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(Waste Treatment Technology News) Nov 2002 - A Staffordshire University(School of Engineering and Advanced Technology, Beacon Building,Staffordshire University, Beaconside, Stafford, Staffordshire, ST18 0AD,U.K.; Tel: +44 (0) 1785 353335) researcher has developed a method forconverting used cooking oil into biodiesel, a cleaner-burning alternativeto fossil-based diesel.The process devised by Tarik Al-Shemmeri, a Staffordshire Reader inEnvironmental Engineering, employs discarded vegetable oil as the base fora sustainable fuel. Unlike conventional diesel, the oil does not releasesulfur dioxide, a contributor to acid rain and one of world's worstpollutants, when burned. When combusted in a conventional diesel engine,biodiesel also reduces unburned hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide andparticulate matter. Compared to petroleum diesel, up to 78.5% of carbondioxide emissions can be eliminated. The biofuel can be used in existingengines with little impact on operating performance.In addition, Al-Shemmeri's biodiesel offers an environmentally friendlyuse for the large volumes of castoff cooking oil continuously produced byrestaurants and hotels worldwide. If not properly disposed off, the usedoil can pollute agricultural land and waterways.Biodiesel is derived from vegetable oil through an esterification process,which uses alcohol and slow heating to convert the oils into biodiesel(alkyl esters), glycerine and traces of water. Each ester chain usuallycontains 18 carbon atoms and retains two oxygen atoms, which gives thefuel unique combustion properties.The Staffordshire researcher has conducted a series of successfulexperiments using the biodiesel in a 10-kW diesel engine mounted on alaboratory test bed. Al-Shemmeri believes one of the best applications forthe biodiesel is fueling small power generators that would create heat andelectricity for small and rural communities around the world. He says,"This fuel would be ideal for use in conventional diesel-poweredgenerators which typically supply electricity to villages in parts ofAfrica or Asia. By collecting unwanted cooking oil, villagers can access areliable and cheap fuel."Al-Shemmeri presented his research findings, "Biodiesel Fuel for CombinedHeat and Power Generation," to the 37th International Universities PowerEngineering Conference held in Staffordshire in early September. Energyexperts representing 36 countries from five continents attended thethree-day conference, which covered topics including power generation andrenewable energy sources.

12/11/2002 (Business Daily Update) - China's soybean imports may rise by athird in the year ending September 2003 as crushing capacity expands,putting pressure on the government to resolve confusion over newgenetically modified crop rules, analysts said. China will import about 14million metric tons of soybeans in the current marketing year, saidRichard Loewy, general manager of Doane Agricultural Services, anagriculture market consultant. China's soybean imports will rise afterthey fell 28 percent in the first 10 months of 2002, Loewy said.This year, imports fell mostly because of confusion about new rules ongenetically modified crops that were implemented on March 20."With crushing capacity up, the importance of the gene-modified rulesissue is going to diminish, and China's going to import beans when itneeds beans," said Loewy.Many State-owned companies are building new crushing plants, which turnsoybeans into soybean oil for cooking and soybean meal for animal feed, inan effort to boost the industry's efficiency to compete with imports ofthese products. China's total crushing capacity will rise 6.7 percent yearon year in 2003 to 160,000 tons a day as companies in the provinces ofGuangdong, Sichuan and Liaoning build plants, said Cao Zhi, an analystwith the China National Grain & Oils Information Center, an arm of thegovernment's State Grain Bureau. That follows a capacity increase of atleast 9 percent this year because of new plants in Northeast China's Jilinand Heilongjiang provinces that started operations in October. The newcrushers include a 3,000 ton-a-day plant owned by Jilin Grain Group Import& Export Co, one of the government's top two grain trading arms. Twoplants in Heilongjiang, owned by the government's Nongken State Farmnetwork, each have capacity of 1,200 tons a day.

JAKARTA, Dec 4 (Asia Pulse) - The Chinese government has reportedlyapproved Jakarta's plan to build reservoir tanks for crude palm oil (CPO)to facilitate the export of the commodity from Indonesia.The Agriculture Ministry's director general for the supervision of theprocessing and marketing of agricultural products, Iskandar Andi Nuhung,disclosed that China's need for CPO is expected to increase to 2.4 milliontons this year, up by one-third of the 1.8 million tons in 2001."The building of the reservoir tanks will cut the distribution time, thushelping step up Indonesia's CPO exports to China," he said.Nuhung pointed out that Indonesia's CPO exports to China is expected to goup from 400,000 tons in 2001 to 750,000 tons this year.He said the building of the CPO reservoir tanks will be undertaken byprivate enterprises, while the Indonesian government will facilitate it byacting as intermediary with its Chinese counterpart.Nuhung told journalists that the export value of Indonesian agriculturalproducts for the year is expected to reach US$1.4 billion to US$1.5billion from CPO, US$750 million to US$1 billion from rubber, and US$600million to US$800 million from cocoa.On the occasion, the director general also announced that the governmentwill impose control over the import of 17 commodities of food crops,plantation, animal husbandry and horticulture.The 17 commodities include rice, corn, soy bean, sugar, palm oil, rubber,cocoa, coffee, shallots, poultry and hide."In addition to imposing control over the import of these products, therewill also be efforts to promote exports and domestic marketing," he said.

