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Full Report Co-operation Project on Energy between Thailand and Cambodia
(Study on Potential of Agricultural Product for Biofuel in Cambodia)
Submitted to
Department of Alternative Energy
Development and Efficiency
Ministry of Energy
By
Faculty of Engineering
Ubon Ratchathani University
Full Report Co-operation Project on Energy between Thailand and Cambodia
(Study on Potential of Agricultural Product for Biofuel in Cambodia)
Submitted to Department of Alternative Energy Development and
Efficiency
Ministry of Energy
By Research and Service on Energy Center
Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering Ubon Ratchathani University
September 2006
i
Abstract
This is a final report of the co-operation project on energy between Thailand and
Cambodia. The main objective of this project is to study the potential of agricultural
products for producing biofuel in Cambodia. This study focuses on the investigation on
potential of raw materials for biodiesel and bio-ethanol. Some possible raw material for
biofuels such as palm, jatropha or (jatropha curcus), peanut, soybean, rice, corn, cassava,
and sugarcane are investigated in details. Technology and production capacity that suit to
raw material available in Cambodia were studied and presented.
The study reveals that jatropha and palm have high potential for being biodiesel
raw materials, while peanut and soybean are still low in availability. Considering the raw
material for bio-ethanol production, it was found that none of the agricultural product has
significant potential, neither cassava nor sugarcane. After analysis concerning on
technology and production capacity, it may be concluded that the UBU Gold2 is suitable
for biodiesel production in Cambodia. This machine has production capacity of 300
liters/day. For ethanol production, there is no suitable technology in practice, because the
availability of raw material is still low. It is also suggested that Cambodia should initiate
and plan for expanding the cultivated area of energy plants. The national policy and
strategy on biofuel should be set and apply in the near future.
ii
Acknowledgement
This co-operation project has successfully done by the kind assistances and co-
operation from many organizations. The consultant team would like to thank:
- Department of Alternative Energy Development and Efficiency (DEDE),
Ministry of Energy of Thailand.
- Faculty of Engineering, Ubon Ratchathani University
- Department of Energy Technique, Ministry of Industry Mines and Energy
(MIME), CAMBODIA
- Faculty of Agronomy, Royal University of Agriculture, CAMBODIA
- Development & Appropriated Technology (DATe), CAMBODIA
- Groupe Energies Renouvelables, Environment et Solidrité (GERES),
CAMBODIA
- Faculty of Sciences, Ubon Ratchathani University
iii
Contents
Abstract i
Acknowledgement ii
Contents iii
List of Tables vi
List of Figure viii
Chapter 1 Introduction 1
1.1 Background 1
1.2 Objectives 1
1.3 Area of the study 2
1.4 Scope of the project 2
1.5 Outcome of the project 3
Chapter 2 Biofuels 4
2.1 Introduction 4
2.2 Raw materials for biofuels 4
Chapter 3 Basic knowledge of biofuels 11
3.1 Fundamental of biodiesel production 11
3.2 Fundamental of ethanol production 17
Chapter 4 Identification of plant varieties and potential of
agricultural products 21
4.1 Data collection method 21
4.2 Identification of oil plant varieties in Cambodia
compared to Thai varieties
22
4.3 The availability and potential of agricultural products
for biofuel in Cambodia
26
4.4 Demand and supply of biofuel plants 30
4.5 Fuel consumption in Cambodia 31
iv
Contents (Cont.)
4.6 Potential of biofuel as alternative to fossil fuel 32
4.7 Suggestions for cultivating area and suitable variety
selection
33
4.8 Management of raw materials for biofuel 35
Chapter 5 Technology for Producing Biofuel 36
5.1 Technology for producing biodiesel 36
5.2 Ethanol Production Technology 48
Chapter 6 Database of Cambodian biofuel 56
6.1 Database system 56
6.2 Importance of the database system 56
6.3 Structure of the data base system 57
6.4 Format of the web page 58
Chapter 7 Seminar and Promotion on Biofuels 60
7.1 Biofuel seminar 60
7.2 Seminar assessment 63
7.3 Question and suggestion 65
Chapter 8 Summary 67
8.1 On the summary of the project 67
8.2 Summary of the seminar 69
8.3 Recommendations 69
Bibliography 70
Appendix A Survey Forms 72
Appendix B Conversion Factor 85
Appendix C Seminar Attendants 87
Appendix D Registration Form 89
v
Contents (Cont.)
Appendix E Seminar Assessment Form 91
Consultant Name List 93
vi
List of Tables
Table No.
2.1 Comparison of ethanol yields (by volume) from various
raw materials
6
2.2 Comparison of production costs of ethanol from
various raw materials in pilot plant operated by TISTR,
production capacity of 1,500 liters
6
2.3 Production of raw materials for biodiesel in Thailand
(unit: thousand ton)
9
2.4 Properties and compositions of fatty acids in biofuels 9
2.5 Properties and heating value of biofuels varieties
compared with diesel
10
3.1 Properties of diesel and biodiesel fuel 14
4.1 Average productivity an oil content of various varieties
of soybean
25
4.2 Productivity of various peanut varieties 25
4.3 Information of agricultural products which can be raw
material for ethanol production
26
4.4 Productivity and cost of production of agricultural
product for biodiesel in Cambodia
30
4.5 Production of sugarcane and cassava and their
estimated ethanol yield per year
31
4.6 Summary of crude oil products from various biodiesel
plants
31
4.7 Properties of various raw materials for biodiesel
production
32
4.8 The amount of diesel substituted by biodiesel from
different sources
33
vii
List of Tables (Cont.)
Table No. 5.1 Technology for producing biodiesel 39
5.2 Economic feasibility analysis and internal rate of return
(IRR)
43
5.3 Economic feasibility analysis and payback period when i
= 8%
44
5.4 Economic sensitivity analysis 45
5.5 Raw materials requirement for different size of ethanol
production factory
49
7.1 Percentage of the attendant by gender 63
7.2 Percentage of the attendant by age 63
7.3 Percentage of the attendant by occupation 63
7.4 Percentage of the attendant by occupation by
background knowledge
63
7.5 Percentage of the satisfactory on the seminar room 64
7.6 Percentage of the satisfactory on the presentation 64 7.7 Percentage of the satisfactory on the knowledge 64 7.8 Percentage of the satisfactory on the possibility of
knowledge application
64
viii
List of Figures
Figure No.
2.1 Some examples of agricultural products that can be raw
materials for biofuel
5
2.2 Some examples of raw materials for biodiesel production 8
3.1 Diagram of the biodiesel production 13
3.2 Trans-esterification process for producing biodiesel 14
3.3 Reaction of triglyceride and alcohol 15
3.4 Illustrates steps and technologies for producing ethanol 18
3.5 Shows distillation technique used for enrich 6-12%
ethanol to be 95.5% ethanol
19
4.1 Average production of various ethanol plants between
1998-2003
27
5.1 DEDE Prototype developed by the Thailand Institute
of Scientific and Technology Research (TISTR)
37
5.2 DEDE Sunsai system at Sunsai district, Chaingmai 38
5.3 PSU100B production system 40
5.4 PSU120B production system 40
5.5 UBU Gold2 production system 41
5.6 Production cost for produce ethanol of 5,000 liters per
day
50
5.7 Illustrated the ethanol price regarding to the variation of
fresh cassava cost
51
5.8 Illustrates the ethanol price regarding to the variation of
sugar cane cost for ethanol factory capacity of 100,000
liters per day
51
ix
List of Figures (Cont.)
Figure No.
6.1 Structure of the data base network 57
7.1 Seminar room and the back screen 60
7.2 Opening ceremony by Mr. Sorawit Nun-jaruwat and
Dr. Sat Samy
61
7.3 Group photo after the opening ceremony 61
7.4 Atmosphere in the seminar room 62
7.5 Closing speech by Mr.Victor Jona 62
1
Chapter 1
Introduction
1.1 Background
This project, the potential of agriculture product for biofuel in Cambodia, is
resulted from the ACMECS Leaders Meeting on 10-12 November, 2003 at Yangon and
Pukam City of Myanmar, where they have signed the declaration for the cooperation on
energy project among Thailand, PDR Lao, Cambodia, and Myanmar. After that, there was
a Senior Official Meeting to discuss the detail of the cooperation project. In 2006, Thai
Government has financially supported for the energy co-operation project between
Thailand and Cambodia. The main aims are to help the Cambodian to investigate the
potential of their agriculture product and to transfer the knowledge and the technology for
producing biofuel in Cambodia.
This project is cooperatively run by the Department of Alternative Energy
Development and Efficiency (DEDE), Ministry of Energy, Thailand and the Ministry of
Industry Mine and Energy (MIME) by having the Research and Service on Energy Center
(RSEC), Ubon Ratchathani University, working as the consultant.
