Agriculture Business Week

“A crop with a thousand uses” is how experts described coconut. And you can add as an alternative source of biodiesel to that growing list of uses of coconut. Biodiesel is a fuel extracted from plant oils which can be used in diesel engines without any need for modification.

Coconut methyl ester (CME), the biodiesel extracted from coconut, is considered as “green” since it is environment friendly and can help mitigate global warming. Greenhouse gases produce the so-called “greenhouse effect,” which traps heat near the earth’s surface. Many human activities increase the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, which can result in a gradual increase in the earth’s surface temperature.

Carbon dioxide, the primary green house gas, occurs naturally but excessive quantities of it are released by burning fossil fuels such as coal and oil to generate electricity and gasoline for vehicles. Over 8 billion tons of carbon dioxide are released each year by burning fossil fuels.

(more…)

Talahib or kans grass(Saccharum spontanaem) is a common nuisance grass that thrives on dle lots and farms as well as on gardens, pots, terreza, roofs and gutters, fruit trees, and even on cracks of concrete surfaces.

It so irritating that one even has to allot a yearly budget to eliminate them on a regular basis. Otherwise, it overruns your plants, dirty up your patio and farm, and eats up soil nutrients that should be absorbed by the crop.

Like plants and animals, talahib has oil content or organic triglycerides that can be converted to a potent and environment friendly fuel called biodiesel.

(more…)

Used animal fats and vegetable oils from meat processing plants and food servers can be converted into biodiesel, which may be used in a standard combustion engine without modifications and may be blended with petroleum diesel to improve its quality.

Based on a study conducted by researchers from the Aklan State University (ASU), these wastes produce a clear liquid without unpleasant smell with the same properties as mineral fossil diesel oil.

ASU researchers said that an engine fueled by a mixture of 80% petroleum diesel and 20% biodiesel had lesser smoke emissions and lower engine noise compared to that fueled by pure petroleum diesel.

(more…)