|
UNDERSCORING the need to speed up the development of
biofuels in the country amid volatile world crude-oil
prices, the Philippine National Oil Co. (PNOC)-Alternative
Fuels Corp. (AFC) said Thursday it recently acquired
equipment to draw oil from jatropha to develop biodiesel,
a biofuel. The equipment was cofunded by the Department
of Science and Technology (DOST).
“The
PNOC-AFC has bought a set of equipment that includes a
small-scale jatropha expeller that can process around
120 kilograms of jatropha seeds an hour. The equipment
is already with the DOST,” said Peter Anthony Abaya,
PNOC-AFC president.
Besides
the small-scale jatropha expeller, AFC bought a
decorticator, biomass feed boiler/steam, steam kettle
and filter press.
“In
addition, the construction of a jatropha-processing
facility at the DOST—where the processing of the
jatropha fruit, expelling of the seeds, purification of
the oil and transesterification will be done for the
biofuels production—is set to be completed before the
year ends,” said Abaya.
He added
that a Biofuel Testing and Analytical Facility will be
put up, also at the DOST, for laboratory analysis of
major parameters needed for the evaluation of biofuels
production in the country.
The
setting up of the facilities is a joint collaboration of
DOST agencies Philippine Council for Industry and Energy
Research and Development, Industrial Technology
Development Institute, and Metals Industry Research and
Development Center in cooperation with the PNOC-AFC.
“This
only shows that the PAFC’s research and development
covers not only the agronomy aspect of jatropha but also
the extraction and processing of oil into biodiesel,”
Abaya said. |