Biofuel is the fuel that is produced from the crop or agriculture products such as
cassava, sugar cane, oil palm, Jatropha Curcus (or physic nut), or even used cooking oil
or animal oil. Cambodia is one of the agriculture countries which have big available area
for growing energy plants. Therefore, it is a good opportunity to survey for the potential
of the current situation and also set the future plan for Cambodian biofuel. The biofuel
will provide great benefits to Cambodia as it is a renewable energy. It should reduce the
amount of the petroleum import into Cambodia, reduce the environmental problem, and
stabilize the crop prices in the country. In this study, the word “biofuel” is focused only
on the liquid biofuel. It simply means the biodiesel and bio-ethanol which are produced
for replacing diesel and gasoline fuel. Note that, in Cambodia, the liquid petroleum fuel
is fully imported from oversea.
2
1.2 Objectives
Study the current situation and potential of agriculture product in Cambodia for
producing biofuel
Suggest the future cultivated plan on appropriate area and type of energy plants for
being the raw material of biofuel in Cambodia
Suggest the managing plan and policy on the energy plants for biofuel in Cambodia
Analyze the demand and supply of the agriculture product in Cambodia for biofuel
1.3 Area of the study
The Kingdom of Cambodia
1.4 Scope of the project
1.4.1 Survey and collect the information on agriculture products in Cambodia such
as cultivated area, productivity, and cost per unit area. Use these data for
estimating the cost of the biofuel production.
1.4.2 Analyze and compare the energy plant by using the information in Thailand
if necessary.
1.4.3 Study and investigate the plants which have high potentiality for producing
biofuel.
1.4.4 Study the production and application of biofuel by including the economic,
demand and supply, SWOT analysis, and environmental aspect as well.
1.4.5 Prepare the data base of the study results which is readily to link to the
current data base system of DEDE.
1.4.6 Setup the seminar and promotion of the study results to the Cambodian by
having the associated parties attend the seminar at least 12-15 persons and
summarize the seminar results in the final report.
1.5 Outcome of the project
3
1.5.1 Information on energy plant and their potential for producing biofuel in
Cambodia
1.5.2 Future plan for the development and management of energy plant in
Cambodia
1.5.3 Knowledge and technology transfer about biofuel to Cambodian
1.5.4. Results of the study can be the initial information for MIME and associated
organization to propose for future project or financial support from
oversea.
4
Chapter 2
Biofuels
2.1 Introduction
There are 2 types of liquid fuels, which are fossil fuel or petroleum and biofuel.
Petroleum is obtained from beneath the earth surface which undergoes a transformation
process involving high pressure and temperature to yield a range of products, such as
liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), gasoline, kerosene, aviation fuel, diesel oil, fuel oil and
asphalt. These products are used as fuel for engines and raw material in industrial plants.
They are inedible and their reserves are depletable. It is estimated that, without new
discoveries and with present consumption rate, the fossil fuel will be finished within 40-
50 years.
Biofuels can directly be produced from oil-yielding plants such as soybean,
coconut, peanut, palm, sesame and sunflower seed. These oils can be either used with
diesel engine after some quality improvement process or even directly use. Biofuels can
also be obtained from plants that yield starch or sugar such as cassava, sugar cane, corn,
rice and rice straw. These plants provide sugar or starch which can be degraded and
processed to yield ethanol. If the ethanol can be purified to 99.5% concentration, it can be
blended with fossil fuels for use in engines. Some examples of plants that can yield
biofuel are shown in Figure 2.1.
2.2 Raw materials for biofuels
2.2.1 Raw materials for ethanol
Ethanol or ethyl alcohol produced via biomedical process is called bio-
ethanol or ethanol in short. Raw materials for ethanol can be categorized into 3 groups;
1. Starch – grains or cereals, e.g. rice, wheat, corn, barley and sorghum; and root
vegetables, cassava, potato and sweet potato.
2. Sugar – e.g., sugarcane, molasses, beet – root, and sweet sorghum.
5
3. Fibers – mostly byproducts from agricultural products, such as rice straw, dried
sugarcane, stems, corn cobs, rice bran, pieces of wood or paper, sawdust, weed,
including some industrial waste such as waste from a paper factory.
Figure 2.1 Some examples of agricultural products that can be raw materials for biofuel
Production technology and yield of ethanol vary with type of raw material as
shown in Table 2.1. In addition, the production cost of ethanol depends on types of raw
materials. Table 2.2 shows production cost of ethanol made from various raw materials in
pilot plant operated by the TISTR with production capacity of 1,500 liters per day.
Coconut Oil Palm
Sugarcane
Rubber Seed
Cassava
Jatropha or Physic Nut
6
Table 2.1 Comparison of ethanol yields (by volume) from various raw materials [1]
Raw Material (1 ton) Ethanol Yield (Liters)
Molasses 260
Sugarcane 70
Fresh Cassava 180
Sorghum 70
Grains (e.g. rice, corn) 375
Coconut Juice 83
Table 2.2 Comparison of production costs of ethanol from various raw materials in pilot
plant operated by TISTR, production capacity of 1,500 liters [1]
Raw Material Ethanol Production Cost
(USD/Liter)
Fresh Cassava 0.223
Cassava Strips 0.235
Tapioca Flour 0.3375
Sugarcane 0.2635
Corn 0.2662
Although various raw materials can yield ethanol, there are some considerations
should be taken in to account. These include the economic consideration, demand-supply
balance and production technology. Details of these considerations are;
• High availability, enough to supply factory throughout the year and low cost.
• High ethanol yield per unit of raw material and per unit of land.
• Positive production energy balance.
• Avoid using human food as raw material.
Regarding those considerations, various countries select their most suitable plant
as ethanol raw material such as the USA uses corn and Brazil prefers sugarcane. For
Thailand, the National Commission for Ethanol proposed 3 kinds of agricultural
products, which are sugarcane, molasses and cassava. Considering Cambodia, the
proposed raw materials for ethanol production will be discussed more later.
7
2.2.2 Raw materials for biodiesel
Biodiesel refers to oil that can be used as fuel in diesel engine. Seed oil or
animal oil are raw materials for biodiesel. Regarding to raw material and production
process, biodiesel can be categorized into 3 groups;
1. Bio oil
This kind of biodiesel is, actually, oil from seeds such as coconut oil, palm
oil, soybean oil and peanut oil or animal oil. These can be used directly to diesel engine
but efficiency of engine may be low.
2. Biodiesel blend
It is the mixture of bio-oil and diesel or other kinds of fuel. This is to
improve the property of fuel to be closed to diesel. Some examples of biodiesel blend are
the coco-diesel which is diesel blended with coconut oil and the palm-diesel which is a
mixture of diesel and palm oil.
3. Ester biodiesel
This is the real biodiesel recognized in international such as German, the
USA and Malaysia. The biodiesel in this definition comes in the form of esters resulting
from a chemical reaction between bio-oil with methanol or ethanol. The chemical reaction
is called Transesterification. The product from this reaction process is called after type of
alcohol used in the reaction, such as ethyl ester or methyl ester.
In general, biodiesel can be made from plants oil or animal oil. In addition, used
cooking oil can also be raw material for biodiesel. The main considerations of biodiesel
raw material may be the demand and supply, availability and management of raw
materials. Technology of making biodiesel is not too complicated and considered as
minor problem for Cambodia.
8
Figure 2.2 Some examples of raw materials for biodiesel production
Some examples of raw materials for biodiesel that grown in Thailand are shown
in Figure 2.2, i.e. soybean, oil palm, coconut, peanut and sunflower. Nowadays, experts
search for alternative kind of plant that yields bio-oil and inedible, in order to avoid using
human food. Some new alternatives are jatropha seed and rubber seed. However, before
conclusion will be made, other considerations should be discussed such as oil content per
weight or per planting area, plant life cycle, quality of oil and cost of cultivating. It
should be mentioned here that the USA chooses soybean for its biodiesel, Germany uses
rapeseed and Malaysia selects palm. Thailand considers palm and jatropha seed as its
biodiesel raw material. Table 2.3 illustrates amount of oil plants produced in Thailand
between years 1995-2001. Considering the oil property, it is also a crucial issue since it
requires different technology, cost as well as quality of obtained biodiesel. Table 2.4
provides information of properties and compositions of fatty acids in various bio-oil.
Table 2.5 shows fuel properties and heating value of biodiesel varieties compared to
diesel.
