Coconut Power! Promising Diesel Alternative
by Michael Graham Richard, Gatineau, Canada on 09.23.05
WorldChanging has a very interesting post on how plain coconut oil is used to replace diesel in parts of the South Pacific. There, it is plentiful and can be had for $0.55/liter ($2/gallon), which is a lot cheaper than the price of diesel in that region, especially after the recent oil spike. In the past year, 200 mini-buses have been running on a diesel/coconut oil mix as a proof of concept, and many other vehicles have been running on 100% coconut oil. Some of the advantages over regular diesel: "it doesn't make black smoke, [...] has the potential to stimulate employment among local coconut growers ("For every ton of diesel fuel that we can offset, we can put back some $200 into the local economy."), and, perhaps most importantly for the world at large, it is an environmentally friendly fuel." Read more about this promising biofuel here.
::In Vanuatu, a proving ground for coconut oil as an alternative fuel, via ::WorldChanging
Bit of a concern with this market and also the one or palm oil (same purpose) taking off because is will result in more slash and burn of the rainforest. Fine for local consumption but I think it needs to stay out of the global economy.
I totally share your concern, John. I think that each region of the world has to find what works locally while being good (better, at least) for nature than fossil fuels. But it certainly doesn't mean that what works for the South Pacific would work for Eastern Canada (f.ex.).
In other words, here in Quebec we have tons of hydro and wind power, so electricity is probably the way to go for most transportation. If they have lots of coconuts and sun in the South Pacific, that's what they should look at.. and so on for each corner of the globe.
I also share John's fears.
What strikes me as problematic with ALL biofuel sources is that they have serious issues in terms of real world scaling. (growth)
Looking back at history every time there has been a new source of agricultural gold (which biodiesel is set to become) there have been many many more slash and burn monoculturist then responsible agricultural practices.
The reality of the world makes it that any source of energy will be abused, and the rapid profits will always win over sustainable development.
The problem with plant based fuel is that the resulting over cultivation most certainly will be as destructive as the fossil fuel it will be replacing.
Catch22?
yes but I think we can put our heads together to solve this one.
See here for a WWF article on the problems with plantations of palm oil, as noted above, and conflicts with Panda habitat.
Also, some oils are more suitable to being turned into fuel than others, and some of the best oil producing plants make the poorest oil for turning into Biodiesel, or the work needed to make it useful is excessive and costly.
What's interesting about your very poingant remarks JL & MGR is that this is one of the central points Rudolf Diesel was trying to get across when inventing the damn thing in the first place... he used peanut oil, cause it was local. Wanted it to be run on whatever oil was available in the end-user's bioregion. it's just not, u know, the robber baron way... ]
Anyway, it's cool with coconuts, personally if i lived in a warm area like that (and defintely if it was in Central/South America) i would get into sapping the Copaiba, or Diesel Tree and since i'm a Canadian, i still pine for some sweet smelling exhaust from the legal but not yet fully understood hemp plant!
oops! here';s a link from the father of Hemp Diesel in the USA Agua Das.
coconut oil becomes a solid at 15-20F below body temperature so you might need to preheat the oil tank (or mount it on the outside of the vehicle) to get it to melt. Interesting if it works.
Sometimes I think hemp would get a much warmer reception if potheads weren't the ones being so vocal about it. I'm not fond of genetically modifying things, but boy... if they could find a way to make industrial hemp look well, different, I'm sure a lot of the problems would go away.
I would just like to state that currently coconut oil is offically for sale in the Republic of Vanuatu, and is recieveing wide acceptance by the local population and drivers.
The current 'Island Fuel,' as it is called, is made up of a 85/15 mix of Coconut oil/Kerosene(Avegas) and sells about 30% cheaper than diesel at the pumps.
The issue of the solidification of Coconut oil, which takes place between 22 and 16 degrees (C), has been solved through the addition of the kerosene as well as the development of a simple heat exchanger. The heat exchanger is made from esialy avilabe parts, and cost only about 10,000vt ($70 US) for create. What is does is quite simply run the fuel line around one of the warm radiator hoses in an insulated package. This allows the Island fuel mix be in a completely liquid form before it enters the diesel engine.
The fear that the large scale production of Island Fuel might lead ot massive slash and burning of the local forests and enviroment to make way for the plantations of cocnuts is, at least in Vanuatu, and most a Pacific nations, relativly unfounded, due the fact that coconut trees grow in vast numbers throughout of the islands. In fact, Vanuatu need not plant a sinlge new coconut tree and it would still be able to produce enough coconut oil to run every single diesel vehicle on the island.
One major advantage is that it allows money that would usually go out of the country to stay within the nation and contribute to the developments of the local population. The coconut oil is usually developed in many small family or village owned mills, and in allowing it to be ued as a fuel, this allows the small families and villages a more sustained form of income, which we hope in turn will lead to social and economic developments within those areas.
It seems at the moment to be a cost effective, socially and economically benifitting, asa well as an enviromentaly friendly alternative to diesel within the Pacific Islands.