RP’s jathropa-based biodiesel passes international standards

The Philippines has already produced biodiesel from jathropa carcass that had passed European and American standards, announced the Philippine National Oil Company-Alternative Fuels Corporation recently.

Peter Anthony Abaya, the company’s chief executive officer, said the properties of the extracted oil from the seeds of jathropa, locally known as tuba-tuba, were successfully converted into quality biodiesel.

“Given that the jathropa biodiesel passed European and American biodiesel standards, reluctance on the properties of jathropa as a biodiesel feedstock will now be scored out,” Abaya said.

He said that the Integrated Research Training Center of the Technological University of the Philippines, and Chemrez Technologies Inc. have produced the jathropa biodiesel.

PNOC-AFC supplied the jathropa seeds to TUP, which in turn extracted the oil while Chemrez, the country’s leading producer of biofuels and environment-friendly industrial product, did the esterification process converting jathropa crude oil to jathropa methyl ester.

“The Philippines is now capable of producing jathropa biodiesel that can pass international standards. What is more important to note is that we used seeds from the local jathropa variety,” said PUP-IRTC director, Engr. Philip Argamosa.

Argamosa said the properties of the jathropa biodiesel produced was within the specifications in EN 14214 (European Biodiesel Standards) and ASTMD 6751 (American Biodiesel Standards).

Argamosa said a manual jathropa seed expeller that can be used with relative ease by farmers for oil extraction is now completed.

What is being undertaken now is the fabrication of a locally-designed hydraulic press suitable for bulk and continuous jathropa oil extraction.

Jathropa as a feedstock has been considered by the government as the most feasible because it is easy to grow and, other than its medicinal properties, could not be used as food for animals and humans.

Other biodiesel feedstock include sugarcane, sweet sorghum and coconut. — Ferliza C. Contratista/RAE