Comments On Biofuels That Bring Back Memories

Comments on biofuels that bring back memory.

By Abdel Aziz Dimapunong Biofuels and alternative energy proponent Chancellor, Islamic Banking Research Institute Founding Chairman, Amanah Islamic Bank

Here are some comments to my article: renewable energy.

Amanah Islamic Bank pushes for

“It’s a misnomer indeed to come-up with an alternative energy that the same would contain inorganic petrol-base (methanol & ethanol) and acidic/toxic Sodium/ Potassium Hydroxide Catalytic Reactants, that could lead to corrosion and damage on engine parts. This is not to mention the contamination of (layers) underground soils. Let me call the commentator Jane (not her real name). This comment was posted by Jane days after I posted my blog at Sulekha network. I found out she has no entry in this network. And I do not consider her a member. So, I did not respond to her comment. Instead, I am posting another blog. The comment of Jane was also posted to some other articles about biofuels and renewable energy on some other websites. Jane contends that renewable energy – not specifying biodiesel – could lead to corrosion and damage on engine parts. However, Jane did not specify which engine parts would be damaged by any blend of biofuels. Is it the piston, the piston rings, the connecting rod, the cylinder, the cylinder head, the spark plugs, the crankshafts? Let me guess. Jane posts comments on certain articles about biofuels without really having a working knowledge of the mechanics of internal combustion engines. The comment also mentions about the “contamination of (layers) underground soils.” I just wonder what the relevance of engines and their use of biofuels on underground soils? I don’t really see the point of this comment. Again, let me guess. Jane’s frame of mind is such that she only thinks of motor vehicles on land.

Comments on biofuels that bring back memories

By Abdel Aziz Dimapunong

Diesel engine for marine propulsion Let me say that biofuels engines are also intended for some other uses including marine propulsion and this includes submarines and naval ships. When a submarine cruises the oceans, it is far from destroying any layers of underground soils on account of its engine. An example of diesel engine applications could be found on naval ships, in numerous mechanical drive applications. The Opposed Piston Engine (OPE) that was developed by Fairbanks and Morse in the mid-1930s was initially used to power submarines and locomotives. Because of its proven reliability, the Opposed Piston diesel engines are still in service these days among U.S. Navy ships, in electric power plants and other applications. I believe that the OPE will also find its applications on land transportation in the near future.

Biofuels are also intended to feed those engines that power electrical generations, engines that power rice mills, corn mills, saw mills, abaca fiber mills, and so many applications, including water irrigation systems. Biofuels are not only for cars. Let me just jump into the other comments of Jane, as follows: Bio-ethanol is just a mixture of 10% ethanol & 90% petro-gasoline. It would not be good also for the engine if the mixture would go beyond 35% because it will eat-up the rubber and plastic parts of the engine, thus increases the engine temperature. By definition, bio-ethanol is not “a mixture of 10% ethanol & 90% petro-gasoline” as Jane stated in her comment. There is obviously a mess here. Also it must be noted that ethanol is not relevant to the blending of biodiesel with diesel fuels which is the main subject of my article. Ethanol is only for the proposed blending with gasoline. At this point, there should be clarifications as to the means of using bioethanol or biodiesel along with diesel and gasoline. The use of two kinds of fuels does not have to come from a blend of such two kinds of fuels in a fixed proportion. It could be in the form of what is called dual fuel system under which one kind of fuel is use as the pilot fuel to be followed by the other kind of fuel. Anyway, this last comment particularly interests me not because of anything else other than it reminds me of my school days in my younger days way back some thirty years ago. Comments on biofuels that bring back memories

By Abdel Aziz Dimapunong

At the Asian Institute of Management where I went for graduate studies in business management, the system of learning is known as case-method which was pioneered by the Harvard Business School in the 1920s. Students are bombarded with business cases everyday but Sunday. When presented with a case, they place themselves in the role of a manager or any decision maker as they read through a case. Then the student performs the necessary analysis by identifying the problem, examining the causes, and considering alternative courses of actions to form a decision. In many cases, the analysis involves pencil pushing (now finger tapping on calculators) to determine cost or profit differentials with several alternative courses of actions. The case method forces students to grapple with the kinds of decisions and problems managers face every day. In doing so, it redefines the traditional teaching method in which the professor conducts lectures and discourses and the students just passively receive it. The case method is different. It creates a simulated environment where students exercise the skills of leadership and teamwork in the real world.

