtan Bio Diesel and its responsibility
The company Galtan Biodiesel, which is listed on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, and which operates in the international market of the biodiesel field and works to grow and extract oil from the jatropha plant, announces the purchase of a machine for extracting the oil from the jatropha seeds, which will allow the company to begin the production and extraction phase of the jatropha oil in the territories The plantations that the company leases in Ghana, Africa.
The jatropha is a plant that grows naturally in equatorial regions. This plant bears its fruits for decades, that is, it is not an annual crop that requires replanting every period. Also, the jatropha plant has a high resistance to diseases and weather changes. One of the advantages of the jatropha plant is that it is a fruit that is not intended for food and does not come at the expense of other sources of vegetable oil such as corn. In addition, the jatropha plant is similar in its chemical properties to canola oil, so this is an important advantage that does not affect food resources and is therefore considered the next generation of the biodiesel industry.

Doron Levy, Chairman of the Galtan Board of Directors: "The existing jatropha fields in Ghana are already yielding fruit for us today, so that with the machine we purchased we will have the opportunity to produce high-quality oil in an expected volume of about 20 liters per month. This oil is intended for sale in the future, among other things, to customers who produce electricity using turbines powered by diesel, who will be able, by using the oil produced from the jatropha plant, to lower their electricity production costs. Our business plan for the coming years includes increasing the yielding areas of the jatropha trees, subject to the fact that we will raise the necessary capital for this purpose, as well as signing agreements to supply vegetable oil to customers."

The purchased machine is made by Gobind Expeller, which specializes in the production of machines and advanced industrial equipment for oil extraction facilities and has accumulated experience, technology and extensive knowledge in agricultural mechanization, including the production of machines for approximately 25 different types of kernels from which oil is produced. The professional team of Gobind Expeller has a declared ability to establish, install and train operators in the company's area of ​​activity. In the field of jatropha, the company has done research and adjustment work to create dedicated extraction machines for the plant that meet the technical ability for efficient and high-quality extraction of jatropha oil.

For the past four years, the company has been diligent about establishing a working operation in areas where the jatropha plant grows naturally. The jatropha plant has clear advantages over vegetable oil intended for the biodiesel industry such as canola, soybean and corn oil, such as the fact that the fruits of the jatropha are not edible and therefore its uses are not expected to cause a shortage of food products or affect their prices. The company signed a long-term lease for 1,000,000 dunams and in addition, the company leases an active farm that includes about 4,000 dunams of planted plantation and a working operation which combines several main things: agronomic knowledge from German researchers with botanical expertise in connection with the jatropha plant, agricultural knowledge An Israeli who combines Israeli agricultural technologies in growing the plant, as well as local agriculture that is customary and suitable for the place.

In recent years, a regulation has been developing in the European Union (in which the company is expected to market its products), which aims to encourage the use of biodiesel and which has a considerable effect on the penetration of biofuels into the transportation market and the levels of demand for them. As an example, Europe adopted the Kyoto Protocol and turned it into a binding directive which, at an increasing rate until 2020, will use vegetable fuels for 20% of the total fuels. For comparison, the increase in the proportion of biodiesel from the total fuels between 2005 and 2012 was estimated at about 5 billion US dollars.