Invention converts used cooking oil into bio-fuel

MANILA, Philippines - An invention converting used cooking oil into quality bio-fuel for internal combustion engines and other industrial applications topped a recent invention contest in the Southern Mindanao.

In a statement, the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) announced that Manolo Tamparong’s compressed air thermal fuel oil dryer won the Likha Award in the first Regional Invention Contest and Exhibit (RICE) held in Davao City.

The DOST said Tamparong’s thermal fuel oil dryer converts used cooking oil into quality bio-fuel for internal combustion engines and other industrial applications.

“Since the facility is locally made, it can be easily and quickly mass-produced as cheaper alternative to imported brands. The availability of this machine will help address the problem of proper disposal of used cooking oil, converting it from a menace that clogs the waterways into an efficient bio-fuel,” DOST added.

The Sibol Award, or the Outstanding Creative Research for independent inventor, went to Mary Jane Barluado for her Squash Seeds Sunblock Lotion-Vitamin E Enriched.

The squash seeds, often processed into snack items, could reportedly be a good sunblock lotion. “Squash seeds are natural rich source of zinc, an active ingredient in sunblocks that protects cells, heals wounds, and prevents skin inflammation,” Barluado said.

The vitamin E-enriched product was tested on nine volunteers who all reportedly said that the squash seed sunblock works just like or even better than expensive commercial lotions.

For the award’s college category, University of Mindanao’s Development of a Line Disconnection System by Kris Logie Mallorca, John Mark Coloma, Rae Reyes, and Edezon Virtudazo bagged the outstanding student creative research.

In the high school category, the Compostela National High School pocketed the award through The Leaves of Snake Plant (Sansevieria trifasciata) as Natural Fiber by Lovely Asur and Angelou Angway. Their advisers were engineer Maria Christina Condez and Debbie Teruel.

The inventiveness and resourcefulness of the awardees and contest participants reportedly caught the interest of Intellectual Property Office (IPO) Philippines director general Ricardo Blancaflor.

“The gold mine of Davao is not only its natural resources,” said Blancaflor, keynote speaker of the RICE awarding ceremony. “What will make Davao rich are the creative minds of Davaoeños.”

According to DOST-Region 11 director Anthony Sales, RICE is the first-ever regionwide invention contest.

The four outstanding inventions will qualify for the National Invention Contest and Exhibit to be held in Manila next year.