The use of biofuels is nearly as old as the diesel engine itself. According to an article posted on the Mindanao Power Ventures of the Philippines, “Mr Diesel and the original bio-fuels” posted on March 31, 2007 by Abdel Aziz Dimapunong, the development of the diesel engine by Mr Rudolph Diesel (1858-1913), the inventor of diesel engine and a bio-diesel user and visionary designed his original engine running on peanut oil.
The diesel engine actually began using bio-fuels until it was replaced by fossil fuels.
“Looking back at pioneering scientists and their remarkable inventions in our search for alternative renewable energy,” Dimapunong wrote, “we realise that we are actually going back to the 19th century. We are not moving forward. History is just repeating itself after more than a century.”
He said that now, therefore, the world should not find it hard to get back to bio-diesel as used by the inventor himself. According to him a look back to history, finds that it was global politics that relegated bio-fuels to the background, so therefore story of Diesel and his diesel engine is the technical aspect of the history of bio-fuels.
During periods in history when regular diesel supply was hampered seriously such as World War-II, throughout the world vegetable alternatives from different sources and in different forms have been used.
In the Pacific, only recently has there been renewed interest in the use of coconut oil as a bio-fuel. The need to substitute for diesel imports, safeguard the local agricultural industry and reduce the impact of diesel exhaust on the environment, has led to a range of initiatives using coconut oil as a bio-fuel in the past 10 years and Pangani District is taking up the cue.
In its quest to boost its economy, Pangani which has just over 50,000 inhabitants has drawn plans to attract investors to exploit the bio-fuel production potential existing in the district by producing biogas from coconut, cashew nuts and sisal waste apart from production of bio-fuels from oil seeds, fruit and bio-matter such as coconuts, cashew fruit, palm nuts and jatropha.
According to information made available to The Citizen by the District Commissioner’s Office, the district is looking for local and foreign investors with capital, equipment, experience and highest safety operations in bio-fuels production an electric power generation to invest in the district to boost its economy.
The targeted markets and clients for the consumption of bio-fuels are local people. Commercial and industrial enterprises and tourist facilities with the marketing chain being local consumers, the local industry the National Grid and Zanzibar Marine Power Cable.
According to the information which was also produced during the recent Tanga Investment Forum, if successful, the investment would produce ancillary investment in the form of bio-waste collection and storage systems; personal safety gear and equipment; oil seed plantations, oil extractors and extension services.
Other ancillary investments include Pollution control and Ecological Conservation; Fire Protection and Fire Fighting Services; Training in Handling Potentially Hazardous materials like adhesives, gases, flammable liquids and solids, Bio-fuel Storage Systems; and Biogas/Bio-fuel powered Electricity Generator Systems.
According to the information from the web, the initiatives undertaken in the Pacific to utilise coconut oil in cars and generators have had different degrees of success. It has been reported that the technological challenges could be solved and economic applications found, if the supply of oil is secured.
It has also been reported that economically attractive niches can be found in the use of raw coconut oil in adapted engines in remote communities with an abundant supply of coconuts and milling capacity.
“The production of bio-diesel from coconut oil in combination with other (used) vegetable oils can be set up commercially in larger communities for provision of cleaner fuels in cars and electricity generators,” the information has said.
Pangani is on the right track owing to its low economic status and abundant of coconut trees.
According to Data from the Draft Tanzania Report on Strengthening Women’s Livelihoods through Collective Action: Market opportunities in smallholder agriculture, the First Narrative Research Report- Tanzania by Evelyne A. Lazaro, Christopher G. Magomba, and John Jeckonia produced on June 15, 2010, official statistics on area under coconut show that coconut is the fourth largest area in Tanga region.
Coconuts subsector is more important along the coast areas including Pangani and Muheza. The supply chain of the coconut sub-sector includes irregular harvesting of mature nuts for home consumption or sell to the market.
“Occasionally immature nuts and coconut beer harvested from coconut flower shoots are also harvested and sold in the market. Coconuts account for a planted area of 14,765 ha, (23.7% of the planted area of all permanent crops).The total production of coconuts by smallholders was 26,328 tonnes during the 2002/2003 agricultural census.
About 32,814 households (12.4% of the total crop growing households) produce coconut under smallholder production system in the region. Value addition in the sub sector is limited to home based and small scale processing of coconut oil for domestic market.
Coconut farming is a major income activity in the Pangani area as the vast coconut plantations in the area provide Tanzania with over 50% of coconuts so the district plan to dwell on the potential of producing bio-fuels from coconuts is well on the right course.
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