Vegetable-based Biodiesel Powers Machines

MANILA, Philippines — The government is continually developing technologies to help farmers increase their yields, earn more income and improve their social and economic status.

One initiative is to harness a new technology that will produce biodiesel from used vegetable oils to give farmers the opportunity to increase their farm efficiency without increasing their expenses. The new technology is being tested for use in farm machines by the Nueva Ecija-based Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice).

The fuel and energy crisis and the society’s concern over the depletion of the world’s non-renewable resources have prompted several sectors to look for alternative fuels. One of the most promising alternatives is vegetable oils and their derivatives. In the Philippines, research on the use of vegetable oils as fuel substitute has been done since the 1970s, using coconut oil.

The Biofuels Act of 2006, Republic Act 9367, seeks to develop and use renewable energy to mitigate toxic and greenhouse gas effects, decrease the country’s dependence on imported fuel, and increase rural employment and income. It mandates the incorporation of 1 percent biodiesel in diesel and 5 percent bioethanol in gasoline, which has been done since 2009.

New technology, introduced by US-based Filipino scientist Dr. Rico O. Cruz, is expected to make biodiesel cheaper since it does not need any heating ingredients and sophisticated equipment. Cruzesterification, as Dr. Cruz called his process of producing biodiesel from used vegetable oils, is the result of 20 years of research.

The new technology is environment-friendly as it does not emit dark and poisonous fumes. Farm waste such as rice hull can also be used to filter the biodiesel before loading it into the engine. Another chemical process to convert oil to biodiesel is called transesterification, in which glycerin is separated from the fat or vegetable oil.

The process leaves behind two products – methyl esters (the chemical name for  biodiesel) and glycerin (a byproduct used in soaps and other products).

Biodiesel is better for the environment because it is made from renewable resources and has lower emissions compared to petroleum diesel. Its many advantages are: Simple to use, biodegradable, nontoxic, essentially free of sulfur and aromatics, contains no petroleum, but can be blended at any level with petroleum diesel to create a biodiesel blend, and can be used in diesel engines with little or no modifications.

Benguet finds oil treasure in ‘petroleum nut’

Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 23:26:00 07/02/2009

LA TRINIDAD, Bebguet -- Agriculturists and villagers are propagating seedlings of a “petroleum nut” locally known as apisang which, they say, could be an alternative source of fuel and energy.

Michael Bengwayan, an agriculturist, said the oil extracted from the nut could be used for cooking and lighting.

More than 30,000 seedlings have been produced since 2007, he said. The first batch was planted by 23 farmers in Kapangan and Kibungan towns.

Agriculture scientists see the nut, or resin cheesewood (scientific name Pittosporum resiniferum), as a source of sustainable fuel in the Cordillera and the answer to India’s jatropha (Jatropha curcas), which is now being promoted by biodiesel advocates all over the world.

“Why does the government have to spend P125 million for jatropha when we have our own source of alternative fuel?” asked Bengwayan in a press forum here.

He presented research results on the nut that showed its prospect as an alternative fuel that, he said, could energize rural households.

Bengwayan, also a director of the Pine Tree, a non-profit organization working on ecological education, training, research and information, said the nut has a higher rate of octane, which was more combustible than jatropha.

The Benguet State University is doing research on areas where the apisang trees thrive, the germination of the seeds, multiplication of the seedlings and their sustainability, Bengwayan said.

The tree is endemic to the Philippines and is believed to be the country’s “most promising biofuel treasure, which could provide energy to rural areas and reduce global warming,” he said.

It thrives in Benguet, Nueva Vizcaya, Mt. Province, and Ifugao and is also known locally as hanga (Tagalog), dingo (Mt. Province) and sagaga (Abra).

Bengwayan said the extracted oil could be used for cooking when blended with kerosene (with a ratio of three parts oil and one part kerosene) and for lighting.

The oil could also be used to cure stomachache and prevent skin infection, he said.

Propagating the seedlings can help contribute to the region’s carbon sink, a process that helps reduce carbon dioxide in the environment and reduce global warming, he said.

Bengwayan said more seedlings would be distributed to farmers and villagers.

“They may sell the oil if they have an excess supply. But the important factor here is we are able to save and not destroy the environment,” he said.

Bengwayan’s group has established a seed bank in the village of Longlong here to keep the seedlings. It has been training farmers to maintain their own seed bank. Desiree Caluza, Inquirer Northern Luzon