9
Table 2.3 Production of raw materials for biodiesel in Thailand (unit: thousand ton) [1]
Year Oil Palm Coconut Soybean Peanut Castor Sesame
1995/1996 2,255 1,413 386 147 6 34
1996/1997 2,688 1,419 359 147 6 34
1997/1998 2,681 1,386 338 126 6 35
1998/1999 2,465 1,372 321 135 7 36
1999/2000 3,512 1,381 319 138 7 37
2000/2001 3,256 1,400 324 135 9 39
Table 2.4 Properties and compositions of fatty acids in biofuels [1]
Composition of fatty acids Oils
Iodine
Content C12:0 C14:0 C16:0 C18:0 C18:1 C18:2 C18:3
Palm 14.1-21.0 ND-0.5 0.5-2.0 39.3-47.5 3.5-6.0 36.0-44.0 9.0-12.0 ND-0.5
Palm Olein ≥ 56 0.1-0.5 0.5-1.5 38.0-43.5 3.5-5.0 39.8-46.0 10.0-13.5 ND-0.6
Palm
Sterine ≤ 48 0.1-0.5 1.0-2.0 48.0-74.0 3.9-6.0 15.5-36.0 3.0-10.0 0.5
Palm
Kernel 50.0-55.0 45.0-55.0 14.0-18.8 6.5-10.0 1.0-3.0 12.0-19.0 1.0-3.5 ND-0.2
Coconut 6.3-10.6 45.1-53.2 16.8-21.0 7.5-10.2 2.0-4.0 5.0-10.0 1.0-2.5 ND
Peanut 86-107 ND-0.1 ND-0.1 8.0-14.0 1.0-4.5 35.0-67.0 13.0-43.0 ND-0.3
Jatropha 101 ND ND 14.9 6.0 41.2 37.4 ND
Rape Seed 94-120 ND ND-0.2 1.5-6.0 0.5-3.1 8.0-60.0 11.0-23.0 5.0-13.0
Soybean 124-139 ND-0.1 ND-0.2 8.0-13.5 2.0-5.4 17.7-28.0 49.8-59.0 5.0-11.0
Note * ND = Not Detected
10
Table 2.5 Properties and heating value of biofuels varieties compared with diesel [1]
Variety of Oil
Specific Gravity
at 21OC
(gm/ml)
Viscosity
at 21OC
(cp)
Heating Value
(kilo joules/kg)
Soybean 0.918 57.2 39,350
Sunflower 0.918 60.0 39,490
Coconut 0.915 51.9 37,540
Peanut 0.914 67.1 39,470
Palm 0.898 88.6 39,550
Palm Kernel 0.904 66.3 39,720
Jatropha 0.915 36.9 at 38 oC 39,000
Diesel 0.845 3.8 46,800
*Note Oils in this table are pure oil, not biodiesel.
11
Chapter 3
Basic Knowledge of Biofuels
This chapter describes the fundamentals and basic knowledge about the biofuels
and their production processes. The production processes of biodiesel and bio-ethanol is
detailed as followings.
3.1 Fundamentals of biodiesel production
On the production and application of bio-oil (plant oil or animal oil), it can be
done in 4 ways as followings.
1. Direct use or blend: the crude bio-oil is applied to the engine directly by
mixing with diesel in some ratio or even use 100% without any diesel. Using
the bio-oil this way, it is certainly not suitable for the fuel spray and
combustion and will affect to the engine operation in the long run.
2. Microemulsions: The crude bio-oil is mixed with diesel or kerosene and
emulsifier. This method will reduce the fuel mixture viscosity and prevent the
separation between crude bio-oil and diesel or kerosene. However, this method
does not break the molecule structure of the crude oil. The fuel spray and
combustion still may deficient as well.
3. Thermal cracking or pyrolysis: this method is trying to crack the molecule
of the crude bio-oil by using high temperature and high pressure. This method
will give high yield and good quality biodiesel. However, the production cost
is quite high and it is not economical production method at present.
4. Alcoholysis: This method modifies the structure of the bio-oil (or triglyceride)
to be very similar to the diesel structure. It is a chemical reaction process
between triglyceride and alcohol. It is the most practical method to produce
biodiesel at present, because it is quite simple and low in production cost. The
12
yielded biodiesel from alcoholysis process is called “ester” which might be
methyl-ester or ethyl-ester depending on the alcohol types (methyl alcohol or
ethyl alcohol). Alcoholysis process may be defined as two names upon the
catalyst types which are;
- Esterification is the alcoholysis which use acid as the catalyst. This
process is suitable for the crude bio-oil which has high free fatty acid. It is
usually applied for pretreatment the oil before processing the main reaction
process or transesterification.
- Transesterificaion is the popular and most practical alcoholysis process. It
uses base as the catalyst. The reaction can occur completely in a much
shorter period comparing to estrification.
In this report, only the alcoholysis production process is focused. Figure 3.1 shows
the overview of the production line of biodiesel by the transesterification process. This
figure illustrates the flow-path of biodiesel production procedure, starting from oil seed
until goes to use with engine.
13
Figure 3.1 Diagram of the biodiesel production
Oil plants such as oil palm, coconut
Oil extracting by mechanical compression or chemical extraction
Crude oil
Purification
Ethanol or methanol and catalyst
Trans-esterification process
Glycerin
Biodiesel
Diesel engine vehicle
14
3.1.1 Transesterification process
Transesterification is the very important and practical process for
producing biodiesel. Its reaction can be shown as in Figure 3.2.
+ +
Figure 3.2 Trans-esterification process for producing biodiesel
Table 3.1 Properties of diesel and biodiesel fuel
Descriptions
High Speed
diesel
Low Speed
Diesel Diesel
100%
Methyl
Ester
10%
Methyl
Ester
Specific gravity @ 15.6°C
ASTM D1298 0.81-0.87 0.920 Max 0.8283 0.8642 0.8306
Kinematic viscosity
(cst@ 40°C) ASTM D445 1.8-4.1 8.0 Max 3.36 6.32 3.66
Pour point (°C)
ASTM D97 10 Max 16 Max -8 15 2
Sulphur Content (%wt)
ASTM D129 0.05 Max 1.5 Max 0.04 0.001 -
Flash point (°C)
ASTM D93 52 Min 66 Min 65.73 152 69.2
Fire point (°C) 74 188 84
Heating value (kJ/kg) 47,330 40,390 47,317
Bio-oil (Triglyceride)
Methanol or ethanol
+ catalyst
Methyl-ester or ethyl-ester (biodiesel)
Glycerin
15
Transesterification process can be performed by mixing bio-oil (either plant or
animal oil) with alcohol (methanol or ethanol) and adding the catalyst in the proper ratio.
The catalyst often used is sodium hydroxide (NaOH) or potassium hydroxide (KOH). The
reaction is usually carried out at the temperature around 55°C, at atmospheric pressure.
By the transesterification process, the Tri-glycerides is transformed to be the mixture of
fatty esters or commonly called “biodiesel”. The by-product of this process is glycerin
which can be use as the raw material in the industry of medicine, cosmetic, or soap. The
main advantage of performing the transesterification process is that the biodiesel property
will be very close to standard diesel. It significantly helps to improve the viscosity and
Cetane number of the fuel. Table 3.1 compares the properties of some fuel samples.
Theoretically, the amount (molar ratio) of alcohol to the bio-oil to use in the
transesterification process is 3:1, because, it needs 3 moles of alcohol to react with 1 mole
of triglyceride as shown in Figure 3.3.
Figure 3.3 Reaction of triglyceride and alcohol
The alcohol used in the process can be either methanol or ethanol. However, the
methanol is more practical in aspects of cost and reaction acceleration. The methanol has
smaller molecular size, hence giving the faster reaction. While the base catalyst can be
sodium hydroxide (NaOH) or sodium hydroxide (KOH). During the transesterification, to
complete the reaction, three are sub-reaction processes which are the reaction between
triglyceride and alcohol, the reaction between diglyceride and alcohol, and the reaction
between monoglyceride and alcohol. These three processes are reversible processes;
therefore the amount of alcohol and catalyst must be a little more than the chemical
balance. This figure can be obtained from experimented or laboratory checks.
16
3.1.2 Factor affected to the transesterification
3.1.2.1 Water or moisture content
Moisture content will cause the hydrolysis reaction in the oil and obstruct
the transesterification. Water or moisture in the oil also causes soap mixed with ester.
This makes ester has high viscosity. Hence, it is difficult to separate glycerin from ester.
To prevent the mentioned problem, the oil should be dehumidified or dried before starting
the production process.
3.1.2.2 Type and amount of the catalyst
The catalyst can be either acid or base. However, base is more practical by
giving faster reaction rate at the same operating condition. The quality or purity of the
catalyst is also affected to the completeness of the reaction, hence the yield of the
biodiesel. The optimum amount of the catalyst is also important. If the catalyst is too
little, the reaction will occur slowly and may not complete at the end. If the catalyst is too
much, it may cause the saponification effect and the soap like product will occur.
3.1.2.3 Reaction period
The optimum operation period is important for producing biodiesel in the
large scale. At the beginning, the reaction rate is high and then it reduces slowly.
Knowing the optimum mixing period will save the production cost and gain the highest
biodiesel yield.
3.1.2.4 Temperature
Reacting temperature is important in biodiesel transesterification for
maximum yield and minimum energy usage. The higher temperature gives the better
reaction. However, at too high temperature (not more than 65°C), the alcohol may
evaporate from the mixing chamber and lost the biodiesel yield.
3.1.2.5 Oil to alcohol ratio
In theory, molar ratio of oil to alcohol should be 1:3. However, in practice,
the oil to alcohol ratio should be lower than 1:3 (put more alcohol) such as 1:4 or 1:5 to
prevent the reversible process. This needs some experiments to confirm the maximum
yield of biodiesel.
