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.