Written by Rickdatech

Xanthoceras sorbifolium (yellowhorn, shiny leaf yellowhorn, goldenhorn, Chinese flowering chestnut), is a potential cold hardy oilseed tree. It is a small slow growing deciduous tree, reaching a height of 22 ft and a diameter of 24 ft. It grows less than 12 inches a year.

It prefers acidic dry soil and does not do well in hot wet locations. Hardy in Zones 4 to 7. It is drought tolerant and will survive temperatures below -20 °F.

It is cultivated In Northeastern China for it's edible fruit, reminiscent of chestnuts, it has a seed pod several inches across that have a number of pea sized seeds. These seeds contain up to 70% oil. In cultivation, it can produce over 800 gallons of oil per acre.

Yellowhorn oil contains only 7% saturated fatty acids, giving it similar cold weather properties as canola.

The Yellowhorn tree has multiple uses in Chinese Pharmacopoeia, however, the Chinese grow this tree primarily for oilseed production. In Norh America and Europe it is grown as an ornimental tree with profuse flowers that can cover the tree completely.

Written by Rickdatech

Peanuts offer a potential oil source for farm based biodiesel. Peanuts are over 50% oil and according to the University of Georgia are capable of producing 123 gallons of oil per acre. The problem with Peanut biodiesel is it's high saturated fat content which raises the gel point. That's not really a problem farm based production of peanut biodiesel. It only grows in the hottest, most humid areas of the country. 99% of all peanuts are grown in seven Southeastern States.

The USDA has been researching various cultivars to bring costs down for farm based biodiesel production. According to the USDA, they have been able to bring the cost down to about $2.50 per gallon of peanut biodiesel.

Written by Rickdatech

Mustard is closely related to both canola (a Canadian hybrid) and rape. The advantage of growing mustard to make biodiesel is that the meal is a biopesticide that can be used on Organic farms. It is not really common oilseed for biodiesel since the meal contains glucosinolates.

The University of Idaho has developed two cultivars through their breeding program. They show promise as low cost biodiesel feedstock oils with the meal showing promise as a biopesticide. They have been doing research with mustard, its meal, and its oil for a decade, and have publiished a number of peer review papers on mustard.

Written by Rickdatech

Camelina is listed as being adapted to the flax-growing regions of the northern Midwest (Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota). It is a promising low input crop for these areas. It can be seeded in winter or spring and has potential for double croping. It has potential as an oilseed crop for biodiesel. Various studies have placed the oil content of camelina between 29% and 41%. Oil yields run 250 to 400 gallons per acre.

In some parts of the US Camelina is looking very good as a poteintial oilseed for biodiesel.The fatty acids in camelina oil are primarily unsaturated, with only about 12% being saturated. About 54% of the fatty acids are polyunsaturated, primarily linoleic (18:2) and linolenic (18:3), and 34% are monounsaturated, primarily oleic (18:1) and eicosenoic (20:1). This makes it a better cold weather fuel than soy methyl esters, but with a higher gel point than canola methyl esters. 

Written by Rickdatech

Chufa or Yellow Nutsedge was one of the first cultivated food crops. It has been found in the tombs of the ancient Egyptian pharaohs and cultivation dates back 4000 years. It is still cultivated in some countries for food. In the US it is considered an  invasive weed. It was cultivated for a short time during the 1940s in the SouthEast US as food for swine. It has a sweet nutty taste reminiscent of almonds. It is used in spain to make the drink horchuata.

My father grew Chufas to feed the hogs when he was a boy in the 1940's.  He called them chewfers.  They would grow them in the field and when they were ready, they turned the hogs loose in the field to root them up.  It sounds like he was growning the wild variety since they only got as big as small peanuts.  He said they were tough and chewy and tasted like almonds.  They only grew them a few years and changed over to peanuts on account you couldn't hoe em.

Today Chufa is cultivated in the US primarily as wild turkey attractant. The turkeys really love the stuff. Deer will also eat it. But mainly Yellow Nutsedge is considered a weed of cultivation. It is spread by farm equipment, is persistent and has reduced yields in heavy infestations. A lot of money and effort is spent in eradication of this invasive weed.

As far as I can tell, no one is seriously consdering cultivating this weed for it's oil. Still, it is an interesting possibility.

Written by Rickdatech

Pongam tree aka, Pongamia pinnata, Millettia pinnata, Pongamia, Honge tree, Karanj tree, and Indian Beech tree is a deciduous legume that grows up to about 50 to 80 feet tall and is native to subtropical regions. It is a viable non-toxic alternative to jatropha. Being a legume, it fixes nitrogen into the soil and is often used as a windbreak between fields on farms.

It has a wide spreading canopy making and fragrant flowers making it  ideal for ornamental shade applications. The oil is non-edible due to bitter tasting flaveroids. The plant has pharmacutial uses but is not poisionous to the touch like jatropa. It is insect resistant and there is mention of using the presscake as both insectiside and chicken feed.