17
3.2 Fundamental of Ethanol Production Ethanol could be produced from either ethylene or agricultural products and
residue. There is a report indicates that about 7% of ethanol used presently is made from
ethylene synthesis and the rest (around 93%) is made from agricultural products. The
main agricultural product used as raw material for ethanol production is sugar cane
(around 60%). About 65% of ethanol is produced in America and 68% of them are used as
fuel. The rest is used in industry and general consumption.
Ethanol can be produced from agricultural product by a well-kwon and simple
technology. This is carried out by converting starch to be sugar and then convert sugar to
be ethanol with different degree. Apart from agricultural products, molasses which is by-
product of sugar production process can also be used for ethanol production. In general,
there are 4 main processes to make ethanol from agricultural products. They are the
process of changing starch to be sugar, the process for converting sugar to be ethanol
(ethanol fermentation), the process to enrich ethanol concentration and the process of
water separation. The last process is in order to achieve 99.5% ethanol. Figure 3.4 shows
the whole production step of making ethanol from agricultural products. Detail of each
process can be explained as follow.
3.2.1. Hydrolysis & Saccharification Process
This process is an initial step for products that composed of starch such as
rice, cassava and maize. The main purpose of this step is to convert starch in agricultural
products to be sugar. The process is conducted by using an enzyme from Phycomycetes
and Ascomycetes. Alternatively, the process may also be carried out by mixing
hydrochloric acid with starch and then boil. By this method, a hydrolysis reaction will be
initiated and monosaccharide (Glucose) is archived. The chemical equation for hydrolysis
reaction is expressed as: Glucose Starch
)( 612625106 OHnCOnHOHCn →+−−
3.2.2 Ethanol Fermentation Process
Ethanol could be fermented either from sugar from sugarcane or from
sugar archived from the process in step 1. Yeast is required in fermentation and
Saccharomyces cerevisiae is the yeast that is widely used. Fermentation can be done by
18
batch or continuously. However, the continuous process has to use recycled yeast in the
process. Result from this step is ethanol with 8-11% concentration by volume. The
chemical reaction in this process could be expressed as: Ethanol Glucose
CO4OHHC4OHC2 2526126 +→
Figure 3.4 Illustrates steps and technologies for producing ethanol
Hydrolysis & Saccharification
Fermentation
99.5 % Vol Ethanol
Juice Preparation Slurry Preparation
Enzyme Acid
Batch Continuous
Conventional Distillation
Azeotropic Pervaporation Molecular Sieve
95.5 % Vol Ethanol
Ethanol Dehydration
Ethanol Concentration
Conversion of Row material
Sugar cane Cassava
19
3.2.3. Ethanol Concentration Process
Main objective of this process is to enrich ethanol concentration. The
process can be divided into 2 steps. The first step is to increase ethanol concentration
from 6-12 % to be 60 % by using distillation technique in the first column. Then, ethanol
with 60 % concentration is fed into column 2 for another distillation process and yields
95.5 % ethanol. The ethanol concentration process is written as diagram in Figure 3.5
Figure 3.5 Shows distillation technique used for enrich 6-12% ethanol to be 95.5% ethanol
3.2.4. Ethanol Dehydration Process
This step is to increase concentration of ethanol from the previous step to be
99.5%. This process is the most difficult step and expensive. However, it is essential
because only 99.5 % ethanol could be used to make gasohol. In this step, water has to be
removed from ethanol and this cannot be completed by normal distillation technique.
Nowadays, there are 3 techniques used for this purpose, which are Azeotropic Distillation,
Pervaporation and Molecular Sieve. Detail of these techniques is discussed below;
1. Azeotropic distillation is a process to purify mixture that cannot be distillated
by normal distillation techniques (the mixture called Azeotropic). The process is
carried out by adding a substance, called Entrainer. The entrainer will interfere the
reaction equilibrium; hence further distillation can be carried out. By this mean,
the concentration of ethanol can be increased to 99.5 %. Benzene is a substance
Ethanol 6-12 %
Steam
Ethanol 60 % Ethanol 95.5 %
Water 99.9 %
Column1 Column2
20
that widely used as entrainer because it is cheap. In general, entrainer can be
recycled after recovered from water.
2. Pervaporation technique is a method to separate substance from solution. This
is done by using a permeable membrane such as PVA (Polyvinyl alcohol) to
absorb water and allow only ethanol goes through. Water that is stucked in the
PVA will be diminished by means of hot air.
3. Molecular sieve is a technique that uses an absorption substance such as
Potassium Aluminociligate. The absorber absorbs water content from ethanol and
resulting higher ethanol concentration. Water content in absorber, then, will be
removed by hot gas.
The first and second processes in Figure 3.4 are basic processes for producing
ethanol with 95.5 % concentration. In the last process, it could be carried out by any of
three techniques explained earlier. However, the Molecular Sieve is most widely used
because of its efficiency and low production cost.
21
Chapter 4
Identification of plant varieties and potential of agricultural products
This chapter presents methods used for collecting data of agricultural products that
yields biofuels. Summation on planting area, productivity and production cost of each
biofuel plants is reported. The varieties of plants in Cambodia are identified, compared to
Thai plants varieties. In addition, this chapter will discuss about potential of fuel oil in
Cambodia and proposed plan for promotion and management of biofuel raw materials.
4.1 Data collection method
This study used various methods to gather data of agricultural products in
Cambodia. Each channel was carried out in parallel. Methods and their details are
described below;
4.1.1 Using questionnaire
A number of questionnaires concerning all issue about biofuel was sent to
related organizations. A typical questionnaire is shown in Appendix A. This method
provided not enough information because there were not many questionnaires returned.
This may be because Cambodia has no statistical record on these kinds of data.
4.1.2 Literature surveying
Reports and academic articles regarding to agricultural products in
Cambodia have been studied. Although the survey provided some useful information,
they are still not solid and inconsistent. Almost of report generally discusses in the policy
scale.
4.1.3 Field surveying
The present study also did field surveying in order to get raw data and to
re-check some primary data from several sources. This method offered important data
such as information about jatropha planting and production of palm oil. This method is
very effective and provided reliable information. However, it consumed high budget and
man power.
22
4.1.4 Co-operation with local research institute
This study has made a co-operation with a local research institute, which is
Faculty of Agronomy, Royal University of Agriculture, Phnom Penh, Cambodia. This is
the most effective method to extract information from local area. Due to their expertise
and experience doing research in Cambodia, they could provide large number of useful
information for this study.
4.2 Identification of oil plant varieties in Cambodia compared to Thai varieties
In order to analyze the potential and all economic concerned issues, basic
information of agricultural products is crucial. However, these kinds of information, such
as plant productivity per area and cost, are uncompleted in Cambodia. Therefore, the
consultant team decided to identify each variety of Cambodian oil plant and compared to
Thai variety. Once the identification is completed and the plant is converted to be a Thai
variety, basic information of that plant in Thailand will be used as base line for further
analysis. Criterions that are used in varieties identification are;
1. Physical appearances of oil plants
2. Climate and geography of planting area in Cambodia, compared to Thailand
3. Season of planting in Cambodia compared to Thailand and productivity
The result of study is discussed as follow;
4.2.1 Identification of plants variety for ethanol
Corn, cassava, sugarcane, and rice are generally sued as raw materials for
ethanol production. The detail of identification of varieties of these plants is as follow;
4.2.1.1 Variety of corn
Refer to information from Mr. Chuong Sophal (Dean of Faculty of
Agronomy, Royal University of Agriculture, Phnom Penh, Cambodia), corn that grown in
Cambodia is CP888. This is the same variety as in Thailand.
CP 888 is a variety of corns that was developed by CP company ltd [2].
The stem is about 215 cm height, strong root and stem. Productivity is about 7,500
23
kg/hectare. Production cost is 310 USD/hectare. CP 888 usually comes into flower in 53
days and can be harvested within 110 – 120 days.
4.2.1.2 Variety of cassava Cassava generally grown in Cambodia is a local variety (Manihot Esculenta
Crantz). It cannot be identified for the exact variety. However, from comparative study,
the Cambodian cassava may be equivalent to a Thai variety called Rayong 72. The reason
for this identification is the similarity of the planting area. This cassava is usually grown
in northeast of Thailand which its geography and climate is similar to Cambodia.
Moreover, this variant produces a highest productivity.
The Rayong 72 [2] has been developed at Center for Plant Research at
Rayong Province. It was developed by breeding of two cassava varieties; the Rayong 1
and the Rayong 2 in 1990. The Rayong 72 has silver-green color stem with 2.00 meters
height, dark green leaves and red petiole. Average productivity is about 32 ton/hectare.
The Rayong 72 contains 22% of starch in rainy season and 28% in dry season.
Productivity of flour in dry season is about 6.7 ton/hectare and production cost is
approximately 357 UDS/hectare.
