Biodiesel Rulez!!! [ARCHIVED]

[4JGtootsie]

I am optimistic of the prospects of biodiesel as fuel to diesel engines.
If we can sustain production and overcome the law of supply and demand CME fuels whether additive or otherwise will be the basis for the design of fuel system from tank, fuel pump, fuel lines, water seperators, filters, injector or even piston design and injector location. Not to mention the new settings required for the ECU.

If we can convince schools and universities (engineering dept) to do extensive research as part of there curriculum or Thesis requirement it will boost CME as trully reliable fuel. DESIGN AN ENGINE FOR THE FUEL and not Fuel for the engine. Knowing the characteristics of CME and how it perform or react under high pressure and varying temperature will be the key focus.

Kaya yan ng Pinoy!!!

[biogas.works]

... Kaya yan ng Pinoy!!!

Siempre naman!

[rsnald]

I am optimistic of the prospects of biodiesel as fuel to diesel engines.
If we can sustain production and overcome the law of supply and demand CME fuels whether additive or otherwise will be the basis for the design of fuel system from tank, fuel pump, fuel lines, water seperators, filters, injector or even piston design and injector location. Not to mention the new settings required for the ECU.

If we can convince schools and universities (engineering dept) to do extensive research as part of there curriculum or Thesis requirement it will boost CME as trully reliable fuel. DESIGN AN ENGINE FOR THE FUEL and not Fuel for the engine. Knowing the characteristics of CME and how it perform or react under high pressure and varying temperature will be the key focus.

Kaya yan ng Pinoy!!!

pre.. medyo matagal na approach ito pre. the thing w/ biodiesel is that it's already proven to work with existing diesel engine designs. in Europe and in the U.S., malakas na gamit nyan on existing diesel engines. For the CRDI based diesel engines, it's the fuel injection systems that need redesigning or reconfiguring since the fuel injection systems of CRDI engines are programmed to take into account the fuel flow properties, viscosity and combustion properties of regular (low sulfur) diesel. Fortunately, the properties of biodiesel is not that far off from regular diesel. From what I've read in studies done in the U.S. by the SAE, it's a matter of advancing the combustion timing of the engine by a few degrees from TDC when you use biodiesel for crdi engines.

at saka bottom line nito pre, the less expense that we make in adopting an alternative fuel, the better. biodiesel by itself shouldn't require a special engine. IT WILL run on any regular diesel engine. Rudolf Diesel himself who designed the original compression-ignition engine envisioned that his engine will use natural vegetable oil, and in fact he used peanut oil to run his prototype "diesel" engine.

just my 2 cents bro.

[ans3288]

my take on biofuels particularly CME.

from what i know, CME is based on coconut oil and coconut oil comes from coconut trees. aside from the non-replenishment of coconut trees cut down for lumber, typhoons last season have wrecked havoc due to falling of the trees. a lot of industries use coconut oil from very simple as cooking to as hi-tech as pharceutical companies.

with the mandatory introduction of CME into the fuel, this is another factor that will compete in the already dwindling supply of coconut oil in the market. nobody is trying to plant the trees that will make the copra that will be extracted for oil. the scenario now is that crude coconut oil is at SKY HIGH prices and CME will further add to the pressure. so if supply of coconut oil is scarce then we will have to IMPORT palm oil from our neighbors to produce CME. so we don't save our precious dollars from buying fuel, but rather we just shift it from fossil fuel to raw material for use in producing CME.
i think when they drafted the biofuels act, they thought of the consequences bec. now it is mandatory, supply is scarce, nobody is developing the supply side (planting coconut trees, developing new and better high yeilding varieties) so we are essential painting ourselves into a very tight corner.

a friend of mine is saying that cost of production of CME is at 60-70 pesos, i hope this is not correct. how can an expensive product like CME be a substitute for a cheaper product like diesel? doesn't make sense to a simple minded guy like me kz the original intention of the biofuels act was drafted to make us less dependent on imported fossil fuel save the previous dollars for something else, pero ang problem is it is shifting the dependence on the raw materials that will be imported for producing biofuel bec we ourselves do not have ENOUGH supply for our current requirement for the other industries that were mentioned before.

i hope my perception of what is happening is totally wrong or else we are causing more harm than good, now your typicall housewife has to buy imported expensive cooking oil for cooking and this affects the larger percentage of the population than the motoring public.

peace!

