BioFuel Info Center Resource Links

• BioDiesel Made Easy


• HybridCars.com


• Automotive Troubleshooting Secrets

BioFuel Info Center Articles

Home
Biodiesel A New Way of Turning Plants into Fuel
Biodiesel An Alternative Fuel Available Now
Biodiesel An Industry Poised for Growth
Biodiesel Facts For Kids
Biodiesel For Diesel Fuel Use
Biodiesel Keeps Home Fire Burning
Biodiesel Plan Spans Border
Biodiesel Refinery In Romania
Biofuel Cells To Replace Rechargeable Batteries
Biofuels As A Source Of Energy
Biofuels Fill Your Tank With Natures Goodness
Biofuels For Transport
Biological Ways Of Producing Ethanol
Cool Fuel Cells
Ethanol
Ethanol Based Biodiesel
Fill Er Up Full Of Beans
From Fuel To Pure Water
Fuel Alcohol From Pea Starch
Fuel Cell Benefits
Fuel Cell Cars
Fuel Cell Challenges
Fuel Cell Efficiency
Fuel Cell History
Fuel Cell Vehicle Benefits
Fuel Cell Vehicles General Information
Grass Hailed As Potential Source Of Clean Energy
How They Work Hydrogen Sources
Hybrid Electric And Fuel Cell Vehicles
Hydrogen Challenges
Hydrogen Delivery
Hydrogen Overview
Investigating The Greenness Of Biobased Products
Is There A Green Car in Your Future
Making Biodiesel Fuel at Home
RP To Mass Produce Sugar Sorghum For Bio Fuel
Running On Vegetables
Some Alcohol Fuels Facts
The Alcohols Ethanol And Methanol
Veggie Fuels Feed Bottom Line
What Is A Fuel Cell

Partners Page

RP To Mass Produce Sugar Sorghum For Bio Fuel

RP To Mass Produce Sugar Sorghum For Bio Fuel

The Philippines is set to mass produce sugar sorghum for bio fuel use as alternative source of energy.

Bukidnon Rep. Juan Miguel Zubiri said the sweet sorghum hybrid ­ called SSH 104, currently being developed by the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA), can be easily converted into ethanol.

Combined with petrol or diesel, ethanol can be used as "gasohol", a fuel that is considerably less polluting than conventional ones.

"What's more, once ethanol has been extracted, sorghum can be used as a nutritious animal feed," he said.

Zubiri, author of the Biofuels Act of 2005, said the use of sorghum as a bio fuel fits the government's current energy conservation efforts, which involves the development and use of biologically derived alternatives to expensive oil imports.

He said farmers would benefit with the mass production of this hybrid sorghum variety, which was developed in India.

In one of his visit to the Philippines, William Dar, director-general of the India-based International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), said that sorghum is easier to grow than sugarcane and matures in just four months, compared to 12 to 16 months for sugarcane. This means sorghum needs only about one-fifth of the water required by sugarcane.

Dar, a former Secretary of the Department of Agriculture (DA), said that the hybrid variety can tolerate drought, water logging, and high soil salinity.

"It is high time to include sorghum in the Philippine government's list of priority commodities for research and development because of its numerous uses aside from food," he said.

Zubiri said the Biofuels Act of 2005, which was recently approved by the House of Representatives on its 3rd and final reading, is aimed at replacing within four years a tenth of national gasoline consumption with cheap, clean alternatives produced from sugarcane, coconut, cassava, among others.

Under the proposed Act, the minimum Biofuels blend will be set at five percent within the first two years upon effectivity.

Biofuels consist of liquid fuels produced from biomass and primarily used to fuel vehicles. Aside from being environment-friendly, bio fuel products will be exempted from value added tax (VAT).

The Department of Energy (DOE), under the Act, will adopt the National Biofuels Program under which the blending of Biofuels with gasoline will be implemented.

It is also directed to gradually phase out "harmful gasoline additives and oxygenates" within six months of the law's effectivity.

Gasoline that do not follow the mandated mixture (gasoline-Biofuels blend) and still contain additives or oxygenates will be confiscated by DOE.

The Act also provides fiscal incentives to encourage bio fuel production. These include exemption from paying tariff and duties on imports of inputs, machinery and equipment for 10 years, and a tax rating of bio-ethanol fuel equivalent to unleaded gasoline that shall remain for 10 years.

Producers of biomass sources such as sugarcane, cassava, sweet sorghum and corn will also be accorded priority when they access financing such as the Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP), Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) and the Quedan and Rural Credit Guarantee Corp. (Quedancor).

Zubiri said the use of Biofuels will not only be beneficial for the environment but would also generate economic activity and employment in the rural areas.

At least 25 ethanol-producing plants are needed if the Philippines intends to meet demand for a gasoline additive in the next three to four years, he said.

The solon emphasized that unless these plants are constructed, the country may have to resort to importing ethanol from Brazil or Thailand, which will defeat the government's effort to achieve energy independence.

"With the ethanol production, the Philippines might be a major exporter of ethanol to Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia," he said, adding that each plant will require P1.5 billion in investments.

At present, San Carlos Bioenergy Inc. (SBCI), a joint venture between Bronzeoak Philippines and the National Development Co., is involved in an ethanol facility in San Carlos, Negros Occidental, which is expected to commence operations by 2007.

The SCBI integrated facility will have a cane milling plant with a through-put capacity of 1,500 metric tons of cane daily, a cogeneration nine-megawatt power plant, and a distillery plant that will also produce 100,000 liters of bio-ethanol a day.

Top oil refiner Petron Corp. recently entered into a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with SCBI, for the use bio-ethanol for blending with its gasoline products.

About 267,000 tonnes of raw sugar are slated to fire power plants by 2007, Zubiri said.

Meanwhile, Asia’s largest Biofuels conference, Asia Biofuels Conference and Expo, will be held on December 6-8, at the Westin Philippine Plaza in Manila.

The 3rd annual conference will focus on the development of Biofuels projects and connecting future producers, current producers, project developers and investors.

Speakers will cover the "Complete Biofuels Cycle," including feed stocks, markets, marketing of Biofuels and co-products (DDGs, CO2, etc.) and much more.

Over 300 delegates from 40 countries are expected to attend. The main focus of the conference will be to address the development opportunities for Biofuels in Asia including Philippines, China, Thailand, and Indonesia which have the land mass and feed stock to drive the bioenergy sector in Asia.

Conference delegates will also have the opportunity to network with government officials, financial institutions, venture capital firms, design/build firms and consultants to the industry while visiting the exhibit hall.