Stove fueled by plant oil up for commercialization

The world’s first plant oil-fueled stove crafted by German and Filipino scientists and researchers will be commercialized soon.

At the earliest, it will be on the commercial block in the first quarter of 2007, Dr. Paciencia Po-Milan, president of the Leyte State University (LSU) in Baybay, Leyte, told this writer.

Named "Protos," the innovative cooking device was designed by the BSH Bosch and Siemens Hausgerate GmbH in partnership with LSU, DEG Deutsche Investitions–und Entwicklung-gesselschaft mbH (KfW Bankengrupee), Deutsche Gessellschaft fur Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) GmbH, Bellagio Forum for Sustainable Development with member organizations, Hoheinheim University, and Euronatur-European nature heritage fund.

The project is supported by the environmental foundation Euronatur, which views it as "a concrete example of climate protection with the aim of protecting health and maintaining biodiversity."

The stove has been envisioned to help solve energy problems in cooking; eliminate the health problems associated with open fires, especially for women and children; reduce deforestation for firewood or charcoal; promote effective cooking systems that use renewable fuels; and protect biodiversity.

The device’s initial prototype costs P2,000. But since it can be fabricated with the use of locally available materials, its cost can further be reduced to make it affordable to families.

As Bosch has assured: "In the future the stove will mainly be manufactured locally."

The facility is fueled by plant oil, particularly coconut oil (others that can be used are those of peanut, corn, and castor). Two gallons of crude coconut oil, costing P200, are enough to cook one’s food in one month.

The stove has initially been used and tested in 150 locations, including professional kitchens and private homes on Leyte Island in cooperation with LSU, which is situated 120 kilometers south of the Leyte capital city of Tacloban.

Its potential can best be appreciated when one considers that there are about 300 million coconut trees in the Philippines, making the country the largest coconut oil producer in the world.

Altogether, according to a Bosch fact sheet, about 3.5 million Filipino farmers rely on coconut production whereas the coconut processing sector provides an annual average of 1.1 percent contribution to the gross national product (GNP). – Rudy A. Fernandez