[4JGtootsie]

pre.. medyo matagal na approach ito pre. the thing w/ biodiesel is that it's already proven to work with existing diesel engine designs. in Europe and in the U.S., malakas na gamit nyan on existing diesel engines. For the CRDI based diesel engines, it's the fuel injection systems that need redesigning or reconfiguring since the fuel injection systems of CRDI engines are programmed to take into account the fuel flow properties, viscosity and combustion properties of regular (low sulfur) diesel. Fortunately, the properties of biodiesel is not that far off from regular diesel. From what I've read in studies done in the U.S. by the SAE, it's a matter of advancing the combustion timing of the engine by a few degrees from TDC when you use biodiesel for crdi engines.

at saka bottom line nito pre, the less expense that we make in adopting an alternative fuel, the better. biodiesel by itself shouldn't require a special engine. IT WILL run on any regular diesel engine. Rudolf Diesel himself who designed the original compression-ignition engine envisioned that his engine will use natural vegetable oil, and in fact he used peanut oil to run his prototype "diesel" engine.

just my 2 cents bro.

If in case we use 100% CME to the present diesel engine would it run the same way as using regular diesel?

Rudolf Diesel created an engine but didn't know yet what fuel to use.The original patent was using coal dust then they tried kerosene and many more before a workable fuel was chosen.

[MadMax]

http://philstar.com/philstar/news200705040701.htm

Department of Energy (DOE) director Zenaida Monsada, on the other hand, pointed out that the imposition of a zero value-added tax (VAT) on biofuels would help minimize or even erase the impact of biodiesel blend on diesel prices.

"Zero VAT on biofuels may mean downward impact on biofuel price. It could mean no price increase of the blend or minimal impact or even a decrease depending on the cost of components," Monsada said.

Meanwhile, Chevron Philippines Inc. said it will officially start selling its Caltex Powerdiesel B1, a one percent biodiesel blend, on May 6.

A company spokesperson said their diesel prices would not increase due to biodiesel blend as imposed by the Biofuels Act.

"Whatever price movement, if there is any, would not be caused by the biofuels blend," the company official said.

But the official said the movement of prices in the coming days would still be determined by market forces.

It would be recalled that Total Philippines Corp. estimated that their diesel prices would increase by 30 to 50 centavos per liter if they would comply with the Biofuels Act’s mandate.

Despite these price impact issues, Energy Secretary Raphael P.M. Lotilla, for his part, said they are expecting a "smooth transition" of the Biofuels Act.

The DOE earlier urged oil firms to absorb or shoulder the price impact of the one percent biodiesel blend "for the purpose of smoothly implementing the law."

[ans3288]

how can govt 'ask' private companies to absorb the cost the price diff of biofuels. i find it strange that a prive entity will out of the kindness of their heart aborb the price differential.

the only reasons i can think if the oil companies are that 'kind' enough to do it is that they are already swimming in too much money or the price differential is brought about by reductions of tariff by govt to absorb the additonal cost.

sa united states, ethanol is a very heavily "essential industry for national security thus it needs to be given due importance for the continued growth and sustainability of the industry." = subsidized thru special tax incentives. pag hindi daw ginawa ng us govt ang tax incentives, ethanol is way way much expensive than fossil fue and blending of ethanol will also make prices to increase upward.

but in fairness, all ethanol producers now are making HUGE HUGE amount of money, but also the corn farmers also hit the jackpot. so corn is at an ALL TIME HIGH so ethanol producers are buying very expensive raw material which translates to very high ETHANOL prices.

[rsebastian]

Hi to everyone.

I've been following evolution of biodiesel use in the country for five years or so and, frankly, it's been disappointing (as almost everything in this country is).

I brushed up on this thread and have seen you guys hoping biodiesel price would go down. Instead, the opposite is happening. Why should it? There are only three major manufacturers competing(?) in the biodiesel industry. And you won't see these big boys lowering their prices anytime soon since you guys are happily buying their overpriced product.