4.2.1.3 Variety of rice
Similar to cassava, local rice is generally grown in Cambodia. From
surveying, it was revealed that the variety of rice in Cambodia is similar to that of rice in
the northeastern of Thailand. Therefore, the Cambodian rice can be equivalent to the Thai
variety of Gor Khor 15. The Gor Khor 15 has light green stem with about 130 cm height
and sensitive to light. Grain size is about 7.5 mm long. Productivity is 3,500 kg/hectare
and production cost is 245.6 USD/hectare.
4.2.1.4 Variety of sugarcane
Sugarcane grown in Cambodia is also a local variety. However, some
sugarcane has been imported from Thailand. The variety of sugarcane may be equivalent
to the Thai variety of Khon Kean 1. This is due to the similarity of climate and geography
of planting area. The Khon Kean 1 is developed from U Thong 1 and ROC1 sugarcane. It
24
contains high percentage of sugar and high CCS value. Productivity is about 81.25 –
106.25 ton/hectare.
4.2.2 Identification of plants variety for biodiesel
It is well known that a raw material for biodiesel have to contain fatty acid
from living oil. In general oil from plant is preferable to use for biodiesel. The oil plant or
oil crop that is preferable to use as biodiesel raw material should contain oil more than
20% by weight. Some examples of plants for making biodiesel are oil palm, coconut,
jatropha, soybean, peanut, sesame, sunflower seed and even rubber seed. This report will
discuss only varieties of the plants that available in Cambodia i.e. oil palm, jatropha seed,
soybean, peanut and rubber seed.
4.2.2.1 Variety of oil palm
The surveying data indicates that oil palm grown in Cambodia is the same
variety of that grown in southern of Thailand. It is the Tenera (DxP). Productivity of this
palm is about 1,000 kg/hectare per a tree or about 20,000 kg/hectare (planting about 125
palms/hectare). This amount equivalents to crude palm oil of 4,000 kg/hectare.
4.2.2.2 Variety of jatropha (physic nut)
Almost of jatropha grown in Cambodia are local variety, some are
imported from Thailand as the business scale planting. However, they are similar
appearance as the Thai jatropha. It has oval berry, growing well in area of 800-1,100
meters from sea level. Jatropha can provide high productivity throughout the year with
fertilization and trimming. In the early year, jatropha may give about 1,875 – 3,125
kg/hectare. If it is grown naturally, the productivity may drop to 625 – 938 kg/hectare.
Generally jatropha gives highest product between June – July and November – December.
Oil content in jatropha seed is about 25% (with peel).
4.2.2.3 Variety of soybean The climate and geography of Cambodia are similar to central and
northeastern part of Thailand. Therefore, soybean that grown in Cambodia may be
equivalent to soybean that grown in central and northeastern on Thailand. These soybeans
25
are Mor Khor 35, Jugraphan 1, Chaing Mai 2, Sukhothai 3 and Chaing Mai 3. These
varieties have averaged productivity per 100 seeds and percentage of oil content as shown
in Table 4.1.
Table 4.1 Average productivity an oil content of various varieties of soybean [2]
Soybean Variety Productivity
(kg/hectare) Weight of 100 seed
(g)
Oil Content
(%)
Mor Khor 35 1906.25 16-17 20
Jugaphan 1 1781.25 11-12 22
Chaing Mai 2 1468.75 15-16 19
Sukhothai 3 1875 12-14 24
Chaing Mai 3 2062.5 12-13 22
Average 1818.75 13.2-14.4 20
4.2.2.4 Variety of peanut
The variety of Cambodian peanut is also identified based on the similarity
Cambodian climate and geography that are similar to the central and northeastern area of
Thailand. Cambodian peanuts may be equivalent to Thai varieties as followed, Galasin 1,
Khon Kean 5, Sor Khor 38 and Thai Nan 9. These four varieties give productivity as
shown in Table 4.2.
Table 4.2 Productivity of various peanut varieties [2]
Peanut Variety Productivity (kg/hectare)
Galasin 1 1,575
Khon Kean 5 1,250
Sor Khor 38 1,250
Thai Nan 9 1,200
Average 1,318.75
4.2.2.5 Variety of rubber
The comparison of rubber variety in Cambodia and Thailand was also
made based on the geography similarity of planting area. The Thai varieties of rubber
26
which may be equivalent to those of Cambodian are the Rubber Research Institute 251,
Song Khla 36, BPM 24, PB 255, PB 260, RRIC 110 and PR 255.
4.3 The availability and potential of agricultural products for biofuel in Cambodia
Resulting from data collected as described in topic 4.1, availability and potential
of biofuel plants will be presented as follow;
4.3.1 The availability and potential agricultural products for ethanol
Information regarding to planting area, productivity and production cost of
plant for ethanol production is summaries in Table 4.3.
Table 4.3 Information of agricultural products which can be raw material for ethanol
production
Agricultural Products Value
Planting area, hectare 16,654
Production, kton 229
Productivity, ton/hectare 13.75
Cassava
Production Cost, USD/hectare 350
Planting area, hectare 4,000
Production, kton 100
Productivity, ton/hectare 25
Sugarcane
Production Cost, USD/hectare 300
Planting area, hectare 20,000
Production, kton 62
Productivity, ton/hectare 3.1
Corn
Production Cost, USD/hectare 30
Planting area, hectare 2,314,285
Production, kton 4,711
Productivity, ton/hectare 2.03
Rice
Production Cost, USD/hectare 240
Note Data from surveying and references [3-8]
27
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
Oil Palm Jatropha Soybean Peanut
Prod
uctio
n, k
ton/
year
Figure 4.1 Average production of various ethanol plants between 1998-2003 [3-8]
Figure 4.1 Illustrates the average production of various agricultural products for
producing ethanol. The averaged value were taken within 5 years, from 1998-2003. It can
be seen that the production of rice is highest. However, rice is very valuable as it is main
food for human and may be not suitable to being ethanol raw material. Looking at
cassava, sugarcane and corn, they could be alternative choices for ethanol raw material
but their availabilities are still low.
4.3.2 The availability and potential of agricultural products for biodiesel
There are various kinds of agricultural products can be used for biodiesel
production in Cambodia. Some examples are oil palm, soybean, peanut, jatropha and
sesame. Detail about the production, planting area, oil content, availability and potential
of these plants are discussed as followed;
4.3.2.1 Oil palm
Surveying data indicated that in year 2005 there is about 4,000
hectares of palm field in the southern area, such as SIHANOUK VILLE where is near to
the sea. This produces approximately 60,000 ton/year of palm seeds. Generally, the oil
28
content of palm seed is about 20% by weight, therefore, that amount of palm seed should
produce about 12,000 ton/year of crude palm oil (CPO). However, total CPO is exported
because there is no oil refinement factory in Cambodia. It should also be noted that
Cambodia imports purified palm oil about 21,300 tons in year 2005.
4.3.2.2 Soybean
Refer to the field survey report in year 2005, the planting area of
soybean in Cambodia is approximately 118,760 hectares and production is 179,096 tons
raw seed. In general, the oil content of soybean is about 20% by weight, yielding about
35,819 tons of soybean crude oil. However, part of this soybean is exported. In year 2005,
Cambodia exported soybean in form of raw grain in amount of 54,000 tons or equivalent
to 10,800 tons of soybean crude oil. The rest, which is about 125,096 tons of soybean
grain or about 25,019 tons soybean oil, is used in domestic.
4.3.2.3 Peanut
Cambodian grows peanut all over country. Total planting area, refer to
data in 2005, is about 17,237 hectares and production of 22,629 tons. The oil content of
peanut is 30% by weight, therefore the production of 22,629 tons peanut will provide
6,789 tons of peanut oil. However, most of peanut produced in country is used for
cooking in domestic. The availability of peanut in Cambodia may be not much.
4.3.2.4 Jatropha or Physic Nut
Jatropha is a local plant that is generally grown in rural area. Jatropha
contains Hydrocyanic which is a toxic substance. Therefore it is grown as fence to
prevent agricultural area from livestock or to prevent a house from poisonous animal.
Nowadays, people start growing jatropha in a business scale since it is valuable as new
alternative biodiesel plant. In Cambodia, jatropha is grown in both styles;
- There is jatropha field in Kos Kong with the area of 200 hectares. This has been
carried out in business scale. Jatropha, generally, produces about 2,500 kg
seed/hectare. Therefore, with 200 hectares planting area, it can be estimated that
Cambodia should have jatropha seed of 500 tons per year. With 25% oil content,
this amount of jatropha should yield oil of 125 tons/year.
29
- In case of jatropha is grown as natural fence in rural area, the following
assumption and information from field are used to estimate the product of jatropha
in Cambodia.
Population in Cambodia is 13.6 millions
80% of total population work in agricultural sector in rural area
50% of people in agricultural sector (about 5.44 millions) grows
jatropha as a house fence
Number of household in Cambodia is about 680,000
A house fence is assumed 20-30 meters long
Jatropha is grown in line with intensity of 5-6 trees per meter
Productivity of jatropha is 1.0-1.5 kg/year
Regarding to those data and assumption, one household may grow 100
jatropha and total number of jatropha in Cambodia may be 68,000,000. This
provides 68,000 tons of seed per year and yields jatropha oil of about 17,000 tons
per year.
