The news of an energy crisis has been touted so often in the media that it has practically lost its edge. As the New Year ushered in another surge in world oil prices, from a previous high of 59.1 dollars per barrel in September 1, 2005 to a record high of 69.20 dollars in January of 2006, the news was received by an exhausted public accustomed to the fact of a perennial energy crisis. Unfortunately, resignation and indifference do not diminish the gravity of the problem, and the rising cost of fuel is a harsh reality that needs to be faced.
The government has proposed an intervention program aimed at cutting back on power and oil consumption and developing alternative and renewable energy resources. The past years have seen the emergence of some choices of alternative fuel, and words like biodiesel, bio-ethanol, coco biodiesel, and biogas are slowly creeping into common usage. These alternatives may very well pave the way out of a seemingly insurmountable problem.
Vegetarian fuel
Biodiesel, as defined in the Iowa State University Office of Biorenewables Program website, is any biodegradable fuel “produced through a process in which organically derived oils are combined with alcohol to form ethyl or methyl ester.” In contrast to petrol-based fuel, whose adverse impact on the environment is well known, biodiesel is a natural hydrocarbon with very little sulfur content, which when blended with petrol-based fuel even in little amounts, translates to less toxic emissions. Moreover, while the specter of an ultimately limited supply hangs over fossil fuels, biodiesel comes from a renewable source—plant or animal oil. Most car engines today can run well on a blend of biodiesel and petrol-based diesel.
Biodiesel, which includes coco diesel, ethanol, and methanol, comes under the heading ‘biomass,’ which simply means fuel sourced from biological materials. The use of biomass, one source of alternative energy, is far more widespread than one would think. Statistics presented by Teresita M. Borra, director of the Energy Utilization Management Bureau of the Department of Energy during last year’s Klima Clean Transport Forum and Workshop, show that while a good thirty-nine percent of our country’s energy supply comes from oil, energy from alternative sources, primarily biomass and some solar and wind power, account for close to thirty-one percent.
Not-so-virgin coconut oil
Coco biodiesel has received a definite go-signal from the government. In 2004, President Arroyo signed Memorandum Circular No. 55, mandating all government departments, bureaus and offices to add a one percent blend of coco biodiesel to their diesel requirements. Coco biodiesel, or Coconut Methyl Ester (CME), which is derived from coconut oil, has been endorsed by the DoE as offering “excellent lubricity, solvency and detergency.” Moreover, coco-biodiesel can be used in any diesel engine with little or no modification to the engine or fuel system.
A team from the UP Diliman Department of Mechanical Engineering has been doing test productions of coco-biodiesel through a process formulated by a Japanese company, which also provided the equipment. The group, headed by Dr. Edwin M. Quiros, associate professor of the department, used different blends of coco biodiesel and petrol-based diesel, ranging from one to five percent coco biodiesel. They recorded data on fuel economy on a road test covering 100 km per fuel blend, as well as emissions in terms of smoke capacity. “With these small percentages of biodiesel, emissions were reduced compared to straight diesel,” Quiros reports, citing a ten to fifteen percent reduction in emission. “As for fuel economy, there was not much of a difference between it and straight diesel. So it seems if you’re going to use biodiesel as a fuel additive to straight diesel, the main benefit would be reduction in smoke emissions.”
It wouldn’t represent a reduction in expense, though. One reason why MC No. 55 has not exactly drummed up enthusiastic compliance is the relatively high cost of the raw material. “A liter of coconut oil is about forty pesos,” Quiros explains. “If you’re going to blend it with diesel, it will boost up the cost of fuel.”
It is simply not cost effective for government vehicles to use coco biodiesel at the moment.
Dr. Karl N. Vergel, associate professor of the UP Diliman Department of Civil Engineering and head of the Transportation and the Environment Group of the National Center for Transportation Studies, narrows it down to an issue of supply. Even a one percent blend would put too much pressure on the supply of coconuts. After all, coconuts are the main ingredient in a whole range of other products, including food, cooking oil, and the very popular virgin coconut oil. “The bulk of our coconut oil is exported,” Quiros explains. “When you sell it abroad, you naturally earn more from it.”
New meaning to ‘sugar-rush’
Fuel ethanol, defined in the DoE website as “a high-octane, water-free alcohol produced from the fermentation of sugar or converted starch,” is one of the world’s most popular alternatives to petrol-based fuel. Pure ethanol burns far more cleanly than other fuels, with end products consisting of carbon dioxide and water, making it an environmentalist’s favorite fuel. Most cars today can handle up to a ten percent blend of ethanol; anything higher will require a few engine modifications. Many countries have successfully campaigned for greater use of fuel ethanol, including Brazil, the European Union, the US, Australia, China, India, Japan, and Thailand.
