RP told to look into other biofuel plant source
Monday, February 05, 2007
By MELODY M. AGUIBA
The Philippines should look into a study funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) on the use of a potential biodiesel plant called "pongamia" that may perhaps be suitably planted in the country and bring about an abundant, nature-friendly, and job-giving biofuel resource.
In a USAID project called "Developing Community-Based Water-Energy Services and Markets: A Pilot Project," the USAID sought participation of women at a village level in planting and extracting oil from pongamia, a leguminous tree which has numerous other socio-economic benefits.
As the pilot project has been done in a dry area in India together with the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), the plant may be similarly extensively planted in the Philippines where there are numerous, non-irrigated or rainfed marginal lands totalling to some two million hectares.
The women employed by the USAID-ICRISAT study has been able to sell carbon credits to the World Bank from which sale the participants in Adialabd District funded the establishment of nursery for pongamia and jatropha. The oil mill of Powerguda village, which has become an environmental pioneer through pongamia, has an oil extraction capacity of 50 kilos of seed (per hour).
"The energy plantations are providing oil to pump groundwater in Kistapur village. Surplus oil is sold in the market. The money (Rs30,000) from World Bank was invested in expanding the pongamia nursery (with 20,000 sapling-capacity). This has given the people a sense of pride in the village and put Powerguda on the map of the world," reported Suhas P. Wani of ICRISAT.
Pongamia biodiesel requires very little or no modification of engine when blended with diesel up to 20 percent. Its use results in substantial reduction of un-burnt hydrocarbons by 30 percent, carbon monoxide by 20 percent and particulate matters by 25 percent.
"It has almost no sulphur. Besides, it has nearly 10 percent in-built oxygen, which facilitates combustion and also favorable Cetane number,51. The lower limit for the Cetane number is 46 for good combustion," he said.
Its ability to adapt to any difficult condition, along with its medicinal significance, is impressive.
"The natural distribution is along coasts and riverbanks in lands and native to the Asian subcontinent. It is also cultivated along roadsides, canal banks and open farm lands. It is a preferred species for controlling soil erosion and binding sand dunes because of its dense network of lateral roots. Its root, bark, leaves, sap, and flower also have medicinal properties and traditionally used as medicinal plants," said Wani.
Pongamia oilcake contains nitrogen, 4.28 percent; phosphorus, 0.4 percent; potassium, 0.74 percent; magnesium, 0.17 percent; zinc, 59 PPM; iron, 1,000 PPM; copper, 22 PPM; manganese, 74 PPM; boron, 19 PPM; and sulfur, 1,894 PPM.
Pongamia begins to yield fruits and beans from fourth to seventh year of planting with seed yield varying from 10 to 250 kilos per trees. Its seeds contain 30 to 40 percent oil. A medium-sized evergreen tree with a spreading crown and a short bole, pongamia is also planted for shade or as an ornamental tree and has nitrogen-fixing property that makes it a soil-erosion control and reforestation plant in degraded lands.
Pongamia’s non-edible oil known as "karanja oil" whose properties is very similar to conventional diesel. Yet its emission properties are cleaner, having no polyaromatic compounds and has reduced toxic smoke and soot emissions.
Aside from foreign exchange savings potential, rural employment is a top consideration in planting pongamia in a country like India that is world’s sixth largest energy consumer at 3.5 percent of total or particularly 50 million metric tons for diesel.
"Indigenous production of pongamia oil could save several million dollars. Plantations could generate employment for landless people, tribal communities, and small farmers especially women self-help groups in rural areas," said Wani.
India which is now in the forefront of developing alternative renewable energy source to replace finite fossil fuel is now developing pongamia biofuel for large-scale commercial planting(some 13.4 million hectares) through policies of the Ministry of Rural Development, Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Environment and Forests.
For ethanol or the gasoline blend, India has also put up the world’s first sweet sorghum ethanol plant.
posted by philpower @ 9:04 AM,
