Oct 04, 2010
Palm Oil Promoted as Alternative to Soy Oil for Biodiesel
Author: Michael Cordonnier/Soybean & Corn Advisor, Inc.
According to Manoel Bertone, the Brazilian minister in charge of agro-energy production, the Brazilian production of biodiesel fuel should increase 50% in 2010 compared to 2009 to 2.4 billion liters. He made these comments last week at a meeting held in Buenos Aires attended by other renewable energy experts from Argentina, Chile, Paraguay, and Uruguay.
The biodiesel program in Brazil was initiated in 2005 with the production of 732,000 liters of biodiesel and it increased to 1.6 billion liters in 2009. The original goal of the program was to increase to a B5 blend (95% petroleum diesel and 5% vegetable oil) by January of 2013, but that goal was reached three years early in January of 2010. New goals have not yet been officially announced, but most industry participants feel Brazil is capable of increasing the blend percentage by 1% per year.
Soybean oil is the primary feedstock for Brazil's biodiesel production accounting for nearly 80% of the total followed by beef tallow and cotton seed oil. The government has been trying to promote alternative oils with palm oil being the most viable alternative. Only a small amount of palm oil is currently being produced in Brazil, but palm oil is the number one vegetable oil in the world. One of the reasons why it is so widely used is the tremendous yield potential for palm oil. A hectare of oil palms is capable of producing five tons of oil compared to a hectare of soybeans that can produce only a half of ton of oil (500 kilograms) per year.
In May of this year, the federal government launched a program called Sustainable Palm Oil Production in Brazil. The program outlines areas of the country suitable for palm oil production, it offers easier lines of credit for producers, and it increases investments in research and development for palm production in Brazil. Before the end of 2011, it is estimated that the federal government will invest R$ 60 million in genetic improvements as well as increasing the seedling production capacity.