(Waste Treatment Technology News) Nov 2002 - Solutions Industrial &Environmental Services, Inc. (Bob Borden, 3722 Benson Dr., Raleigh, NC27609; Tel: 919/873-1060, Fax: 919/873-1074) and Terra Systems, Inc. (1035Philadelphia Pike, Suite E, Wilmington, DE 19809; Tel: 302/798-9553) havedeveloped a simple, cost-effective method for enhancing the in-situbiodegradation of chlorinated solvents. In the Edible Oil Substrate (EOS)process, food-grade oils are emulsified and injected into contaminatedaquifers to stimulate reductive dechlorination.Chlorinated solvent contamination is a common and expensive cleanupproblem existing at industrial sites, military bases and dry cleaners.Standard "pump and treat" processes can control plume migration, but areexpensive to operate long-term. Newer remediation techniques such assurfactant and solvent flushing can remove solvents from highlycontaminated source areas, but have high capital costs and are notsuitable for light contamination or at sites where the pollution source isill defined.Researchers have long known that naturally occurring bacteria cananaerobically biodegrade chlorinated solvents to non-toxic end productsthrough reductive dechlorination. In the EOS process, which received U.S.Patent 6,398,960 in July, a site-appropriate edible oil is selected anddistributed throughout the contaminated zone, providing good contactbetween the oil and the chlorinated solvent. The oil slowly dissolves overseveral years providing a carbon and energy source to accelerate theanaerobic biodegradation of contaminants. All materials used in theprocess are food-grade substances, which eases regulatory approval for in-situ application. The oil may be added to the treatment zone throughconventional wells or using direct push technology to reduce costs.In reductive dechlorination, naturally occurring bacteria gain energy forcell metabolism and growth by removing chlorine atoms from chlorinatedpollutants and replacing them with hydrogen. Chlorinated solvents amenableto reductive dechlorination include tetrachloroethene (PCE),trichloroethene (TCE), cis-1,2- dichloroethene (cis-DCE), vinyl chloride(VC), 1,1,1- trichloroethane, 1,1,2-trichloroethane, 1,2-dichloroethane,carbon tetrachloride and chloroform.A variety of organic substrates including acetate, butyrate, glucose,lactate, methanol and molasses can be used to provide hydrogen forreductive dechlorination. But such substances are rapidly degraded andmust be continuously replenished or biodegradation will cease. Equipment,materials and labor required for continuous injection greatly increasecapital and O&M costs. Properly applied, common vegetable oil can providea long-lasting and less expensive carbon source for reductivedechlorination.In laboratory tests, company researchers constructed microcosms usingaquifer material from a chlorinated solvent contaminated site that wasamended with 500 mg/L of soybean oil. TCE and DCE were completelyeliminated from all microcosm bottles within 50 days. Produced vinylchloride was fully transformed to ethene after about 90 days. Aftersitting idle for one year, the microcosms were repeatedly respiked withPCE, but no more soybean oil was added. Immediately after the fifthrespike with 20 mg/L PCE, the PCE concentration dropped to about 2.2 mg/Las it sorbed to the vegetable oil. The dissolved and sorbed PCE thenrapidly transformed to TCE, then DCE, then VC and eventually to ethene.All of the chlorinated compounds were degraded to below detection limitsin each microcosm within 50 days of respiking. More than 3 years after thelast soybean oil addition, the chlorinated solvents still continue tobiodegrade.The companies have also completed pilot and full-scale applications of EOStechnology at military and commercial sites in New York, Delaware, NorthCarolina, Virginia, Oklahoma and California. After a recent application inOklahoma, TCE and cis- DCE declined in wells used to install the EOSbarrier immediately after injection. In a monitor well located immediatelydown gradient of the barrier, TCE declined more slowly with a temporaryaccumulation of VC. Within four months of EOS injection, however, TCE haddeclined by more than 90% and VC was degraded to below detection.The developers expect life cycle costs for EOS barriers to be much lowerthan competing technologies such as pump and treat or zero valent ironpermeable reactive barriers (PRBs). In a comparative analysis that modeledcosts over a 30-year period for a 600-ft- wide by 80-ft-deep chlorinatedsolvent plume, installation of an EOS barrier was much less expensive thanpump and treat or an iron PRB. Costs include engineering design,permitting, installation, materials, operation and maintenance, andmonitoring for 30 years. The EOS barrier cost assumes reinjection of oilevery five years and monitoring expenses similar to an iron PRB. Monitorednatural attenuation (MNA) proved less expensive than all other remediationapproaches, including construction of an EOS barrier, but, in many cases,regulators will not approve corrective action plans based on MNA alone.Laboratory studies are underway to evaluate the use of EOS for treatmentof a wide variety of other pollutants including nitrate, perchlorate,chromium, radionuclides such as uranium and technetium and acid minedrainage.

