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Coffee pulp is commonly used to fertilize crops, but can you
imagine a small farmer taking advantage of this waste to produce
fuel for his motorcycle?
The International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT)
does envision this possibility and is conducting a pilot-scale
project in several areas of Colombia that mainly aims to develop
low-cost innovative systems to produce bioethanol (fuel alcohol),
biodiesel, and pure vegetable oil that will generate rural
employment while protecting the environment by reducing air
pollution.
The project's interinstitutional team, under the leadership
of CIAT researcher John Loke, has made important advances
in the area of biofuels. John is firmly convinced that it
is possible to produce biofuels by tapping numerous energy
crops of the tropics and their wastes and by involving small
producers so that they produce raw alcohol of low purity that
will serve as input to refineries that produce high-quality
fuel alcohol.
The Federation of Plantain Producers of Colombia (Fedeplátano)
also participates in this project, and has already initiated
the pre-market production of bioethanol based on coffee wastes
in the country's coffee-growing region. Two prototype plants
are currently being validated, one in Valle del Cauca and
the other in Quindío. Another plant is mobile and can
be strategically used to train producer associations anywhere
in Colombia.
"The successful management of the prototype plant by
Fedeplátano triggered a proposal to set up the same
system in Tanzania (Africa)", highlighted Silverio González,
the Federation's President. This innovative way of producing
bioethanol will be useful for farmer associations in Latin
America, Africa, and Asia.
Project activities include the establishment of castor bean
(Ricinus communis) and Jatropha curcas, popularly
known as physic nut or the tuba-tuba plant, both shrubs of
the Euphorbiaceae family that produce between 1,600 and 3,400
liters biodiesel or pure vegetable oil (also a biofuel) per
hectare per year.
This alliance involves farmer groups represented by Fedeplátano
in Colombia and producers of J. curcas in Tanzania,
supported by researchers of CIAT and the Colombian Corporation
for Agricultural Research (CORPOICA) as well as by experts
of Diligent Energy Systems B.V., a Dutch company that facilitates
the access to biofuel production with a farmer participatory
approach.
"The production plants proposed are relatively small-scaled;
they use renewable energy sources as well as new waste transformation
and management techniques as biogas", says Sanna Hogervorst,
researcher of the University of Wageningen, who has been involved
in the process. One of the new developments is the transportation
of raw material in liquid form, facilitating its transfer
in regions with poor road infrastructure.
Over an 8-month period, different yeasts and enzymes that
could be used to produce bioethanol from different raw materials
have been evaluated at CIAT laboratories. Although sugarcane
is a traditional source to produce this biofuel, according
to experts it is also economically and technically feasible
to obtain biofuel from cassava, sweet potato, banana, and
coffee in regions not suitable for cane production.
Several farmer associations have already expressed their
interest in this project in view of the low investment costs
in prototype plants. Funding was obtained to build two more
processing plants, including demonstration-scale plants, and
to establish energy crops at CIAT's headquarters in Palmira
and at CORPOICA's facilities in Montería, with the
support of Colombia's Ministry of Agriculture and Development,
the Latin American and Caribbean Consortium to Support Cassava
Research and Development (CLAYUCA), and other entities.
Contact: John Loke (j.loke@cgiar.org),
phone: +57 (2) 4450000, ext. 3206, Cali, Colombia.
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