Biofuels now get the focus they deserve

Arthur McCutchan

Pacific islands countries spend almost US$1000 million each year on petroleum. The fuel, oil, grease and tars of varying consistency that power our industries and ease our lives cost US$700 million a year, says Jared Morris, import management adviser at the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat.

Jared Morris...small islands oil import makes up 30% of their total imports.

"When you look at our major imports in the Pacific, petroleum will either be number one, two, or three, in terms of the value of imports into our countries.

"For some of the smaller countries, it is their biggest import, making up to 30 percent of total imports."

It is this reliance that wreaks havoc on national planning, particularly with a volatile commodity as petroleum.

In the last two years, Morris says the price of a barrel of oil has almost doubled to the point where it is now hovering between $US50 and US$60 a barrel.

With oil production almost at its peak, if we are to believe the predictions of certain groups, the end of cheap oil is near.

Figures as high as US$182 per barrel are being tossed around, putting oil out of reach of all but the wealthiest. That would be an unrealistic price, thinks Morris. But nonetheless its volatility is motivation enough for the Pacific to pursue alternatives.

In the Pacific, the South Pacific Applied Geoscience Commission (SOPAC) is the main advocate of alternative energy.

These range from zero emission sources like solar and wind-derived energy, to the more environmentally-friendly petroleum substitutes like ethanol and pure coconut oil.

Jan Cloin, an energy adviser at SOPAC, recently presented a paper at a workshop on liquid biofuels in Fiji. The paper titled 'Coconut Oil as a biofuel in Pacific Islands-Challenges and Opportunities' promotes coconut oil as a substitute for diesel.

"In the Pacific, only recently has there been a renewed interest in the use of coconut oil as a biofuel," Cloin says in the paper.

In the last 10 years, there's been a range of initiatives to use coconut oil, driven by the need to substitute diesel imports, safeguard the local coconut industry, and reduce the impact of diesel exhaust on the environment.

But the biggest motivation for switching from diesel to coconut oil will be economic.

"In terms of your target market for coconut biofuel, there are two groups of customers," Morris says. "There are those based in urban areas and those in the rural areas."

In the rural areas, diesel is used mainly in electrification schemes-powering the diesel generators that convert the energy in petroleum into electricity. But these areas pay a heavy price in the cost of transporting drums of diesel to their remote locations.

Morris says a coconut oil-producing operation in such a localised setting would be a viable alternative, "with people in rural areas processing coconuts around them and producing oil they will use themselves, so they no longer have to buy diesel from the mainland".

A project in Welagi, a village on the Fiji island of Taveuni, demonstrated that coconut oil could be used in a diesel generator. The project is highlighted in Cloin's paper, not only because it proves the technology works, but also because of the special challenges it presents.

As part of a French-funded project, the village obtained a small copra oil press that enabled it to produce oil from dried copra.

"The challenge with the system has been to keep it running on copra oil, as first a cyclone deprived (them) of coconuts for six months, and the acquisition of coconut oil from other mills proved to be more expensive than regular diesel," Cloin says.

"The local production of coconut oil has also proven to be a very laborious process that can only be maintained with a strong community commitment."

In the urban centres, it is a little more difficult proving an economic case for coconut biofuel. "When you talk about energy needs in urban centres, you have to remember that petroleum has been around for hundreds of years and the art of bringing petroleum into a country, storing it, handling it, distributing it, has been refined and it's really quite an efficient process," Morris says.

The fact that there are a further two groups of customers in urban areas with diverse needs further complicates the issue.

There are members of the general public who use kerosene for cooking, and others who use diesel for their vehicles.

Then, there are the energy hungry industries, the manufacturers, who are motivated by profit. "For them, any alternative would have to be cost competitive," says Morris, "and at the moment, diesel is still cheaper."

Coconut oil, untreated, is also apt to solidify as soon as temperatures drop. Not a very attractive trait to have when engines depend on free-flowing fuel.

Although this can be overcome by modifying the engine, the logistics and cost of modifying tens of thousands of diesel engines and generators is not a very stirring prospect.

Nonetheless, there are niche areas for the use of pure coconut oil (as is the case in Taveuni) and coconut biodiesel.

Coconut biodiesel is a standardised fuel obtained after a chemical reaction involving coconut oil, an alcohol and a catalyst like sodium hydroxide. The process generates two products: glycerine and coconut oil methyl ester, or simply coconut biodiesel.

"Positive impacts on engines (running on coconut biodiesel) include increased lubricity and a reduction of visible particles in the exhaust. (But) some engines need replacement of rubber hoses and O-rings, as biodiesel can be slightly abrasive," Cloin says in his paper.

The major disadvantage of biodiesel is that it still has to be prepared in a chemical facility.
"The production cost per litre is estimated to be three times as high as the selling price of regular diesel," the paper says.

But while coconut fuel (in whatever form) competes with petroleum, it also has to contend with itself.

Rupeni Mario, a fuel adviser at SOPAC, says: "There are other uses for coconut oil. It is used in cooking, cosmetics, and the market is such that you will get more money if you produce coconut oil for cosmetics.

"In the end, it boils down to the dollar, and I think people would rather sell their coconut oil to a cosmetics manufacturer than see it used as a biofuel."

Mario says part of SOPAC's work is to monitor the sustainability and results of studies its member countries are conducting into alternative and renewable energy sources.

"We will look at Samoa for example, and see what it is doing with respect to coconut oil and whether what they are doing there is applicable to the region.

"Right now, we have a project in place there with Electric Power Corporation where one of its generators is running on 10 percent coconut oil.

"But by the end of the year, we will compile a very comprehensive report on all these case studies," Mario says.

Morris says world petroleum prices do not show any positive signs of falling to levels that we once took for granted.

"The current supply and demand position is fragile, and the bulls of the futures market continue to push the prices for petroleum to levels previously unheard of."

He predicts that oil will remain at the more moderate price of US$55 per barrel for the rest of the year.

"But I don't believe that speculation on what may or may not happen in the international market adds much value to our national priorities.

"Our three main concerns are to ensure that we as a small consumer on the world scale have security in our supply, become a more energy efficient nation, and capitalise on renewable energy-like coconut biofuel-where possible."

"It is important for us to ensure that we convert potential into actual gains to reduce our national dependence on fossil fuels.

"Not only does it make economic sense, there are huge environmental benefits as well."
Morris says it may not be possible to become 100 percent renewable, but we could certainly try.

"I guess the biggest challenge is to create and maintain a sense of urgency with key stakeholders on national energy risk management strategies.

"Hopefully, biofuels will now get the focus they deserve."