Weaning off crude

SHANGHAI – From Pudong International Airport, the ride to the center of this city 30 kilometers away took all of 10 minutes on the maglev train.

Maglev is magnetic levitation or electromagnetic suspension – a technology that uses magnets and electric energy to float a train and propel it above the railway tracks as it speeds away, without wheels, at 300 kilometers per hour.

This bustling city operates the world’s oldest commercial maglev train. Japan operates the world’s fastest, which has traveled at 603 kph, and is planning more maglevs. South Korea is currently the third country with a commercial maglev train.

With the continuing crisis in the Middle East, interest in maglev technology is likely to intensify in other parts of the world. In the Philippines, maglev technology is reportedly being eyed in a planned upgrade of the Cebu Monorail. But this project has yet to get off the ground.

Maglev trains are said to be significantly more expensive to build than conventional high-speed trains, because of the initial investment in the needed specialized infrastructure. But the Chinese will likely bring down the costs, as they have done with solar technology.

China has its own crude oil reserves, and Beijing is a friend to Iran, which has allowed China-bound oil tankers to pass through the Strait of Hormuz.

But China hasn’t been immune from the catastrophic fallout from US President Donald Trump’s “little excursion” in Iran. Fuel prices have also surged in China, although the impact isn’t as heavy as in our country.

Shanghai, for example, has effectively phased out gas-powered motorcycles through strict registration rules. E-motorbikes and e-scooters are now ubiquitous all over the city, along with e-vehicles and hybrid EVs. This, after all, is the land that produces the hugely popular BYD or Build Your Dreams EVs and HEVs.

At the Huawei central office in this city, we tested its “self-driving” electric sport utility vehicle. It’s not completely self-driving; a person is still needed in the driver’s seat, but the SUV moves on autopilot, and the vehicle observes defensive driving. It’s redefining luxury in automobiles, with the seats even featuring back massagers as you watch a movie on a large screen.

This “self-driving” EV, however, needs reliable and predictable road and traffic management infrastructure, which we don’t have. Plus with too many kamote drivers in our country who drive while drunk or drowsy, allowing a vehicle to run on autopilot would be life-threatening.

But the fuel crisis is accelerating a shift to EVs and HEVs even in our country.

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Electric vehicles need juice, which is still unreliable in many parts of our archipelago.

China, on the other hand, is the world’s largest producer of coal, which accounts for nearly 61 percent of its energy mix, and hydropower (accounting for 2.6 percent). Crude oil and petroleum products rank a far second in that mix, accounting for 18.3 percent, followed by natural gas (7.9 percent) and nuclear (2.8 percent).

It is investing in solar and wind power. And it has become the global leader in waste-to-energy. Its WTE infrastructure, which currently processes over a million tons daily of municipal garbage into fuel for electricity, has expanded so rapidly that in several areas, the incinerators, which require constant operation, face a shortage of garbage.

Wouldn’t we want to have that type of garbage problem?

In Poland, which is adopting WTE, trash that accumulates regularly along its shoreline is collected for the incinerators. Such a system could solve the pollution around Manila Bay, the Pasig River and the clogged esteros and other waterways all over Mega Manila.

WTE through high-temperature incineration can’t work in countries where garbage segregation has become so efficient that not enough municipal waste can be generated.

This is according to Shen Jian, the Germany-based senior adviser of SUS Environment, the comprehensive environmental service company that provided the equipment and technology and operates the Baojingang Hills WTE facility in Shanghai’s Baoshan District.

Baojingang Hills is designed as a picturesque park by the Yangtze River estuary to promote the concept of waste-to-energy. The building is shaped like a snow mountain towering above attractive landscaping that features orange and peach trees. A viewing deck provides a panoramic view of the Yangtze.

The WTE Center, which sprawls across 135,000 square meters, is spotless, with no garbage stink like Smokey Mountain.

Shen Jian says pollutants from the incineration of garbage at 850 degrees Celsius are filtered, and the facility meets international standards on emissions.

From the daily 3,000 tons of municipal waste delivered by dump trucks, the WTE center produces about 200 kilowatts per hour. Annually, the facility generates about 750 million kWh plus another 50 million kWh from biogas – enough to meet the power needs of Shanghai’s permanent residents for a month.

While WTE accounts for less than one percent of China’s energy mix, the facilities ease the garbage problem.

The Baoshan center also collects about 800 tons of wet or food waste from restaurants and related establishments. Food oil is extracted and processed into industrial oil. Liquid waste is used for composting or treated for non-potable uses. Plastics and certain other solid trash are recycled into construction materials.

Georgino Naval, SUS’ executive in Metro Manila, told The STAR that the company is currently in “most advanced talks” with the Department of Energy to set up WTE facilities in Metro Manila and Cebu. The DOE hopes to have such a facility in operation by 2029, Naval said.

I reminded him about the Clean Air Act, which bans garbage incineration, but he said the Supreme Court has issued a ruling that could allow the operation of a WTE facility such as the one in Shanghai. For legal clarity, he said there are also pending bills in Congress that will pave the way for such an integrated solid waste management operation.

SUS Environment already has WTE facilities in Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Uzbekistan and Vietnam.

Naval disclosed that several major players in the Philippines are in talks for WTE facilities. Considering the enormity of our garbage problem and energy needs, we could soon see similar facilities in our country.

There’s not only pera sa basura, but also energy from trash.