| |
|
|
 |
|
|
First and largest
coco-biodiesel plant in Asia opens
The Philippine Star 05/04/2006
President Arroyo led yesterday's opening of a new
P650-million coco-biodiesel plant in Quezon City,
which is expected to boost the country's energy
independence agenda at a time when world crude oil
prices continue to surge.
Chemrez's plant in Libis - the biggest and most
modern coco-biodiesel facility in Asia - is expected
to produce 60 million liters of coco-biodiesel per
year.
In her speech, the President promoted the use of
Chemrez's coco-biodiesel product, which is marketed
under the brand name BioActiv. She said if used
regularly, the fuel enhancer could guarantee a
P1,000 savings on fuel consumption and vehicle
maintenance per month.
"How does this reduce the cost of transport? By
adding one liter of BioActiv fuel enhancer to every
100 liters of diesel we reduce the transportation
cost per kilometer," she added.
Mrs. Arroyo lauded Chemrez for its contribution to
make diesel-fueled vehicles become fuel-saving and
environment friendly, for providing a source of
livelihood for coconut farmers and for producing a
Philippine export product to first world countries.
"I want to congratulate Chemrez because we are now
exporting biodiesel to Japan and Germany, which have
very high quality standards," Mrs. Arroyo said.
Aside from Japan and Germany, the President said the
Americans, Australians and the Chinese have also
expressed confidence in the local coco-biodiesel.
The company is also looking at other European
markets like France, the Netherlands and Italy as
potential market for Philippine coco-biodiesel.
Jun Lao, however, said that at this time they would
concentrate first on the domestic market. "We are
already positioning in other markets but at this
time, we want to focus on the Philippine market," he
said, adding that the expansion will come after the
passage of the Biofuels Bill now pending in
Congress, which will mandate a one percent blend of
coco-biodiesel to diesel products.
The Philippines' annual diesel demand is about six
billion liters. If every diesel-run vehicle in the
country will use at least one percent blend of coco-biodiesel,
diesel consumption will be reduced by 540 million
liters per year.
Mrs. Arroyo said this will free our people from
uncertainties of an energy supply heavily dependent
on imported oil.
She noted that consumption of imported fuel products
decreased by eight percent last year because of the
alternative fuel program.
"What we want is that by 2010 we are already 60
percent self-sufficient in fuel and energy needs,"
she said.
Chemrez is one of the three coco-biodiesel
manufacturers in the country accredited by the
Department of Energy. With the additional 60 million
liters of coco-biodiesel it will be producing per
year, the country now produces a total of 110
million liters of coco-biodiesel per year. Of this,
25 million liters are being produced by Senbel and
10 million liters by RI Chemicals.
Energy Secretary Raphael Lotilla said the use of
coco-biodiesel may be one of the country's
sustainable and long-term solutions to rising oil
prices.
Chemrez operations manager Jun Lao said the coconut
industry would benefit approximately P2 billion in
additional revenues per year from the sale of
coconut oil. "This is the return benefit in the use
of locally-sourced fuel in contrast to imported
fuel," Lao said.
Mrs. Arroyo said she had allotted P1 billion for
agriculture and the agrarian reform program to be
able to develop one million hectares of land, which
could include the development of the coconut
industry.
During the inauguration of the Chemrez plant, the
President was accompanied by Lotilla, Quezon City
Mayor Feliciano Belmonte Jr. and several lawmakers
whose provinces would supply coconut to the coco-biodiesel
company.
| The
coco-biodiesel advantage
|
Lotilla said apart from
reducing actual cost of fuel, alternative transport
fuels could also yield savings in terms of mileage
efficiency.
According to Chemrez, coco-biodiesel enhances
combustion performance for better mileage and
restores fuel system and engine efficiency.
It is said that the inherent oxygen content of coco-biodiesel
promotes better combustion in the engine which
translates to an increase in mileage by as much as
10 percent.
Earlier tests by the US Department of Energy's
National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) revealed
that coco-biodiesel consistently yielded comparable
or even better results than conventional fuel.
Tests also showed that both diesel and coco-biodiesel
fuels met existing Philippine National Standards for
diesel fuel quality. In fact CME scored better in
terms of cetane number, flash point, and sulfur
content compared to diesel. This means that coco-biodiesel
burns more completely, resulting in more power,
better engine performance, longer mileage and lower
emission for vehicles.
The President launched the coco-biodiesel program in
April 2004 and issued an order mandating the use of
one percent coco-biodiesel in all government
diesel-fueled vehicles.
She also signed as urgent the Biofuels bill pending
in Congress.
Meanwhile, despite rising fuel costs, prices of
basic commodities could not rise beyond a few
centavos, according to the Department of Trade and
Industry (DTI).
Trade Undersecretary Zenaida Maglaya said the DTI
and the private sector have conducted a "sensitivity
analysis" or the effect of movements in fuel prices
on consumer prices.
The result of the analysis showed that for every 50
centavos per liter increase in fuel prices, an
increase of one to six centavos in the prices of
processed food such as sardines, canned meat and
instant noodles was monitored.
In the case of agricultural and poultry products
such as pork, fish and chicken, the same amount of
increase would only result in a price hike of one to
four centavos per kilo, Maglaya said.
She added that the list of basic goods as determined
by the DTI and the private sector has been published
and distributed to the media for dissemination to
the public. - Aurea Calica, Donnabelle Gatdula,
Paolo Romero
>>>more news
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
| |
Accredited by: DENR & Department of Energy |
|
|
|
|
| |
 |
|
|
| |
In support of Fuels for Life Movement by
USAID and
USDOE |
|
|
| |
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
Certificate of Fuel Additive Registration
DOE CFAR #04-04-011 CME |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