11/28/2002 (India Business Insight ) - The Solvent Extractors Associationof India (SEA) has urged the Government of India to reduce import duty onoilseeds from the present 30 percent to 15 percent and to relax thestringent phyto- sanitary norms for clearance.SEA has also opposed any duty difference between different segments suchas vanaspati and refinery for crude palm oil in the edible oils sector.SEA, in its pre-Budget memorandum to the Government, has made severalsuggestions that include creation of an Oilseeds and Oil Development Fundto facilitate increase in oilseed yield and grant of soft loans fortechnology upgradation. The total oilseed production is expected to beabout 1.75-1.8 million tonnes in 2002-2003, due to prevailing droughtconditions. Excessive imports of edible oils, decrease in export ofoilmeal and oilseeds have affected the oilseeds production in India.

8/12/2002 (Financial Express) - The oilseeds processing industry,represented by the Solvent Extractors' Association (SEA), has demandedcreation of Oilseed & Oil Development Fund on the lines of the existingSugar Development Fund for the sugar industry while also calling forlowering of import duty on oilseed imports to 15 per cent from 30 per centcurrently. The SEA has even sought plantation status for palmoil in the2003-04 budget.In its pre-budget memorandum submitted recently to the finance minister,the SEA has said that cash incentives should be paid to farmers to growoilseeds, while a moratorium be made available on edible oils import duty.Among other demands, SEA has said that the import duty on oilseeds bereduced to 15 per cent, exemption of excise duty on rice bran oilbyproducts like fatty acids, acid oil, wax and gum and on food-gradehexane. It has favoured exemption of vegetable oil and its byproducts froman uniform floor rate for sales taxes imposed by the states. The corpus ofthe proposed oilseeds and oils fund can be deployed as financial incentiveto growers of oilseeds and for grant of soft loans to the processingsector for technological upgradation of the oilseeds processors.The SEA president, Mr Bipin V Patel, while presenting his pre-Budgetmemorandum to the finance minister pointed out that the country iscompelled to import 45-50 lakh tonnes of edible oils every year at a costof Rs 10,000 crore. He suggested that the farmers should be given somefinancial incentives, apart from assured remunerative prices to growoilseeds. This can break the mono-cropping of wheat and rice and encouragecrop diversification. According to Mr Patel, this proposal needs to beimplemented in 2003-04 as the drought in 2002-03 has already affected theoilseed crops and the projected output is likely to be between 175 to 180lakh tonnes only. Mr Patel demanded a moratorium on the existing importduty structure for edible oils, as this will instill confidence in farmersand processors to increase output. He also suggested not to accept anysuggestion for duty difference between different segments of edible oilsector like vanaspati and refinery for import of crude palmoil. He saidthat different segments of vegetable oil industry have multiple linkageand differential treatment for one segment disturbs interlinked paritiesand gives room for malpractices for availing of preferential treatment andcreates unhealthy competition.Further, the SEA has sought lowering of import duty on oilseeds from 30 to15 per cent, while stringent quantitative restrictions be relaxed in linewith international practice of accepting phytosanitary certificate fromexporting countries as is done in Japan, China, Taiwan and Pakistan forimport of oilseeds. This would help the processing units to fully utilisetheir rated capacity, Mr Patel said.According to Mr Patel, the 16 per cent excise duty on byproducts ofricebran oil-like fatty acids, acid oil, wax and gum should be removed. Hesaid that there is no logic in imposing excise duty on the byproducts ofrice branoil when rice branoil itself is exempted from excise duty. Heassured that if this demand is complied with then the rice branoil outputwould go up from the present level of 175,000 tonnes to 400,000 tonnes intwo to three years. He also demanded removal of 32 per cent excise duty onfood grade hexane which is used by processors to extract vegetable oil.

