Angara files bill mandating pre-blending of coconut methyl diesel fuel

Sen. Edgardo Angara has filed a bill calling for the mandatory blending of coconut methyl ester (CME) into diesel fuel in order to help clean up motor vehicle emissions.

Under the proposed bill, CME would initially comprise one percent of the total volume of the coco-biodiesel mix.

Angara said several studies have shown that the pre-blending of CME into diesel is a cost-effective solution to complying with the smoke emission standards outlined in the Clean Air Act (Republic Act 8749).

"The life-cycle production and use of biodiesel produces approximately 80 percent less carbon dioxide emissions and almost 100 percent less sulfur dioxide," Angara said.

He noted that the combustion of biodiesel alone reduces by 90 percent the total unburned hydrocarbons and by 75 to 90 percent the amount of aromatic hydrocarbons in vehicle emissions.

"It further provides significant reductions in particulates and carbon monoxide (compared with) petroleum diesel fuel," Angara said.

Apart from improving clean emissions, Angara said the measure would help promote the use of alternative fuels.

He pointed out that biodiesel is one of the most promising fuel alternatives in the world.

"The energy crisis and the depletion of the world’s non-renewable resources prompted various sectors to look into fuel alternatives as the cleaner option," he said.

Angara said several delays have been encountered in the use of coco-biodiesel as an alternative fuel due to the high cost of raw materials and the problems that arise when biodiesel is used on its own to fuel diesel engines.

He said the better approach would be to promote the use of CMEs as an additive rather than as a diesel fuel substitute.

"To address the biodiesel properties issue, efforts were made to develop production of CME, an ester derivative of coconut oil," Angara said.

He noted that since biofuels are derived from agricultural products, the Philippines has the ability to produce and control this energy source compared to crude oil, most of which the country has to import.

Angara said that the development of biodiesel would generate foreign exchange savings and provide a new and significant market for the country’s agricultural products.

"Biofuels are not only alternatives but are in fact imperatives for the country’s energy requirements and environmental and economic concerns," he said.

Earlier, Sen. Pia Cayetano, who chairs the Senate committee on health, environment and natural resources, cited a study conducted by the World Bank that found the Philippines spends at least $400 million yearly to treat diseases directly and indirectly attributable to air pollution such as cancer, tuberculosis, pneumonia and other upper respiratory infections.

"Up to 200 more persons with cardiovascular diseases and up to 330 more persons with respiratory ailments died in 2002 because the air was so bad," read the Public Health Monitoring (PHM) study released in August 2004.

The PHM study, which was conducted jointly by the Asian Development Bank and the World Health Organization, recorded 10,000 more cases of acute bronchitis, and nearly 300 more cases of asthma in 2002 compared to the year before it.

Hospitals also admitted 20 more patients with respiratory ailments and another 40 with cardiovascular problems. In all, there were around 10,300 more cases of pollution-related illnesses in 2002 compared to the previous year.

The same study cited pollution from motor vehicles as the "breakaway source of air pollution in Metro Manila."

Cris Michelena of the Philippine Biodiesel Association (TPBA) said the problem of air pollution has reached alarming proportions.

"Filipinos are not just getting sick, they are literally dying because of the poor quality of air," he said.

Michelena also pointed out that the problem translates to additional costs shouldered by the economy.

"If people are sick and they cannot work, then there is less productivity and slower business growth for industries," he said.

TPBA, which leads the advocacy for the biodiesel mandate, said the measure would also address the need for fuel cost savings because biodiesel increases mileage by between 10 percent and 17 percent, and translates into savings for the consumer.

It also promotes energy independence, which is becoming increasingly important in light of dwindling oil reserves in the world market.

It has been projected that the present supply of oil can only last up to 20 years, thus making it imperative to find other sources of fuel for motor vehicles and industries as well.

"Most of all, the biodiesel mandate will revive the ailing coconut industry by improving farmgate prices and stabilizing the domestic price of domestic oil," Michelena added.

At present, there are five brands of biodiesel available on the market — BioActiv, Biomaxx, Bioexceed, Envirotek and Estrol.