Don't get me wrong. Of course, I too, am more than willing to pay extra for quality biodiesel. Fortunately, I don't have to. I get pure biodiesel from a friend at a price way below what you guys are paying. He's a chemistry professor who has been making biodiesel for personal use for more than 5 years. I've been urging him to go into business but he is hesitant due to the prohibitive cost of accreditation.

The problem is the government accreditation to manufacture biodiesel is designed to keep the small privated individuals out of the playing field. So how are we to realized our dream of being independent from the clutches of multinational oil companies when our government has effectively hindered biodiesel's potential of being the "fuel of the masses". If the government really wants to develop biodiesel, accredition should be done for free. If the small private companies do not pass their test, only then should they not be allowed to play with the big boys.

[garyq]

rsebastian: welcome to tsikot bro, appreciate your comments. Ako rin I do homebrew my own BD from WVO(waste veggie oil) Cost is less than 40 bucks to the liter. Regarding the future of BD here sa ating beloved Pilipinas we are just taking our first small steps bro, just small steps. Uma abante naman kahit paano

ans3288: interesting din yung last 2 posts mo. Have some figures for you bro. Brief history of the coconut industry showing how it evolved. Madami factors affected price ng VO in the past.

The more people talking about BD, the more we will learn about it and from the people using it.

The biggest ally of fear is ignorance.

[biogas.works]

... with the mandatory introduction of CME into the fuel, this is another factor that will compete in the already dwindling supply of coconut oil in the market. nobody is trying to plant the trees that will make the copra that will be extracted for oil.
... cost of production of CME is at 60-70 pesos, i hope this is not correct. how can an expensive product like CME be a substitute for a cheaper product like diesel? doesn't make sense to a simple minded guy like me
... i hope my perception of what is happening is totally wrong or else we are causing more harm than good ...

Yes, while CME will compete with CNO supply, the fact is, OUR COUNTRY used to be the world's largest supplier of CNO. But other countries stopped buying our CNO because Palm Oil & Canola Oil were better. Many coconut plantations were harvested for coco lumber and people who depended on this industry floundered. With CME, now there is "a light at the end of the tunnel."

You are not required to use 100% CME (60-70 pesos/L) as a substitute for diesel at (30 pesos/L.) It will only be added at a 1% blend. And, for that you will get lower emissions, better lubricity and possibly fuel savings from better combustion.

BEST OF ALL, instead of exporting CNO at paupers' prices -- we can be exporting CME at SELLER'S PRICES -- let's start planting coconuts again.

... the only reasons i can think if the oil companies are that 'kind' enough to do it is that they are already swimming in too much money or the price differential is brought about by reductions of tariff by govt to absorb the additonal cost.

Di ba obvious ito? Anyway, hopefully with CME (and the ability to make more biofuels or alternative energies from local sources) we can free ourselves from the clutches and the "mercy" of BIG OIL.

... I brushed up on this thread and have seen you guys hoping biodiesel price would go down. Instead, the opposite is happening. Why should it? There are only three major manufacturers competing(?) in the biodiesel industry. And you won't see these big boys lowering their prices anytime soon since you guys are happily buying their overpriced product.
... I too, am more than willing to pay extra for quality biodiesel. Fortunately, I don't have to. I get pure biodiesel from a friend at a price way below what you guys are paying.
... government accreditation to manufacture biodiesel is designed to keep the small privated individuals ... hindered biodiesel's potential of being the "fuel of the masses". If the government really wants to develop biodiesel, accredition should be done for free.

Lets not blame manufacturers for being accredited and "for overpricing?" We need them, just like you need to buy milk. Or, do you have goats in your backyard that produce "fresh milk" for your coffee everyday?

Besides, Petron, Shell, Caltex and the others won't buy from 50,000 or so "professors" who can each make 100 liters of "excellent biodiesel" per day. Assuming the professors are willing and they get FREE accreditation, how will quality be monitored, specially from 50,000 suppliers? Certain things we gotta do and pay for.

However, please tell your professor to keep making his BioDiesel -- and to keep improving on it. his concoction may be the next best thing (that manufacturers will make in HUGE volumes.)

The BioFuels Act only mandates 1% blend. Nothing in the law says you can't add more-- to get better performance. The law also does not say - you cannot make your own or buy privately specially if its better and cheaper.