Recovery of Phorbol from Oil of an Egyptian Jatropha

Biofuels have been getting considerable attention because of global emphasis on reducing greenhouse gases, considering the environment and energy security. The use of biodiesel to (partially) replace fossil diesel has a significant potential for reducing pollution and creating economic benefits for farmers. Jatropha curcas is a non-edible crop and an important source for producing clean energy from its oil. Seeds and other parts of Jatropha can be processed to produce oil containing substances called phorbol esters. These esters can recovered as valuable co-products to be used for various agricultural, medical and pharmaceutical applications. On the other hand, clays (bentonite) are usually in fixing the organic compounds. In the present study we investigated the adsorption and sorption of phorbol esters on clays. We found that the optimum conditions for adsorption of phorbol esters were using 15% (w/v) of bentonite stirred at 100 rpm and at room temperature. Bentonite characterization was done using infrared spectroscopy and X-rays diffraction. Desorption of phorbol esters has been evaluated and achieved co-product recovery of 82-100% from Jatropha oil.