Cosmo Oil Japan to Harness Yams as Feedstock in Proposed Biofuel Project in the Philippines

A combination of factors has made the Philippines an attractive investment site for renewable energy projects, including biofuels.  Among these are (a) favorable agro-climatic conditions; (b) central regional geographic location; (c) land and labour availability; (d) government support; and (e) legislative mechanisms that promote biofuels. The refinery giant, Cosmo Oil Co. Ltd, Japan, has proposed to build a US$100 million bioethanol plant and a US$50 million biodiesel processing plant in the province of Leyte, Philippines. A spectrum of biomass feedstocks are being planned for their bioethanol plant, to include sugar cane (99,000 hectares), and starchy root crops, like cassava (84,000 hectares) sweet potato (89,000 hectares), and yams (188,000 hectares). Yam is a starchy root crop belonging to the genus Dioscorea, and  Cosmo Oil would be the first company to use yams as biofuel feedstock in a major biofuel processing facility.  The project would add value to traditional survival crops like cassava and yams, and hopefully will contribute to improved income generation for farmers.  For their biodiesel project, the planned raw materials are oil palm (17,000 hectares) and coconut (copra) (61,000 hectares).

Related Links:
More information of yams
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yam_(vegetable)
http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/FamineFoods/ff_families/DIOSCOREACEAE.html#Dioscorea%20dumetorum
http://www.iita.org/cms/details/yam_project_details.aspx?zoneid=63&articleid=268