In conclusion the total jatropha oil production in Cambodia, including the
jatropha grown from those 2 methods, will be 17,125 tons per year.
The average productivity and cost of various agricultural products for biodiesel are
summarized in Table 4.4.
30
Table 4.4 Productivity and cost of production of agricultural product for biodiesel in
Cambodia
Agricultural Products Value
Productivity, ton/hectare 15 Oil Palm
Production cost, USD/hectare 530
Productivity, ton/hectare 0.94 Jatropha or Physic
Nut Production cost, USD/hectare Natural Grown
Productivity, ton/hectare 0.85 Soybean
Production cost, USD/hectare 35
Productivity, ton/hectare 0.5 Peanut
Production cost, USD/hectare 200
4.4 Demand and supply of biofuel plants
4.4.1 Demand and supply of ethanol plants
As mentioned earlier that main agricultural products which can produce
ethanol are rice, corn, cassava and sugarcane. However, from interviewing with local
people and experts in Cambodia, it has been revealed that the availability of those
products is very limited. In addition, they are more valuable for human food in domestic.
Therefore, it may be concluded here that the potential of agricultural products for being
raw material of ethanol is very low for now. However, as ethanol may be essential in the
near future, the national government may set up a road-map concerning on ethanol
production in Cambodia. The road-map should range from the national policy to ethanol
user and marketing.
As in other countries, cassava and sugarcane may also be good raw
materials for ethanol production in Cambodia. From the production of sugarcane and
cassava in Table 4.3, the ethanol yield of them can be estimated by using conversion
factor in table 2.1 and the result is shown in Table 4.5.
31
Table 4.5 Production of sugarcane and cassava and their estimated ethanol yield per year
Agricultural
Products Production (ton/year) Ethanol Production (liter/year)
Sugarcane 100,000 7,000,000
Cassava 229,000 41,220,000
4.4.2 Demand and supply of biodiesel plants
Detail of availability of biodiesel plants are listed in Table 4.6.
Table 4.6 Summary of crude oil products from various biodiesel plants
Agricultural Product Production (ton/year) Export value
(ton/year) Import value
(ton/year)
Soybean 35,819 10,800 -
Jatropha or Physic Nut 17,125 - -
Oil Palm 13,200 13,200 21,300*
Peanut 6,789 - -
Note Survey in year 2005, * Purified palm oil
From Table 4.6, it may be concluded that the highest potential plant for biodiesel
making is jatropha. This is because jatropha is naturally grown and inedible. While other
kinds of plants are more valuable for food and the availability is limited.
4.5 Fuel consumption in Cambodia
Ministry of Industry Mines and Energy (MIME) reports that between 2000 –
2004, Cambodia consumes fuel as detailed below;
1. Diesel: 360,000 tons per year or equivalent to 426.0 million liters per year
2. Gasoline: 110,000 tons per year or equivalent to 148.6 million liters per year
It is observed that the majority fuel used in Cambodia is diesel. This is because the
price of diesel is a little bit lower than gasoline. In addition, majority of vehicles in
32
Cambodia is diesel engine and heavy machines in industries are mostly diesel engine.
Especially, the electricity generator in rural is made of diesel engine. Therefore, if
biodiesel is widely promoted to be produced and used in Cambodia the amount of
imported diesel will be decreased. As the result, national and people’s cost for energy will
also be lower.
4.6 Potential of biofuel as alternative to fossil fuel
4.6.1 Potential and the use of ethanol as alternative to gasoline
Ethanol can be used instead of MTBE (Methyl Tertiary Butyl Ether) in
gasoline to improve the octane number. By this means, content of MTBE which is
poisonous can be reduced. Therefore, total production of ethanol shown in Table 4.5 can
be used as alternative to gasoline.
4.6.2 Potential and the use of biodiesel as alternative to diesel
Diesel engine can be run directly with 100% biodiesel or blended of
biodiesel and diesel. However, the engine will consume more fuel in order to maintain the
power. This is because the heating value of biodiesel is lower than that of diesel.
Furthermore, different raw materials provide biodiesel with different heating value.
Consequently, different kinds of biodiesel can substitute the use of diesel within different
amount. The properties of biodiesel raw materials are shown in Table 4.7 and the amount
of diesel that can be substituted by biodiesel are shown in Table 4.8.
Table 4.7 Properties of various raw materials for biodiesel production
Raw
Materials Oil Content
Heating Value
(J/g) Specific Gravity
at 21oC
Soybean 0.85 39,350 0.918
Jatropha 0.85 39,000 0.915
Oil Palm 0.85 39,550 0.898
Peanut 0.85 39,470 0.914
Diesel 46,800 0.845
33
Table 4.8 The amount of diesel substituted by biodiesel from different sources
Amount of Diesel Can be Substituted Raw
Materials
Production of
Biodiesel
(ton/year)
Heating Ratio
compared to Diesel (ton/year) (million liters/year)
Soybean 30,446 0.841 25,605 27.9
Jatropha 14,556 0.833 12,125 13.3
Oil Palm 11,220 0.845 9,481 10.6
Peanut 5,771 0.843 4,865 5.3
4.7 Suggestions for cultivating area and suitable variety selection
4.7.1 Plants for ethanol production
The proposed plants for ethanol production are sugarcane, cassava and
corn. The suggestions for increases planting area of these plants are as followed.
Sugarcane
Sugarcane is grown well in high land without flooding. Land for
cultivating sugar should contain organic matter not less than 1.5%. Preferable temperature
is between 30oC - 35oC. Rain measuring level is of 1,200-1,500 mm/year. In Cambodia,
suitable areas for sugarcane planting are Kampong Cham, Kandal, Banteay Meanchey,
Siem Reap and Kampot. The Khon Kean 1 is the proposed variety of sugarcane for
Cambodia. It grows well in dry area and is high productivity.
Cassava
Cassava can be grown in sandy or mixed sandy land with organic matter
not less than 1.0%. The planting land should have ground surface more than 30 cm depth
and pH value between 5.5 – 7.5. Desired temperature is about 25 oC - 37 oC. Planting area
should have rain level between 1,000 -1,500 mm/year. Suitable provinces for cultivating
cassava are Kampong Cham, Kampong Thom, Siem Reap, Battambang and Kampong
Chhnang. Rayong 72 is a cassava variety that proposed for Cambodia since it provides
high starch percentage.
34
Corn
Corn prefers medium rich land without flooding. The cultivating land
should contain organic matter not less than 1.0% with Phosphorous content more than 10
ppm. Ground surface should be over 25 cm depth and pH value between 5.5-7.0.
Preferable temperature is 25oC -35oC. Rain level is of 1,000-1,200 mm/year. Suitable
provinces for planting corn are Battambang, Kandal and Kampong Cham. CP 888 is the
corn variety should be selected to grown.
4.7.2 Plants for biodiesel production
The main agricultural products for making biodiesel are oil palm, soybean,
peanut and jatropha.
Oil Palm
Oil palm is generally grown well in tropical zone with relative humidity
more than 70%. The dry period should be not longer than 2-3 months. Rain level should
be about 2,000 mm/year. Ground surface should be at least 70 cm depth. Suitable
provinces for making palm field are Krong Preah, Sihanouk Ville, Kampong Spueu,
Kampot, Takeo and Koh Kong. The Tenera palm (DxP) is the palm variety which is
proposed from this study.
Jatropha or physic nut
Jatropha usually grows naturally. There is not much planting in business
scale in Cambodia. Most of jatropha grown in Cambodia is local variety which is strong
and grows well in hot and dry condition. However, in order to gain higher productivity,
some extra care and fertilization may be needed. Jatropha can be grown all around
country except in the flooding area.
Soybean and Peanut
These grains can be cultivated almost every area in Cambodia. The
preferable land should have pH value between 5.5-6.5. Rain level should be between
1,000-1,500 mm/year. The proposed variety of peanut is Galasin 1, and that of soybean is
Mor Khor 35. These varieties grow well in dry and hot condition.
35
4.8 Management of raw materials for biofuel
Availability and continuity of raw material for biofuel are very crucial issue.
Therefore, the management of raw materials may be most important. Suggestions for the
management are discussed below;
1. Initiate, and promote the cooperative activity to gather agricultural products for
making biofuel. Duty of the cooperative may extended to do planting promotion and
gives suggestion to farmers.
2. Initiate and promote the small unit cooperation in commune. This unit will be in
charge for collecting biofuel raw materials from commune.
3. Various exchange systems may be used. Agricultural products are generally
exchanged by using money-based system. However, the counter trade system may be
useful in some condition.
4. Promote the middle man for gathering raw materials
5. Used cooking oil can be raw materials for biodiesel. Turn the used cooking oil
to be biodiesel will help reducing its consumption. This will be positive for public health.