JAKARTA, Dec 11 (AFP) - The Indonesian Palm Oil Producers' Associationforecasts a rise of almost seven percent in domestic crude palm oilproduction next year and a slight increase in world prices, an industryexecutive said Wednesday.Association chairman Derom Bangun said he expects Indonesia's palm oilproduction in 2003 to rise by 6.7 percent to 9.6 million tonnes.He said exports next year are estimated to reach 6.1 million tonnescompared with 5.5 million tonnes this year.Bangun said many of the country's palm oil plantations are not yet fullyproductive because trees are not mature. But in 2005 the country couldreach production of 12 million tonnes a year.He gave no figure for the estimated rise in world prices.Malaysia, the top palm oil producer, is estimated to produce 11.8 milliontonnes this year and export 10 million tonnes of this.

(Chemical Business NewsBase) 11/18/2002 - Industry representativesestimate Indonesia is adding 10-20 new palm oil plants of 30-60 tonnes/hcapacity each year. Over a half of output is being exported. Palm oilproduction rose from 5 M tonnes in 1998 to 8.3 M tonnes in 2001. 9 Mtonnes is expected in 2002 and 9.2 M tonnes in 2003. Driven by the highprice on world markets and export duty of 1-3%, exports are growing fasterthan production. Exports rose from 1.5 M tonnes in 1998 to 4.9 M tonnes in2001. 5.5 M tonnes is expected in 2002 and 5.7 M tonnes in 2003. The maincustomer is India, followed by the EU and China.

12/04/2002 (The Star) - KULIM (M) Bhd will be investing RM22mil over thenext three years to install total waste management systems at its palm oilmills in Malaysia and Papua New Guinea.Its managing director Ahamad Mohamad said that to date, only one of thecompany's palm oil mills in Johor had adopted the total waste managementtechnology.'We have 11 palm oil mills - seven in Malaysia and four in Papua NewGuinea - and will gradually install the system over the next three yearsat all our mills," he said.Ahamad said this at a press conference after the signing between Kulim andAsiaGreen environmental Sdn Bhd in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.To date, the company has oil palm operations in Malaysia, Papua New Guineaand Indonesia, with total planted area of 70,000ha. The signing was inconjunction with Kulim acquiring a 30% shareholding in AsiaGreen.The other shareholders of AsiaGreen are Bertam Holdings Plc 30% and otherindividual shareholders 40%Set up in 1997, AsiaGreen is a 'green' technology provider of total wastemanagement solutions.AsiaGreen managing director Steven Chong said the system that Kulim wouldbe adopting used bio-technology that enabled oil palm waste to beconverted into nutrient-rich organic fertilisers.'The system saves production costs and enables valuable organic compost tobe recycled back into the oil palm estates as well as improve soilproperties. It promotes better growth of oil palm and hence good potentialfor higher yield. Oil palm millers using the system can also expect areturn on investment of less than three years," Chong said.According to Chong, AsiaGreen will also be expanding its waste managementbusiness overseas.The company now has a compost plant in Papua New Guinea and is negotiatingto set up composting plants in Indonesia, Myanmar and China.He said the scope of the system's usage and its technology was huge inview of the fact that palm oil generated about RM15bil in foreign exchangefor Malaysia annually.

Jakarta, Dec 11 (ANTARA) - Crude palm oil (CPO) as one of Indonesia'sleading commodities outside natural oil is predicted to enjoy thefavourable position at least in the next ten years.General chairman of the Indonesian Plantation Companies Association (GPP),Bengkulu chapter, Sri Mulyono Herlambang said here Wednesday many factorscould make Indonesia's plantation produce to become leading commodities,such as the expansion of the existing acreage of oil palm plantations,especially in Sumatera and Sulawesi, the fact that the quality and volumeof production could still be increased by using superior seeds.In addition the increasing CPO consumption in line with the increasinglydiversified end-products like cooking oil, margarine, soap and cosmetics,while competitors in processed products of sunflower and soya bean arestill very few.He also said that as the result of intensive research work, at least 50derivatives can be produced from CPO. The latest discovery was made by ahealth researcher who had found that CPO can serve as an inhibitor ofcancerous cells, while in Malaysia, palmoil has been developed into fuelto replace natural oil.Other support factors include the location of the Indonesian archipelagobeing right on the equator with its tropical climate highly suitable forthe raising of oil palm crops.Herlambang, who happens to be a former Indonesian Air Force chief ofstaff, and now member of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR), saidBengkulu Province alone has cultivated some 100,000 ha of its land withoil palm trees, and this acreage could still be doubled in the future. Notto mention those in some other provinces in Sumatera, Sulawesi and IrianJaya.To promote the quality and volume of CPO production in Bengkulu,Herlambang along with 22 members of the GPP have started socializing theuse of crop cards for each farmer who runs a smallholder plantation withthe use of Marihat superior seeds as recommended by the government.Through the GPP of Bengkulu, Herlambang also hoped some day he, along withthe Bengkulu administration, could build a cooking oil factory to meetdomestic needs, provide employment for the local people, and contribute tothe earnings of the local administration.

