<i>Calotropis procera </i>and <i>Nerium indicum—</i>Two<i> </i>potential plant sources of energy and hydrocarbon

Abstract

<i>Calotropis procera </i>and <i>Nerium indicum </i>were evaluated as potential renewable sources of energy and chemicals.The different plant parts-leaf, stem, bark and the plant as a whole were analysed separately for α-cellulose, lignin, ash and elemental compositions. α-cellulose in the whole plant portion were 56.42 % and 57.35 % for C <i>procera </i>and <i>N indicum,</i> while lignins were 20.42% and 23.25 % respectively. The elemental composition of C, H and N in the plant were 40.36,6.19 and 2.06% for C <i>procera, </i>while for <i>N indicum, </i>the C, H and N were 38.54, 5.86 and 1.82 % respectively. Of the two species, C <i>procera </i>contained 4.71% oil, 11.45% polyphenol, 3.46% hydrocarbon ,7.20% protein and 22.8 % unsaponifiable matter, while <i>N indicum </i>was found to contain 4.36 % oil, 8.62 % polyphenol, 2.18 % hydrocarbon, 7.55 % protein and 49.8 % unsaponifiable matters. The calorific values of the plant species were also determined and found to be 17.5 MJ/kG and 15.3 MJ/kG for <i>C</i> <i>procera </i>and <i>N indicum </i>respectively. Therefore, the species may be considered for large scale cultivation as an alternative source for producing hydrocarbon and chemical feedstocks.