Apart of those, Cambodian government should initiate a national policy and
strategy to promote and encourage people to produce and use biofuel. This may include
the taxation strategy, financial aid and price guaranty system for example.
36
Chapter 5
Technology for Producing Biofuel
In this chapter, the firm technology for producing biodiesel and bio-ethanol is
described. The technologies or production systems presented here are developed,
operated, and available in Thailand currently. Technology from oversea is sometimes too
complicate and seems to be too expensive. Moreover, for Cambodia, the comparison of a
few production systems in term of practice, raw material, and economic is presented.
5.1 Technology for producing biodiesel
Currently, there are three technology usually used in the biodiese production
industry [1] as following.
1. Batch Technology
Batch technology is the method which produces biodiesel batch by batch. The
benefit of this system is being low investment cost and simple. However, the quality of
the biodiesel is not consistent in each batch. The productivity is usually low, because
batch technology is suitable for only small scale production.
2. Continuous Transesterification Technology
This technology gives the more consistent quality biodiesel. It needs smaller
operating area than that of batch technology, at the same production capacity. However,
the investment cost for this technology is much higher.
3. Continuous 2 steps Technology
This technology applies esterification reaction for pretreatment in the first step and
then transesterification reaction for major reaction during the production. This method is
suitable for the oil with high free fatty acid such as used cooking oil or crude palm oil.
37
5.1.1 Technology for community scale biodiesel
The community scale biodiesel reactor (or system) commonly operated in
Thailand uses both the batch technology and the continuous technology. The details of
some active system are shown in Table 5.1.
Figure 5.1-5.5 shown the assembly of those systems. The DEDE Prototype
is designed for being the prototype for the larger (30,000 L/day) scale. However this
prototype can also work itself, but maybe not worth in economic aspect. The DEDE
Sunsai is designed for the 2000 L/day of used cooking oil. This system considerably big
for community biodiesel and can be used as a small scale biodiesel industry. The
PSU100B, PSU120B, and UBU Gold2 are relatively small and suitable for the
commodity having bio-oil of around 500 L/day. They are batch operation, simple, low
investment cost, and producing good quality biodiesel.
Figure 5.1 DEDE Prototype developed by the Thailand Institute of Scientific and
Technology Research (TISTR) [9]
38
Figure 5.2 DEDE Sunsai system at Sunsai district, Chaingmai
39
Table 5.1 Technology for producing biodiesel
System Developer Project owner Description Capacity Raw material Yield (%)Cost per 1 L of
biodiesel
Capital cost
(USD)
DEDE
prototype TISTR
DEDE, Ministry of
Energy
Continuous Transesterification,
methanol, NaOH as catalyst 150 L/day Crude palm oil 85-90
0.1625 USD/liter
(not including raw
material oil)
50,000
DEDE
Sunsai
Royal Thai
Navy
DEDE, Ministry of
Energy
2 step, batch production,
methanol, NaOH as catalyst
2000
L/batch
used cooking
oil 85-90
0.15 USD/liter
(not including raw
material oil)
250,000
PSU100B
Prince of
Songkla
University
-
Transesterification, batch
production, methanol, NaOH as
catalyst
100
L/batch
crude palm
oil/Jatropha 80-90
0.175 USD/liter
(not including raw
material oil)
5,000
PSU120B
Prince of
Songkla
University
DEDE, Ministry of
Energy
Transesterification, continuous
or batch, methanol, NaOH as
catalyst
120 L/hr used cooking
oil 80-90
0.1625 USD/liter
(not including raw
material oil)
75,000
UBU
Gold2
Ubon
Ratchathani
University
Office of Energy
Region 7,
Permanent
Secretary Office,
Ministry of Energy
2 step, batch production,
methanol, KOH as catalyst
150
L/batch
used cooking
oil/crude palm
oil/cocnut
oil/Jatropha
85-90 0.175 USD/liter
(not including raw
material oil)
3,750
Note: the operation cost per liter of biodiesel is included the chemical, labor, water, and electricity.
40
Figuer 5.3 PSU100B production system
Figure 5.4 PSU120B production system
41
Figure 5.5 UBU Gold2 production system [10, 11]
5.1.2 Economic feasibility of the biodiesel production
In order to calculate the economic feasibility of each biodiesel system,
some assumptions are set as following.
1. Every system produce biodiesel on its full capacity i.e. enough supply of
raw material.
2. Cost of chemical substance, water, electricity, and labor are already
included as the cost per liter.
3. The raw material cost is 0.30 USD. This is a major cost of biodiesel.
42
4. The system operates 10 hours per day.
5. The system operates 6 days/week or 312 days/year.
6. Every system yields the biodiesel of 88%.
7. Assume the diesel price is 0.7 USD/liter.
8. Assume the biodiesel price is 0.6 USD/liter (0.1 USD cheaper than
diesel).
9. The salvage value of the system is 5% at the end of operating life.
From economic feasibility study based on the above assumptions, the results is
shown in Table 5.2 and 5.3.
43
Table 5.2 Economic feasibility analysis and internal rate of return (IRR)
System Capacity
Productivity per
day
(liter of oil/day)
Biodiesel per
year (liter)
Production
cost
(USD/L)
Value of
biodiesel
per year
(USD)
Production
cost per year
(USD)
Net profit
per year
(USD)
Capital
cost
(USD)
Salvage
value
(USD)
Operating
life
(year)
Internal Rate
of Return
(IRR, %)
DEDE
prototype 150 L/day 150 L/day 41,184 0.4625 24,710 19,047 5,663 50,000 4,000 10 3.06
DEDE
Sunsai
2000
L/batch4000 L/day 1,098,240 0.45 658,944 494,208 164,736 250,000 12,500 10 65.50
PSU100B 100
L/batch200 L/day 54,912 0.475 32,947 26,083 6,864 5,000 250 5 135.50
PSU120B 120 L/hr 1200 L/day 327,472 0.4625 196,483 15,1455 45,027 75,000 3,750 10 59.51
UBU
Gold2
150
L/batch300 L/day 82,368 0.475 49,424 39,124 10,296 3,750 187.5 5 274.20
44
Table 5.3 Economic feasibility analysis and payback period when i = 8%
System Capacity
Productivity
per day
(liter of
oil/day)
Biodiesel
per year
(liter)
Production
cost
(USD/L)
Value of
biodiesel
per year
(USD)
Production
cost per
year
(USD)
Net profit
per year
(USD)
Capital
cost
(USD)
Salvage
value
(USD)
operatin
g life
(year)
Payback
period
(year)
DEDE
prototyp
e
150 L/day 150 L/day 41,184 0.4625 24,710 19,047 5,663 50,000 4,000 10 15.46
DEDE
Sunsai
2000
L/batch4000 L/day 1,098,240 0.45 658,944 494,208 164,736 250,000 12,500 10 1.60
PSU100B100
L/batch200 L/day 54,912 0.475 32,947 26,083 6,864 5,000 250 5 0.74
PSU120B 120 L/hr 1200 L/day 327,472 0.4625 196,483 15,1455 45,027 75,000 3,750 10 1.72
UBU
Gold2
150
L/batch300 L/day 82,368 0.475 49,424 39,124 10,296 3,750 187.5 5 0.37
45
The sensitivity analysis of each system can also be estimated by assuming 3
scenarios as following.
1. The productivity is reduced by 50% due to the shortage of raw materials.
2. The raw material price increases by 30%.
3. The biodiesel price increases by 10%.
The internal rate of return (IRR) and the payback period (PP) will certainly be
affected and varied as shown in Table 5.4.
Table 5.4 Economic sensitivity analysis
Productivity
reduction by 50%
Raw material price
increases by 30%
Biodiesel price
increases by 10% System
IRR (%) PP (year) IRR (%) PP (year) IRR (%) PP (year)
DEDE
prototype -7.5 - -11.7 - 10.45 8.47
DEDE
Sunsai 30.81 3.49 23.24 4.5 92.12 1.12
PSU100B 62.94 1.54 36.85 2.90 203.5 0.50
PSU120B 27.96 3.64 15.66 6.73 88.18 1.34
UBU Gold2 135.5 0.74 72.10 1.36 406.00 0.25
From the economic feasibility analysis and the sensitivity analysis, it is shown that
the UBU Gold 2 system gives the highest IRR and the shortest PP. It is also less sensitive
than other systems. The DEDE prototype seems to be the least appropriate one, because it
is designed as the prototype and quite complicate in operation. The second and third
feasible systems are the PSU100B and DEDE Sunsai respectively.
46
5.1.3 Environmental impact assessment
The environmental assessment can be separated into two parts as the
impact on the production and the impact on the use of biodiesel.
5.1.3.1 Impact on the physical geography
Due to the suggested system to Cambodia, in this short stage, is the
commodity scale model or small model, the impact on use of land is not significant at all.