In the Philippines, the National Bioethanol Program was launched only last May 2005. A House Bill and Senate Bill have also been authored, seeking to establish a bioethanol industry in the country. The Philippine Fuel Ethanol Alliance (PFEA) is actively campaigning for the passage of the bills.
Main sources of ethanol are corn, cassava, sugarcane, and other starchy materials. Dr. Reynaldo I. Acda, former dean of the UP Los Baños College of Engineering and Agro-Industrial Technology and technical consultant of the PFEA, favors ethanol obtained from sugarcane. Corn is heavily utilized by the livestock industry for feeds and by people as a major food source. If supplies were further divvied up for ethanol production, it might become necessary to import corn in the short run. “Sugarcane [in contrast] is widespread, with developed areas and areas for development lying idle,” Acda says. “Besides, Filipinos are more familiar with sugarcane agronomy, particularly in the Visayas. We know how to raise tubo quite well.”
Another advantage to ethanol, Acda says, is that “it is relatively inexpensive to produce ethanol, compared to diesel, at fifteen to twenty pesos a liter, using modern technology, not the old technology.”
Acda is careful to emphasize the use of modern technology because it addresses one of the major misgivings about ethanol production: the treatment of slops. Ethanol, which is also used in alcoholic beverages, is obtained through distillation; and in the past, environmental groups have taken issue with the industry’s method of dealing with distillery waste. Acda is quick to point out that the modern technology for waste treatment was not available then. Acquiring it would entail additional cost, of course, and may in turn drive up the price of ethanol.
There are other challenges the Philippine bioethanol industry has to face, says Acda. One is the lack of distilleries. “According to our approximations, we would need at least eleven distilleries with a 160,000-liter capacity a day just to supply enough ethanol to meet a ten percent-blend requirement.” There is also a need to develop the local sugarcane industry further. Fuel stations to handle blending and pumping are also required. As for the added cost of waste treatment, Acda believes that full government support—in the form of a temporary relaxation of environmental laws and tax credit—would further help make the Philippine bioethanol industry comparable to the rest of the world’s.
Anaerobic exercise
Perhaps the nascent bioethanol industry can take a page out of Dr. Wilfredo I. Jose’s project proposal.
Challenged by MMDA Chair Bayani Fernando’s suggestion to Metro Manila residents to simply flush their household wastes down the toilet, Dr. Jose, professor of biochemical engineering at the UP Diliman Department of Chemical Engineering, devised a way of dealing with wet household wastes, while at the same time discovering a solution to the roaring, smoke-belching tricycles present in every subdivision. The result is an ingenious melding of waste treatment through anaerobic digestion and a quieter, less noxious alternative to diesel-run engines.
In Jose’s project proposal, wet biodegradable wastes are separated from dry wastes, ground finely, and sent through anaerobic digesters, wherein bacteria work to break the wastes down without the presence of oxygen. This process produces methane, or biogas, which is then stripped of hydrogen sulfide and carbon dioxide before going into a storage tank. The biogas is used to power the engine of an electric generator, which will in turn charge lead-acid batteries needed to run an electric tricycle. Besides green e-tricycles, Jose adds, the biogas acquired in this manner can also be used by a household for cooking, or to power a boiler or run an electric generator.
A problem could crop up in the area of maintenance, however. “If you don’t understand the processes involved, there will be difficulties,” says Jose. “The system could get blocked, or air could get in, killing the bacteria…you need proper maintenance.”
Jose also mentions the importance of selecting the kind of waste that produces enough methane. Human waste, for instance, produces less biogas. “However, this is an economic way of creating the pollutant,” he says. He refers to the biological oxygen demand (BOD) of the materials, or the amount of oxygen that will disappear from the water when aerobic bacteria set about breaking down organic material, a measure of the level of water pollution. “The higher the BOD, the higher the level of pollution,” Jose points out. “If your organic material has a BOD of less than 500 mg/L, you won’t be able to get enough biogas from it. Above 1,000 mg/L, sufficient methane is produced. Good sources of biogas are swine and cattle manure, with a BOD of 20,000 mg/L. The best source is alcohol distillery slops, with a BOD reading of 60,000 to 80,000 mg/L. In fact, Jose says, the biogas one can acquire from distillery slops is adequate to the needs of one small subdivision.
Alternative Engineering
It is common knowledge that the country is in dire need of a cure for its dependency on imported fossil fuel. How can the gap between the scientific principles behind alternative fuels and the day-to-day realities of the common people be bridged? “Engineers are needed to make the principle practical,” Jose explains. “The ideas already exist; they work in the laboratory. So how do you transform them into something practical, even commercially useful?”
The urgency is there, Acda insists. Thus far, the country has been trapped in a cycle. An energy crisis induces the government to launch into feverish campaigns and studies on alternative fuel, only to lose interest when the crisis has passed. The scientific knowledge that could help the country is already there. All that is needed is the ability to focus on the long-term and the will to do what is necessary to get there.
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