The biodiesel industry in Malaysia is at a standstill stage with almost zero production, said the Malaysian Biodiesel Association vice-president U.R. Unnithan.
He said many players were not able to maintain their operations given the high cost of production and the lack of the much needed incentive and subsidies from the Government.
Of the total installed production capacity of 2.6 million tonnes, production was stagnant with very few players in operation, Unnithan told StarBiz.
The situation was also reflected in the Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB)’s latest statistics which showed that biodiesel export in July was at an alarmingly low level – 137 tonnes or 95% drop from 2,518 tonnes a month earlier. It is also the lowest biodiesel export recorded so far this year.
As we see in this story, biodiesel needs help from the government to replace petroleum-based diesel in any percentage, and I hope the US learns a lesson about support. Without it, biodiesel goes down.
Columbia, South Carolina is the latest municipality that is getting waste grease out of its sewer system and into its vehicles in the form of biodiesel. The Columbia Free Times says the city has set up a system to collect residents’ used cooking oil and use it in a trash truck:
When restaurants need to get rid of used cooking oil, they can usually donate or sell it to companies that convert it into fuel. Columbia’s backyard chefs, on the other hand, have had to throw away their oil — the Thanksgiving turkey-frying oil; the used oil from family fish frys; the gallons and gallons of oil it takes to perfect a fried chicken recipe or the world’s best raw fries.
Now, the City of Columbia wants residents to bring their used cooking oil to a new drop-off site at the city’s Public Works facility on Colonial Drive. Dubbed Southern Fried Fuels, the program is part of an arrangement with the local company Midlands Biofuels.
Brandon Spence, co-owner and CEO of Midlands Biofuels, says his company is paying for the oil collection itself; the city is only providing space for the collection tanks and then buying the biofuel.
“The containers are an investment,” Spence says.
The city will use a B20 blend of this waste grease biodiesel for the garbage truck and could use it in other equipment. Columbia’s fleet of other diesel vehicles is already running on B5.
In addition, the city says it spends $1.5 million a year dealing with grease, mostly from residents and not restaurants, in its sewer lines. Officials hope this will cut those costs down significantly.
Biodiesel is such a good application of recycling, I wonder why there is no grease collection included in residential waste removal in N.Cal, although we do have good pickup containers for other recycling use.
Mark Tardif
The Carter-era solar panel in Maine, being readied for the trip back to the White House.
As I write this piece, we’re in the midst of a (biodiesel) road trip to Washington, D.C., towing behind us an unwieldy piece of history: a solar panel off the roof of the Carter White House. It’s decades old, though it still makes hot water just fine. In a sense, we’re traveling backward—which in another sense is what I think we’re going to have to do for a while in the U.S. climate movement. The bad news everyone knows. The strongest attempt ever to pass climate legislation through the U.S. Congress came up short earlier this summer. The inside-the-Beltway green groups took what seemed to be the route of least resistance: a very tame piece of climate legislation larded with special prizes for special interests. They worked it as hard as it could have been worked—and in the end it didn’t even come close. The fossil fuel industry and their allies in D.C. barely had to break a sweat shooting it down.
Biodiesel is increasingly used as a symbol of freedom and independence from the ways of the past. You may enjoy reading about this project aimed at increasing climate awareness.
The Farm Progress Show last week was a huge success, especially for the Farm Progress Show 2010 fuel sponsor Star Energy. They provided all the biodiesel, along with FS Companies of Iowa and Renewable Energy Group (REG). This is the company’s second year providing all the farm equipment along with generators and such things as gators with a B20 blend known as Dieselx Gold, all made from soy-biodiesel manufactured by Ames, Iowa based REG.
I spoke with Jason Stauffer, Energy Management Specialist/Area Sales Manager for Star Energy about why this sponsorship was so important to his company. He said that there is no better way to demonstrate the benefits of biodiesel than people seeing it in action.
One benefit of biodiesel is its ability to reduce emissions, which in diesel vehicles often present themselves in the form of an unpleasant odor emanating from black smoke. You only have to add a B2 blend to begin to see these issues disaster and when you fuel with B20, you get nothing but clean air as Stauffer noted that many people who stopped by their booth said they didn’t see or small a thing.
Although this particular sponsorship is focused on biodiesel, the company also provides E10, E85 and propane to farmers around Iowa. They have 23 retail locations where farmers can fill up their equipment or an operation can sign up to have the fuel delivered right to their farm.
“We made the choice years ago not to use regular unleaded,” said Stauffer who continued by saying its been a great move for them.
Just like selling renewable fuels to the agriculture market is a no-brainer for them, so is their fuel sponsorship for the Farm Progress Show in 2011.
You can learn more about Star Energy and its Farm Progress Show fuel sponsorship in my interview with Jason. Star Energy Official Fuel Sponsor of Farm Progress
Farmers like the idea of biodiesel because it puts them at the top of the energy food chain, they actually grow the fuel. Would you rather see your fuel money go to farmers or to oil barons?