Philippine Tambayan

Development of a prototype equipment ofor jatropha oil processing technology, on going. 

The Metal Industry Research and Development Center, in cooperation with the Industrial Technology and Development Institute (ITDI) and Philippine Council for Industry and Energy Research and development  (PCIERD), is developing a technology for Jatropha. The MIRDC is now developing the design of the equipment is the jatropha seed and after passing through the four equipment, namely: steamer/boiler, decorticator /desheller, oil expeller, and filter press, the yield is the crude oil which can now be utilized as fuel to a low speed diesel engine. The processing will start with deshelling or dehulling, then will proceed to screw pressing and finally filtering.

The sizes of the equipment are more compact and durable. The frames of the equipment are cast solid metal. It has a capacity of 100 kgs seed of jatropha that yields 30-40 liters of crude oil. The oil content, the methyl esther, is about 38%. As compared to other biofuels, jatropha methyl esther is more flammable than coconut methyl esther  (coconut) and palm oil methyl esther (palm oil). However, the cake produced after processing at the oil expeller is toxic. This is why the crude oil out from jatropha is only dedicated for fuel and not as food stuff.

Jatropha curcas is found throughout the Philippines, in the Tagalog region, it is known as tubing-bakod; in Bicol, as tuba; in Visayas, and Mindanao regions, as tuba-tuba. It is a drought-resistant perennial shrub or small tree that has an economic life of 35 to 50 years. The seeds of jatropha can usually be harvested one year after planting. Seeds for replanting can be gathered when the fruits are already yellow to dark brown.

The development of the equiptment is now on its fabrication stage. Specifically, some of the pattern of the parts were already made and other parts were being drawn. The project runs from July 2007 and is set to be completed by the end of 2009. The project cost is 1.5 million peseos.

Source: Metal Industry Trends & Events vol 22 no. 4 (MIRDC)

Cassava foliage:cheap alternative to carabao feeds

By:Rita T. dela Cruz

BAR today april-june 2002

Cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) has been an important food source in many developing countries. It’s an ideal food-security crop because of its capacity to adapt to unfavorable conditions. It grows even in poor soil and in areas where other crops fail to be productive, and is resistant to drought and pest infestation.

In the Philippines, cassava tubers are dietary staple and important source of carbohydrate for both man and livestock, and are important cash crop. The cassava tubers also have industrial purposes, particularly as cassava flour, which is now being used as substitute for commercially manufactured flour.

Unknown to many, one of the potentials of cassava farming that hasn’t been fully utilized is the use of cassava foliage as animal feeds.

In a recent study conducted by the Philippine Carabao Center (PCC) and the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB), scientists found that cassava foliage could be used as a potential feed for ruminants. The scientists tried to evaluate the biological and economic potentials of processed cassava leaves as feed for carabaos. Headed by Dr. Caro Salces of PCC, the study was conducted at the Center in Ubay, Bohol.

The study aims to determine effective means to detoxify the cassava foliage for animal feeding purposes, to know the effect of processed cassava foliage on the growth of the carabaos, to identify the effect of sulfur feed supplement on the growth rate of carabaos that were fed with cassava foliage, and to determine the profitability of integrating livestock in a cassava-based farming.

Detoxifying the poison in cassava One limiting factor in using cassava as animal feed is the presence of potential toxic concentrations of cyanide or hydrocyanic acid (HCN). For human consumption, the toxicity of cassava is resolved by cooking. This is the reason why it is not recommended to eat cassava uncooked.

Cassava leaves are important source of micronutrients, protein fiber and ash, which are essential in animal feeds but along with these essential elements is a high cyanide concentration which ranges from 189 parts per million (ppm) to about 2466 ppm depending on the variety.

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Cashew and cow, anyone?

By Likha Cuevas

Bar Today- april-june 2002

It started out as a forested area. Then farmers slashed and burned the trees to make way for rice and corn. Later came soil erosion. This was the situation in Barangay Luzviminda, Puerto Princesa City, Palawan where the land is slightly undulating and hilly. In 1988, the Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries in Brgy. Luzviminda received an average of one to two hectares of land. These farmers’ main crops were rice and corn and practiced one cropping per year. In 1994, the Department of Agriculture Southern Tagalog Integrated Agricultural Research Center (STIARC) conducted a Rapid Rural Appraisal (RRA) and found that there was serious soil erosion brought about by continuous cropping. Even though these farmers knew that erosion was a problem, they were not receptive to the idea of contour farming to lessen soil erosion. The farmers thought that planting permanent crops and hedges along contour lines lessened their area for crop production. Farmers were not also applying fertilizers to their crops.

To solve this problem, Ms Librada L. Fuertes of DA-ROS Palawan headed a project that integrated crop and livestock to help increase farm productivity and profitability of hilly-land areas.

Four farmer-cooperators trained on contour farming, cattle production, compost-making, and cashew production. Each farmer devoted 0.25 ha of his farmland to this experimental cropping system. After establishing the contour lines of the hilly farmlands, they planted napier grass (Pennisetum Purpureum) and ipil-ipil (Leucaena leucocephala) as contour vegetative barrier (used in terracing) for erosion control. Napier grass also served as fodder for the cattle that provided the farmers with extra source of income (milk production) while ipil-ipil served as a source of organic fertilizer.

The farmers planted cashew (Anacardium occidentale) as a permanent crop to control soil erosion while glutinous green corn and mungbean were planted in rotation between the contour lines known as ’strips’. Aside from providing the farmers with a source of income, mungbean enriches the soil with nitrogen-fixing bacteria and it is easily cultivated. Organic fertilizer from corn stover and hedge trimmings was applied on the corn and the mungbean.

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