UPLB scientists develop high-grade jatropha biodiesel

The College of Engineering and Agro-Industrial Technologies (CEAT) and the National Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology (Biotech) at UP Los Baños have successfully produced a highly pure jatropha methyl ester (JME) or biodiesel in their laboratories.

According to supervisors from the operations department of the Philippine National Oil Corp.-Alternative Fuels Corp. (PNOC-AFC) who visited UPLB on May 17 to get a sample of the jatropha biodiesel for testing, this recent development will help fast track the country’s alternative fuels effort. The Philippine Biofuels Act of 2006 imposes the mandatory blending of biofuels with gasoline and diesel.

The PNOC-AFC team was composed of Vilma F. Co, Carlito B. Pena, and Eli L. Manalo. They expressed confidence that JME production will address the ecological and supply problems in the energy sector stemming from dependence on imported fossil fuels. Biodiesel production will also help “stave off poverty in the country” because it can generate local employment and increase productivity of farmers who can plant jatropha, which thrives even in land unfit for other crops.

The biodiesel has an average of 99.6 percent purity, surpassing the 96.5 percent purity requirement of the proposed Philippine National Standard (PNS). The team, composed of Dr. Laura J. Pham, Dr. Victor A. Rodulfo, Engr. Rex B. Demafelis, Emmanuel D. Revillame, and Rafael L. Cortado, produced the JME through mechanical extraction and chemical transesterification.

Another team, composed of Dr. Veronica P. Migo, Fides Z. Tambalo, and Dr. Catalino G. Alfafara, reported the recovery of high quantities of oil and ester from jatropha through solvent extraction and enzyme-catalyzed transesterification, respectively. The latter process for JME production, pioneered by UPLB in the Philippines, has also proved to be a viable process for ester recovery.

The two UPLB teams are now conducting experiments to streamline the procedures that they have developed. Prof. Demafelis, who is also the lead convenor for the UPLB biofuels research and development program, says that these “optimization runs” will lead to a maximal JME production recovery using the least processing cost possible.

Mechanical extraction involves crushing the jatropha seeds under great pressure to separate the oil from the oil seed. This process recovers up to 80 percent of the seed oil content. The rest of the oil in the seed will then be recovered by chemical extraction. The oil then goes through a process of refinement to remove impurities. Next, the purified oil is made to react with an alcohol in the presence of a catalyst in a process called transesterification. The end product is JME which may be blended with petrodiesel.

UPLB, the PNOC-AFC, and the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Forestry, and Natural Resources Research Development have signed a memorandum of agreement to tap the university for an integrated R&D program on jatropha as a feedstock for the production of biodiesel. The PNOC-AFC provided P15 million in research funds for UPLB to conduct studies on germplasm management, varietal improvement, seed technology, pest and disease management, enzymatic extraction and transesterification, and waste management and byproduct utilization.

Manalo said that through this investment in R&D, the PNOC-AFC partly fulfills its mandate to search for alternative fuels. While R&D is ongoing, the PNOC-AFC will offer partnerships with farmers, indigenous peoples, and other parties interested in jatropha seed production. PNOC-AFC has initially partnered with farmers in Mindanao to plant Jatropha in 700,000 hectares of unused land.