World’s first coconut-integrated biodiesel project begins
Japan-based Pacific Bio-Fields Holdings has begun planting coconut trees on the Philippines island of Luzon to produce biodiesel – a world first.
‘We believe this is the first coconut-integrated biodiesel project in the world where a plantation is included,’ May Tiu, VP of Bioenergy at Pacific Bio-Fields, exclusively tells Biofuels International magazine. ‘We have a letter of intent to sell coconut oil to the biggest biodiesel producer in the Philippines, Chemrez.’
The company is also passing another milestone: it will be the first foreign company given permission by the Philippine government to use land for a coconut oil-made biodiesel project, securing almost half a million hectares.
Pacific Bio-Fields plans to bring its first crushing plant online by August. The plant will have a capacity of 2,000 tonnes of oil a month and will initially sell oil to local biodiesel producers. The company aims to sell to the Japanese market by 2014.
In the Philippines there is already a mandate to blend 2% of biodiesel into ordinary diesel, and the nation is the world's biggest coconut oil exporter.
‘The Philippines is an archipelago and it’s easy to raise coconut trees and grow them anywhere in sandy soil and hot temperatures. The country has a coconut authority with experts helping to efficiently raise coconut plantations,’ comments Tiu.
The Philippines had always been a coconut-producing country until palm oil took over, tapping into food markets. The coconut sector dwindled after the 1970s and it came to be increasingly used for chemical purposes rather than food.
The resurgence of the fruit has come following elevated global demand for biodiesel. However, like jatropha, the next promising biodiesel feedstock, coconut takes a while to mature.
‘If we start planting and took care of the plantation correctly, tended to it and watered it sufficiently, on the fifth year we would start to see the coconut bear fruit. It really depends on the weather conditions. We do have data from our own land which shows fruit from the fourth year, but we’re conservative, so we’ll look to a fruitful fifth year.’
Following the establishment of the plantation Pacific Bio-Fields’ goal is to eventually produce biofuel itself in three to four years. ‘We have no plans to expand elsewhere after that. With 400,000 hectares to fill, we won’t need to,’ Tiu adds.
‘We believe this is the first coconut-integrated biodiesel project in the world where a plantation is included,’ May Tiu, VP of Bioenergy at Pacific Bio-Fields, exclusively tells Biofuels International magazine. ‘We have a letter of intent to sell coconut oil to the biggest biodiesel producer in the Philippines, Chemrez.’
The company is also passing another milestone: it will be the first foreign company given permission by the Philippine government to use land for a coconut oil-made biodiesel project, securing almost half a million hectares.
Pacific Bio-Fields plans to bring its first crushing plant online by August. The plant will have a capacity of 2,000 tonnes of oil a month and will initially sell oil to local biodiesel producers. The company aims to sell to the Japanese market by 2014.
In the Philippines there is already a mandate to blend 2% of biodiesel into ordinary diesel, and the nation is the world's biggest coconut oil exporter.
‘The Philippines is an archipelago and it’s easy to raise coconut trees and grow them anywhere in sandy soil and hot temperatures. The country has a coconut authority with experts helping to efficiently raise coconut plantations,’ comments Tiu.
The Philippines had always been a coconut-producing country until palm oil took over, tapping into food markets. The coconut sector dwindled after the 1970s and it came to be increasingly used for chemical purposes rather than food.
The resurgence of the fruit has come following elevated global demand for biodiesel. However, like jatropha, the next promising biodiesel feedstock, coconut takes a while to mature.
‘If we start planting and took care of the plantation correctly, tended to it and watered it sufficiently, on the fifth year we would start to see the coconut bear fruit. It really depends on the weather conditions. We do have data from our own land which shows fruit from the fourth year, but we’re conservative, so we’ll look to a fruitful fifth year.’
Following the establishment of the plantation Pacific Bio-Fields’ goal is to eventually produce biofuel itself in three to four years. ‘We have no plans to expand elsewhere after that. With 400,000 hectares to fill, we won’t need to,’ Tiu adds.
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