We had cases for discussions everyday but weekends and we had WAC (written analysis of cases) every Saturday. In the whole two year MBM (Master in Business Management) course the students take about three thousand five hundred cases. One case that we were made to analyze was about a business on car parts. I don’t remember anymore the title of the case but I recall that it presents a situation where a car part dealer faced a cut-throat competition with other dealers that sell new engine parts made of rubbers and plastic parts. This is why Jane’s comments bring back memories.

The rubber-and-plastic case that I faced in school thirty years ago is now revived in real life with the rubber-and-plastic comment of Jane. Let me just say that those rubber and plastic parts of the engine are replaceable with the original non-rubber and non-plastic parts of yesteryears. That is the way it used to be in the 20th century. Engines do not have to be fitted with rubbers and plastics anywhere along the fuel line. The issue on ethanol eating up rubbers and plastics is really irrelevant in relation to biofuels. The comment also interests me because it also reminds me of my classmates. One of them, Alias Bin Ali, a Malaysian scholar got a grade of High Pass (HP) because of his outstanding analysis where he disregarded the issues on rubber and plastic parts of the engine because he insisted that there really was no cause for worry. The rubber and plastic parts were just products of technological innovations. They were never meant to permanently replace the original non-rubber and non-plastic parts. They are only optional. The innovation that was introduced did not pose any threat at all to the engine industry. They represent minor parts of the engine. And when one involves the calculators, the result is minimal numbers.

Comments on biofuels that bring back memories

By Abdel Aziz Dimapunong

In real life, examine your car and see how many rubbers and plastic parts there are in your engine. Only count the parts that are relevant to the fuel line up to the point of combustion inside the engine. You do not count as consideration the tires which are made of rubber because they are not directly connected to the fuel line leading to the engine. You do not even consider the rubber caps in the brake system because they have nothing to do with the internal combustion. And so with the fan belt that is made of rubber. Remember we are talking about engine fuels whether bioethanol, biodiesel, diesel or gasoline or kerosene or biogas, or any blend or mixture among them. The comment should just be disregarded. I really feel it is just an innocent remark. This is exactly how the said comment was treated when presented to a hearing in Congress. It was disregarded by legislative decision makers when, finally, the Congress of the Philippines, passed the Biofuels Act of 2006. Both the House of Representatives and the Senate agree. And the Biofuels Act was signed into law by the President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. And this was done upon the recommendation of the Department of Energy, and with so many other branches of the government. It was also accepted by foreign decision makers in the recently concluded ASEAN Summit that was held in the city of Cebu. So, as Albert Einstein said: When consensus is reached, stop thinking. As to the comment, all we have to do is to remove those rubber and plastic parts that are related to the fuel line and get back to the original conditions of the engine where there was not a single rubber and or plastic parts. The comments also assert that the use of bioethanol will increase the temperature of the engine. This can not be considered undesirable.

Increasing the temperature of the engine is the mark of a diesel engine. As a matter of fact, diesel engines achieve ignition without the need for spark plugs at higher temperature, thus reducing costly downtime associated with plug-related maintenance. The more the engine becomes hot the better.

Comments on biofuels that bring back memories

By Abdel Aziz Dimapunong

Diesel engine prototype invented by Rudolf Diesel

This is actually the scientific discovery of Mr. Rudolf Diesel when he invented the diesel engine which is now the perfect internal combustion engine.

Comments on biofuels that bring back memories

By Abdel Aziz Dimapunong