Mabapa admits that, at the time, what he had in mind was mere castor oil which would still be a commercially viable product. When he returned to Wits, Nkazi asked him what he wanted to do with the oil and encouraged him to look at alternative uses. ¡°So I did some research and found that we can also use the castor oil as feed stock.
Could castor seeds create biofuel from castor seed?
A chance discovery of castor seeds while walking home from church is behind what might be a ground-breaking idea of creating biofuel from castor seed. Thabang Mabapa is a self-confessed curious social entrepreneur who might just have a viable alternative to the country¡¯s current fuel price crisis.
Is castor oil a disruptor in commercial farming?
He makes biofuel from castor oil extracted from castor trees and its growing demand is proving to be a disruptor in the commercial farming community. City Press met up with the Soweto-born innovator at his workplace, a laboratory at Wits University.
What is castor oil used for?
Castor oil has numerous industrial uses, owing to the presence of a hydroxyl group on the fatty acid. Castor oil is a precursor to Nylon 11. Castor oil may also be reacted with epichlorohydrin to make a glycidyl ether which is used as a diluent and flexibilizer with epoxy resins. Vegetable oil is used in the production of some pet foods.