MANILA, Dec 6 (Asia Pulse) - A research team of the National Institute ofMolecular Biology and Biotechnology (BIOTECH) at the University of thePhilippines in Los Banos, Laguna (UPLB) has developed novel products fromcoconut oil such as specialty fats, flavor esters, and antibacterialagents.The team led by BIOTECH director Teresita Espino changed the chemicalproperties of the oil through catalysis using lipase, an enzyme that aidsin the breakdown of fats and oils.Lipase use is actually the output of the team's earlier research on thedeveloping the technology for large-scale low-cost lipase production.The specialty fat is called medium chain triglyceride (MCT), an excellentalternative for regular vegetable oils because it is easily absorbed bythe body and has lower calorie content.While regular oils contain nine calories per gram, MCT has only 8.3, andunlike regular oils, it does not stay in the body as fat because it isquickly used up as energy.The anti-bacterial beta monoglyceride (MG), another coconut oil-basedproduct, is an effective and safe fruit and vegetable protectant.The research team found out that when used as coating for fruits andvegetables, MG not only wards off bacterial infection but also preservesthe fruits' color, odor and firmness for up to two weeks.MG can also be used as an alternative to triclosan and triclocarban,strong anti-microbial agents in soaps and detergents. The project revealedthat MG fights bacteria that cause diarrhea and gastro-intestinal diseaseswithout any adverse effects to health.Food companies will also appreciate the coconut oil-derived flavor estersisoamyl acetate for banana flavor and ethyl butyrate for pineapple flavor,being natural components preferred by consumers."The production of high-value products from coconut oil is one way wherewe could help improve the competitiveness of the coconut industry," Espinosaid.Adoption of this technology would help raise the income of coconutfarmers, village level entrepreneurs and commercial coconut oil-basedindustries. It also offers an alternative application for the utilizationof coconut oil, he added.The research is undertaken through the Philippine Council for AdvancedScience and Technology Research and Development (PCASTRD), an agency ofthe Department of Science and Technology (DOST), which provided itsfunding.

12/9/2002 (Soybean Digest ) - For some, the start-up of the new SoybeanProducers of America (SPA) is a godsend. But many others, farmers andindustry folks alike, are puzzled by this new organization.What could make this group different from the old standby American SoybeanAssociation (ASA)?Talk with SPA's executive director and former ASA member Harvey Joe Sannerfrom Des Arc, AR."We're disillusioned with ASA and have been for some time," Sanner says."We believe its policies have had more benefits for industry than forproducers. It's just not producer-oriented enough."That's not a new theme by a long shot. In fact, you might think forming anew association that differs from mainstream groups is radical.But the American Corn Growers Association, for instance, provides anopposing view and alternative choice to the National Corn GrowersAssociation.Also, Ranchers-Cattlemen Action Legal Fund (R-CALF), a splinter group inthe beef industry, is picking up steam as another choice for cattleproducers rather than the age-old National Cattlemen's Beef Association.Initially, the R-CALF group was formed to fight Canadian border tradeissues.Now, even the National Pork Producers Council expects another porkproducer group could be in its not-so-distant future.So the idea of a new soybean association taking root isn't far-fetched.According to SPA's Sanner, a past president of the American AgriculturalMovement, going head-to-head with ASA "will be tough, but there's a need."And says SPA's president Dewayne Chappell, a soybean grower also from DesArc, "We won't let big agribusiness drive our policy."So far, SPA is comprised of a board of directors from Arkansas,Mississippi, Nebraska, Illinois and South Dakota.SPA's bylaws and policy state it won't accept money from seed and chemicalcompanies. Also, its core membership will be farmers.ASA, on the other hand, already has 26,000 dues-paying members and hasbeen operating over 80 years. "We have a grassroots process thatrepresents soybean farmers well," says Steve Censky, CEO of ASA. "Andwe're going to keep on doing what we're doing -- trying to increase farmerprofitability."Soybean Digest is a stalwart supporter of ASA. But if someone else can bea striking force for more profits, have at it. And if there's any way tomake you more money, then maybe there's room for someone else on theblock.