11/03/2013 (Manila Standard) - Government agencies and players in the food and energy industries now take the lead in using a mix of cooking oil and diesel as alternative fuel for automobiles.

“We need to raise awareness of the use of vegetable oil to power automobiles,” Energy Secretary Carlos Jericho Petilla says in an interview.

Petilla says waste vegetable oil can “serve as a bridge” while the country is looking to develop its oil and gas resources.

The Energy, Environment and Science departments along with Seaoil Philippines, Jollibee Foods Corp., EWay-54 Renewable Energy Inc. and USAID Philippines, plan to test four vehicles to run on biodiesel with a 4-percent mix of esterified waste vegetable oil.

Under the pilot project, EWay-54 will esterify the waste oil from Jollibee stores while Seaoil will blend it in its pump. The esterification process will convert the fatty acid from vegetable oil into biofuel through chemical reaction.

Vehicles from the Environment Department and Seaoil will be used to test the biodiesel mix.  The pilot project will run for six months.

The Energy Department currently mandates a 2-percent coco-methyl ester blend for diesel.

The pilot project will involve the performance of four vehicles running on up to 4-percent biodiesel blend.  The test will determine the impact of the biodiesel blend on engine performance, fuel efficiency and emission reduction.

Jollibee vice president for corporate human resources John Victor Tence says the food company supports the project to help mitigate the impact of climate change resulting from the high carbon emissions of the transport sector.

Tence, however, says for the project to be successful, there should be sustainability in terms of fuel supply.  He asks other food industry players to support the program.

“Whatever we produce will not be sufficient as one of the biggest problems will be the collection.  How do you get the oil? Even with Jollibee, we had to put up the infra,” Tence says.

Petilla says before the project goes on a massive scale, the department will have to study its effects on the price of diesel.  The department waits for the results of the pilot project.

“The important thing is, will it actually work? We hope they can get it right the first time,” Petilla says.

Seaoil Philippines president Francis Glenn Yu says the company agreed to blend the esterified waste vegetable oil in its diesel products because it has long been a supporter of alternative fuels.

Seaoil is one of the active players that support the Biofuels Law, which pushes for the use of biodiesel and bioethanol as alternative fuels.