Table of biofuel crop yields

The following table shows the vegetable oil yields of common energy crops associated with biodiesel production. This is unrelated to ethanol production, which relies on starch, sugar and cellulose content instead of oil yields.

Crop kg oil/ha/yr litres oil/ha lbs oil/acre US gal/acre
maize (corn) 145 172 129 18
cashew nut 148 176 132 19
oats 183 217 163 23
lupin (lupine) 195 232 175 25
kenaf 230 273 205 29
calendula 256 305 229 33
cotton 273 325 244 35
hemp 305 363 272 39
soybean 375 446 335 48
coffee 386 459 345 49
flax (linseed) 402 478 359 51
hazelnuts 405 482 362 51
euphorbia 440 524 393 56
pumpkin seed 449 534 401 57
coriander 450 536 402 57
mustard seed 481 572 430 61
camelina 490 583 438 62
sesame 585 696 522 74
safflower 655 779 585 83
rice 696 828 622 88
tung tree 790 940 705 100
sunflowers 800 952 714 102
cacao (cocoa) 863 1026 771 110
peanut 890 1059 795 113
opium poppy 978 1163 873 124
rapeseed 1000 1190 893 127
olives 1019 1212 910 129
castor beans 1188 1413 1061 151
pecan nuts 1505 1791 1344 191
jojoba 1528 1818 1365 194
jatropha 1590 1892 1420 202
macadamia nuts 1887 2246 1685 240
brazil nuts 2010 2392 1795 255
avocado 2217 2638 1980 282
coconut 2260 2689 2018 287
chinese tallow 3950 4700 3500 500
oil palm 5000 5950 4465 635
Copaifera langsdorffii [1] 12000 1283
Millettia pinnata[2] 9000
algae (open pond) [3] 80000 95000 70000 10000

- Note: Chinese Tallow (Sapium sebiferum, or Tradica sebifera) is also known as the "Popcorn Tree".

Source

Sourced here [4], published in Hill, Amanda, Al Kurki, and Mike Morris. 2006. “Biodiesel: The Sustainability Dimensions.” ATTRA Publication. Butte, MT: National Center for Appropriate Technology. Pages 4-5.

See also