Assiut University signed a tripartite cooperation protocol with the "Assiut Petroleum Refinery Company" and the " mk jojoba Company for Desert Land Reclamation" in order to achieve research and practical integration between the three parties and achieve the maximum possible benefit for the production of the first biofuel from the jojoba plant in the Middle East during the coming period .
The signing of the protocol was attended this afternoon, Monday at Assiut University headquarters, by Dr. Tarek El-Gamal, the university president and his deputy, Dr. Maha Kamel Ghanem, Dr. Adel Ali, Dean of the Faculty of Agriculture at Assiut University, Engineer Ismail Mohamed, Chairman of the Board of Directors of mk jojoba Company and his scientific team, and Dr. Maged Mustafa Mohamed El-Kurdi, President of mk jojoba Company Assiut Petroleum Refinery.
The tripartite protocol handled the exchange of scientific, practical and technical experiences in the field of jojoba oil in terms of increasing its production, quality, physical and chemical properties, and the industries based on it in the fields of biofuels, cosmetics, medical and pharmaceutical industries, and lubricants.
Tarek El-Gamal, President of Assiut University, said that the university will contribute, as a first party, including the faculties of agriculture, pharmacy and science, and the specializations included in those faculties, to the great role in the field of jojoba cultivation and increasing productivity and quality in addition to the contributions of Assiut Petroleum Refining Company, as a second party, with its laboratories specialized in oil analysis and production of biofuels and lubricants as well as mk jojoba Company for the Reclamation of Desert Lands, as a third party, as a leading company in the field of jojoba cultivation and propagation in Egypt and the Middle East.
Engineer Ismail, the agricultural expert, Chairman of the Board of Directors of mk jojoba Company for the Reclamation of Desert Lands, said that the jojoba plant is an unconventional plant with great economic returns that is suitable in marginal and desert lands which represent more than 90% of the land area ofthe Arab Republic of Egypt. It produces unmatched oil compared with vegetable oils due to its unique natural and chemical manufacturing properties that enable it to enter strongly in the fields of manufacturing cosmetics, medical and pharmaceutical preparations, pesticides, biofuels and lubricating oils as well as limiting carbon emissions that cause global warming.
On the other hand, Mr. Maged Mustafa Mohammed Al-Kurdi, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Assiut Petroleum Refining Company stated that this protocol is regarded within the integrated plan set by the Ministry of Petroleum for the development and improving the efficiency of the current refineries through the implementation of a number of new projects for refining and manufacturing with the aim of securing fuel supplies and keeping pace with the increasing domestic demand for petroleum products and limiting their import.
He stressed that this cooperation will contribute to relying on new and renewable natural sources whether for lubricating oils or biofuels, especially those produced from jojoba oil which have unique physical and chemical properties compared to traditional oils (triglycerides) since it is a single long carbon chain consisting of unsaturated mono esters. Thus, the company has the leadership and precedence in this field.