PhilRice develops bioethanol facility that uses nipa as fuel

MANILA, Philippines – A bioethanol production facility utilizing nipa (palm) sap is now powering the farm machines of agricultural workers in Brgy. Cabaggan in the municipality of Pampalona in Cagayan province.

The Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) has partnered with the Mariano Marcos State University to establish the renewable energy project.

“Fossil resources have been dwindling since the 1970s. This project with the MMSU will increase farmers’ competitiveness as nipa is a renewable energy that can fuel farm machinery and pump boats,” said PhilRice executive director Eufemio Rasco, a pioneer in nipa research.

In the Philippines, nipa is considered an important source of alternative fuel because it produces a large  amount of sap that can be converted to alcohol.

Producing as much as 26,000  liters of alcohol in a hectare per year, nipa is four more times more productive than sugarcane – today’s main source of alcohol, which can only generate  6,700 liters.

Rasco said rice supply and prices have traditionally been affected by fuel supply for machinery.

“We felt and observed at an international level the connection between energy and rice supply in 2007 to 2008 when increasing oil price escalated the price of rice to its peak. That event heightened the importance of developing a new energy system that is renewable, decentralized, and diversified,” he said.

He said nipa is a good source of bioethanol – water-free alcohol produced from the fermentation of sugar or converted starch – because it does not compete as a food unlike other sources such as corn, cassava, sorghum, and sugarcane.

“We hope to have this facility in more places in the Philippines and make nipa a widely used fuel by farmers and fisherfolk,” Rasco said.

The bioethanol facility is being co-operated by the local government unit of Cagayan and MMSU.