Calophyllum Biodiesel : A New Hope

As a continuation of the previous article entitled "Overcoming Fuel Scarcity in Remote Areas (Indonesian version)", there is another potential that can be a new hope, namely from the Calophyllum inophyllum L. tree. Calophyllum tree produces seeds that can be further processed into biodiesel. Calophyllum biodiesel can be used mainly in remote areas such as used by fishermen and various activities in the area. On a national scale it can also be a diesel oil mixture, as is the case now which uses a mixture of biodiesel from palm oil and diesel oil with the term biosolar (B30 with 30% biodiesel palm oil and 70% diesel oil). A number of advantages of this calophyllum biodiesel are high oil productivity, even equivalent to palm oil which is a vegetable oil-producing crop today (6 tons / hectare / year), can be agroforestry with a number of food crops - which also cannot be done in palm oil plantations, it can be planted on the coast to prevent abrasion and as a wind breaker, the oil produced does not compete with edible oils or food products, and is easier and cheaper to maintain.

 Some time ago the Jatropha tree was also promoted for biodiesel production, but with low productivity and oil yields make biodiesel from Jatropha seeds unable to compete with the price of diesel oil at that time or it would require a very large land area to produce its biodiesel volume target, so that its development stalled. Jatropha is a plant that is programmed as a source of biodiesel other than palm oil, which was programmed at that time. The liquid fuel in the form of biodiesel is indeed easier to use and the processing route is simpler than the production of liquid fuels via (fast) pyrolysis or gasification. But indeed the production of liquid fuels via the pyrolysis and gasification routes can utilize almost all biomass waste, not fixated from certain fruits or seeds.

The biodiesel produced can also be used for electricity generation. Electricity also encourages economic growth in the area, especially the utilization of natural resources around. Utilization of by-products from biodiesel production is also attractive for example for animal feed, briquette or charcoal production, even activated carbon, drugs and textile dyes and glycerol. The use of glycerol is very extensive, for example in the food industry. It is used as a humectant, solvent and sweetener, and can help preserve food. Glycerol is also used as a filler in commercially prepared low-fat foods (for example: cookies) and as a thickening agent in drinks. Glycerol is also widely used in the pharmaceutical and beauty industry.

Based on the Indonesia National Energy Policy in accordance with PP No.5 / 2006, the renewable energy of biofuel groups including biodiesel is targeted to reach a portion of 5% in the national energy mix by 2025. Although it is still low compared to other countries but it certainly has become a good entry point to be continuously improved. Oil wastes from palm oil mills that have high levels of free fatty acids such as PAO (palm acid oil) can also be used for biodiesel production because they are not suitable for food products. As a reference RED II (Renewable Energy Directive) in Europe even targets that almost 30% of the energy sources they use are targeted to come from renewable energy in 2030 and around 80% come from biomass. RED II replaces RED I which ended this year with a target of 20-20-20, namely the use of 20% renewable energy, an increase in energy efficiency of 20% achieved in 2020. Of the 20% renewable energy, biomass also gets a share of approximately 80% . This indicates that renewable energy, especially from biomass such as calophyllum fruit or seeds, will increasingly increase in the coming eras.

Even the history of this plant has been planted since 50 years ago, with its natural distribution on the beach for wind breakers so that crops can be cultivated in the area. Although this plant can still grow well at an altitude of 0-500 meters above sea level with rainfall of 700 mm / year to a very high rainfall area of ​​5000 mm / year. With this reality, calophyllum cultivation on the beach can be encouraged again. With an Indonesian coastline of 99,093 km and many residents living in coastal areas and living as fishermen, biodiesel and agroforestry in calophyllum plantation is a new hope. Even livestock business can be developed because the waste from the oil press or its crude oil can be used for animal feed. And when the tree is no longer productive, the wood can be used as a high-quality shipbuilding material. When calophyllum is expected to be the main source of biodiesel replacing the current position of palm oil biodiesel, so that palm oil can be maximized for edible oil (food products), then there are other plant species namely malapari (Pongamia pinnata L.) projected to be bioavtur as aircraft fuel.