Oil of ‘petroleum tree’can reduce CO2 emission

Ever heard of "petroleum tree’?

It is locally called "hanga" and Pittosporum resiniferum Hemsl in the science world.

Among the oil-yielding species, "hanga" is known to have the highest (as much as 45 percent) gasoline contents, including heptane and dihydroterpene.

Endemic to the Philippines, "hanga" feels at home in the highlands of Benguet, Mt. Province, and Nueva Vizcaya.

Oil from trees is also called green oil, bio-diesel, or renewable oil. It is renewable because it can be produced for as long as the tree is alive.

Earlier observations indicated that the blending of oil from trees to as low as 10 percent with fossil oil can reduce carbon dioxide emission to an acceptable level, noted Prof. Bernard Tad-awan, chairman of the Benguet State University (BSU) College of Agriculture-Department of Pathology in La Trinidad, Benguet.

Noting its high oil content, Miguel Patolot, Philippine representative of the D1 Oils Ltd in London, England, emphasized the prospects of "hanga" as the lead source of marginal forests for bio-diesel production.

Patolot has recommended that the Philippines regreen as much as 500,000 hectares of marginal forests for bio-diesel production.

With this undertaking, he estimates an annual production of one billion liters of bio-diesel annually, the creation of 125,000 permanent jobs, and as much as $2.5 billion in exports within a two-year period.

D1 has engaged a number of countries (including Egypt, South Africa, and other African nations) to produce green oil.

Since "hanga" thrives only in the Philippines and that Patolot’s company intends to start establishing a processing center here, the country could serve as an Asian Center for Bio-Energy. — Rudy A. Fernandez