By John Grafilo Jun 30, 2006, 3:56 GMT
Manila - Jun Ang Lao could not hide his excitement over the prospects for Philippine coco-diesel, which is slowly emerging as the world's most preferred diesel additive.
Lao, operations manager of Chemrez Inc., the sole manufacturer of coco-diesel in the Philippines, said his company was in the process of signing deals with several foreign firms interested in buying Bioactiv, its brand of coco-diesel.
'The positive results of tests from reputable laboratories in the United States, Germany, Japan, New Zealand and Australia, have boosted the international marketability of our Bioactiv,' he said.
Chemrez was the government's partner in a research study on the commercial viability and chemical qualities of coco-diesel or coconut methyl ester (CME), which started five years ago when there was a glut of coconut oil in the country.
The research was carried out in anticipation of the full implementation of the country's 1999 Clean Air Act, which requires the use of cleaner gasoline and diesel fuels.
'Various tests in reputable foreign laboratories showed that coco-diesel is the almost perfect diesel with 91 per cent carbon saturation, compared to palm biodiesel with 49 per cent, jatropha with 22 per cent, soybeans with 16 per cent and rapeseed with 6 per cent,' Lao told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa in an interview.
The higher the percentage of carbon saturation of a biofuel, the more stable it is from oxidation and the better are its combustion characteristics.
'Saturated carbon means it is not prone to oxidation and not prone to bacterial growth,' Rafael Diaz, petroleum technologist of the Asian Institute of Petroleum Studies, explained. 'Saturated carbon has excellent anti-corrosion properties and resistance to polymerization and gumming.'
Lao, whose family owns Chemrez, said most of the company's 15-million-litre annual production of Bioactiv is shipped to Europe, including Germany.
'Bioactiv exceeded the European standards on biofuels, which (are) the strictest in the world,' he said. 'Our new manufacturing plant will start full operation in June and we intend to boost our production by 50 million litres (per year) on top of the output from our old plant.'
Lao said the German firm Lurgi's Life Sciences provided the state-of-the-art technology for the production of Bioactiv.
While only a negligible amount of Chemrez' output is consumed domestically, Lao said he expects demand for Bioactiv to pick up when Congress approves a proposed law that would require petroleum companies to blend a certain percentage of ethanol and coco-diesel into their current fuel products. A similar law will be implemented in January in Thailand.
'Within two years from the effectivity of the Biofuels Act, the biofuel board will mandate a 2-per-cent blend of biodiesel by volume,' said Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago, head of the Senate's energy committee.
Santiago said the proposed law 'orders immediate compulsory use because the two fuel blends require no engine modifications for either diesel or gasoline engines.'
But a major downside to Bioactiv is the price, which is much higher than that of other biofuels. Lao said Bioactiv costs were some 0.15 dollars higher compared to palm oil, which is currently the cheapest in the world market.
In the Philippines, a litre of Bioactiv is sold at 80 pesos (1.52 dollars) compared to a litre of diesel, which costs an average of 34.50 pesos.
'Actually, the higher price slowed down our push in the international market,' he said. 'Many of our prospective buyers ask us to lower our price to the level of palm oil.'
Lao said that a blend of 1 per cent coco-diesel to the total volume of fuel is all it takes to enjoy the full benefits of the additive, which include increased mileage, cleaner emissions and cleaner engines.
With more and more governments passing clean air laws and with the continued rise in oil prices, Lao insisted he was confident that Bioactiv would continue to break through new markets despite its higher price.
Your Talkback on this Story