Philippines Begins Trial for Coconut Diesel Blend

As Philippines prepares for the implementation of the mandated 5 percent biodiesel blend for transport fuels, or the so-called B5, two institutions have collaborated to launch an on-road test for blended fuel containing 5 percent coconut oil-based biodiesel in public transport vehicles.

The Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) and the University of the Philippines − National Center for Transportation Studies (UP−NCTS) have launched the 25-day trial starting July 30, 2013 with assistance from the Department of Energy. Making use of the popular local transport vehicles called jeepneys, the study will test the existing 2 percent biodiesel blend (B2) for the first 5 days and then the 5 percent biodiesel blend (B5) for the succeeding 20 days. The test jeepneys will be evaluated for fuel economy, power efficiency and emission performance.

The need to conduct the trials came after the National Fuels Board recently approved a mandated biodiesel blend increase from the current B2 to B5. The PCA estimates that the B5 mandate would create an income of 19.6 billion pesos (US$ 485 million) with the expected increase in the demand for coconut oil and save as much as 15.5 billion pesos (US$ 384 million) on fuel displacement.