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ICREGA’14 - Renewable Energy: Generation and Applications pp 1–9Cite as

The Potential of Castor as a Biodiesel Feedstock Crop for the Arabian Peninsula

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Abstract

There is an increasing need to turn to biofuels to meet growing world fuel requirements. Oil-rich regions such as the Arabian Peninsula should be no exception in exploring alternative, renewable and environment-friendly fuel options in order to decrease their dependency on non-renewable fossil fuels. In this study we have carried out field trials of castor (Ricinus communis) in order to assess its suitability as a biodiesel feedstock crop in the region. We have also studied the response of 11 hybrid accessions of castor to three saline irrigation water treatments (5, 10 and 15 dS/m) and determined that castor can tolerate up to 5 dS/m salinity in irrigation water without any negative effect on oilseed yield.

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Acknowledgments

I would like to thank Dr. Trupti Gokhale and Dr. S. Ramachandran at BITS Pilani - Dubai Campus for their valuable guidance. I also extend my most sincere gratitude to Dr. Mohammad Shahid and Dr. Henda Mahmoudi from the International Center for Biosaline Agriculture (ICBA) for their help and guidance during the course of this study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biotechnology, Birla Institute of Technology and Science Pilani, Dubai Campus, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

    Kiran Menon, S. Irshad Ahmed & Neeru Sood

  2. International Center for Biosaline Agriculture, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

    Nanduri K. Rao

Authors
  1. Kiran Menon
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  2. S. Irshad Ahmed
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  3. Neeru Sood
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  4. Nanduri K. Rao
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Kiran Menon .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Engineering Dept. Mechanical Engineering, United Arab Emirates University, Al-Ain, Utd.Arab.Emir.

    Mohammad O. Hamdan

  2. Faculty of Engineering Dept. of Electrical Engineering, United Arab Emirates University, Al-Ain, Utd.Arab.Emir.

    Hassan A.N. Hejase

  3. Faculty of Engineering Dept. of Electrical Engineering, United Arab Emirates University, Al-Ain, Utd.Arab.Emir.

    Hassan M. Noura

  4. Faculty of Engineering Dept. of Electrical Engineering, United Arab Emirates University, Al-Ain, Utd.Arab.Emir.

    Abbas A. Fardoun

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© 2014 Springer International Publishing Switzerland

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Menon, K., Ahmed, S.I., Sood, N., Rao, N.K. (2014). The Potential of Castor as a Biodiesel Feedstock Crop for the Arabian Peninsula. In: Hamdan, M., Hejase, H., Noura, H., Fardoun, A. (eds) ICREGA’14 - Renewable Energy: Generation and Applications. Springer Proceedings in Energy. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-05708-8_1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-05708-8_1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-05707-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-05708-8

  • eBook Packages: EnergyEnergy (R0)

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