The small scale biodiesel production system needs the area only around 64 m2. The
chemical substance from the production process might have some impact on the under
ground or surface water if it is drained to the water system without any treatment or
awareness. However, all the chemical substances used in biodiesel production process are
bio-degradable. It is degraded naturally and quickly, if the concentration is not too high. If
the KOH is used, it could be the fertilizer for the plant as well. In case of the large scale
production, the wasted water should be treated before draining to the natural source and
agreed to these conditions;
1. The pH value of the water should be between 6.0-8.7 pH meter
2. The water temperature should not higher than 40°C.
3. The total dissolved solids (DTS) from KOH or NaOH should be lower
than 3000 mg/liter
4. Fat, oil, and grease should be lower than 5.0 mg/liter.
5.1.3.2 Impact on the biological resource
Usually, the biodiesel factory is located in the commodity or city, it
should not then affect to the biological resource such as wild life or plants.
5.1.3.3 Impact on living quality
In this aspect, the biodiesel production should be the benefit for the life
quality of the population. It will help Cambodian people to have their own energy, reduce
the living cost. Also, one who grows energy plant should be able to make profit for his
product.
47
5.1.3.4 Impact on the use of biodiesel in engines
From many researches, it is confirmed that the engine emission from
biodiesel is cleaner than that of diesel, these are;
1. There is not Sulfure in biodiesel, therefore, there will eliminate the
sulfur dioxide and acid rain problem.
2. There will be less carbon monoxide (CO) and carbon dioxide (CO2)
in the engine emission. It will help the global warming problem.
3. The black smoke and particulate is lower than that of diesel fuel.
5.1.4 SWOT Analysis
From the information on raw material quantity and other situations of
biodiesel in Cambodia, it can be analyzes in term of SWOT (Strength, Weakness,
Opportunity, Threat) as following.
Strength:
• Being agriculture country, energy plants can be widely grown.
• Has availably big area, sufficient land for agriculture.
• Good location for energy plants such as palm oil, soy bean, Jatropha curcus.
Weakness:
• Lack of knowledge about biodiesel.
• Shortage of raw materials, staffs, technologies.
• Lack of domestic research on biodiesel.
• Unclear policy and strategy on biodiesel yet.
• Only few organizations start on biodiesel so far.
• High price of chemical reactants (alcohol and catalyst).
Opportunity:
• High potential on agriculture product, if tend to do.
• Has high fuel demand.
• People start to aware on biodiesel usage, due to the risen cost of diesel fuels.
48
Threat:
• Cost of raw materials and chemical substances.
• Unclear policy or strategy about biodiesel.
• Quality control problem.
• Standardization of biodiesel is not concerned yet.
• Co-operation with car manufacturer is still unclear.
From the potential study and the SWOT analysis, there are some possibilities to
promote the biodiesel energy in Cambodia. To create the successful biodiesel fuel in
Cambodia, the suggestion and the feasibilities are;
1. Publish and promote the knowledge about oil plant and their benefit.
2. In the short stage, the pilot plant at small scale such as 100 l/batch to 1000 L/batch
may be a good start. Later stage, when the raw material is more available, the
industrial scale can be applied.
3. Encourage the cultivation of oil plants and price warranty.
4. Currently, the suitable raw material in Cambodia would be Jatropha curcus and
palm oil or even used cooking oil.
5. The batch technology is suitable for the situation in Cambodia in the current stage.
6. The catalyst should be environmental friendly such as KOH.
7. Cambodia should have its own research and development to produce the national
standard in the near future.
8. The demonstration and exhibition is very important in the first stage.
5.2 Ethanol Production Technology
In order to produce ethanol with concentration of 99.5 %, high technology process
is needed. This implies that high budget for ethanol production plant is required. This
study shall present some primary information about ethanol production plant in order to
be guide line for those who plan to build ethanol production factory.
49
1. Large scale factory (capacity more than 100,000 liters/day)
The factory as large as this scale requires high amount of raw material. It needs
about 1,200 tons/day of sugarcane or about 2,200 tons/day of cassava. This
consumption is as high as it is in the sugar production plant.
2. Medium scale factory (capacity about 10,000 liters/day)
The factor of this size requires about 120 tons/day of sugarcane or about 220
tons/day of cassava. This consumption is as high as it is in the flour mill of 800
tons/day capacity.
3. Small scale factory (capacity about 5,000 liters/day)
It requires sugarcane of 60 tons/day or cassava about 110 tons/day. This size of
factory needs only low amount of raw material.
Detail of raw materials required for each factory scales is concluded in Table 5.5.
Table 5.5 Raw materials requirement for different size of ethanol production factory
Raw Materials (Ton/day) Factory Size
Production Capacity
(Liter/day) Fresh Cassava Sugar Cane
Large 100,000 2,200 1,200
Medium 10,000 220 120
Small 5,000 110 60
5.2.1 Production Cost Analysis
Agricultural products that have potential for ethanol production in
Cambodia are cassava and sugarcane. However, those products are being used in other
industries i.e. cassava for flour mill and sugarcane for sugar production industry.
Therefore, an alternative raw material for ethanol production may be molasses which is
by-product of sugar making industry. By using molasses, production cost can be reduced.
In this study, production cost analysis will be presented. The analytical data is referred to
previous researches. The assumptions used in the production cost analysis are; production
capacity of 5,000 liters per day. This scale of capacity requires about 109.13 tons/day of
sugarcane or about 60 tons/day of cassava. This study focuses only the production of
50
ethanol with concentration of 80-95% because this degree of concentration can be
produced with simple process and low production cost. Higher degree of ethanol
concentration, such as 99.5%, could be processed further in large scale factory. It should
be mentioned here that the process of making 99.5% ethanol needs high technology and
costly. Therefore, the factory to produce ethanol of this concentration should be invested
in sugar factory or flour mill in order to save some initial cost. By this suggestion, first
investing cost could be lower than setting up a new plant.
Regarding to previous report, the production cost of making 5,000
liters/day ethanol is illustrated in Figure 5.6. As shown in the figure, cost of making 5,000
liters per day of ethanol can be divided into operating cost 15%, raw material cost 35%
and 50% for capital cost. This study also considers the price of produced ethanol, based
on the variation of agricultural product cost. Assumptions of the analysis are; cost of
cassava is 16.25 USD/ton and cost of sugar cane is 13.75 USD/ton, working life of
machine is assumed 10 years and interest is 5% per year. The results are shown in Figures
5.7 and 5.8.
Annualized Capital cost,
50%
Operating cost, 15%
raw material cost , 35%
Figure 5.6 Production cost for produce ethanol of 5,000 liters per day
51
0,1
0,15
0,2
0,25
0,3
0,35
0,4
5 10 15 20 25
Fresh Cassava Price (USD/ton)
Eth
aol P
rice
(USD
/Lite
r)
10,000 Liters/day5,000 Liters/day
Figure 5.7 Illustrated the ethanol price regarding to the variation of fresh cassava cost
0,15
0,2
0,25
0,3
0,35
7,5 9,5 11,5 13,5 15,5 17,5Sugarcane Price (USD/ton)
Eth
anol
Pri
ce (U
SD/L
iter)
Figure 5.8 Illustrates the ethanol price regarding to the variation of sugar cane cost for
ethanol factory capacity of 100,000 liters per day
5.2.2 Environmental effect
This study also concerns on the environmental effect in case of the ethanol
production plant is promoted in communes. The following topics discuss on
environmental effect based on several considerations.
52
5.2.2.1 Environmental effect on physical resources
The ethanol production plant proposed in this report is only a
commune scale. Therefore, it requires not too large area for setting up. Only small or
medium size of supporting system is needed. Therefore, the effect on soil and water is
expected to be low, due to small capacity. It has been reported that wasted water from
distillation process contains no toxic substance and harmless to environment. However,
wasted water from fermentation process may needs treatment by improving oxygen
content. This can be simply done by leaving waste water in open storage pound before
releasing to environment.
In case of high capacity of ethanol production plant, wasted water from
the process requires water treatment to improve water condition. Acceptable or standard
condition for water after treatment should be as follow;
1. Water should be neutral, pH value between 6.0-8.7
2. Temperature of water should be not over 40°C
3. Color and smell of water should be acceptable. However, there is no
standard line to measure these.
5.2.2.2 Environmental effect on biological resources
Since the proposed production plant is only a commune scale, there is
no significant effect on biological resources such as wildlife or forest.
5.2.2.3 Effect on public infrastructure
The effect of ethanol production plant on public usage, such as water
resources, road, land, electricity and waste management, is expected to be low. This is
because the production scale is small.
5.2.2.4 Effect on live quality of people
Since ethanol factory can be an alternative market for agricultural
products (such as sugarcane and cassava), local farmers can also gain benefit from the
factory. There will be more channels for releasing agricultural products, resulting higher
53
and more stable price. Therefore, it is expected to have economics and social
improvement in the commune due to ethanol production plant.
5.2.2.5 Environmental effect due to using ethanol or gasohol in
vehicles
A number of previous researches [16, 17, 18] concluded that using
ethanol or gasohol substituting to gasoline in engine can reduce toxic compounds in
exhaust gas. This is because ethanol composes of oxygen and yields cleaner and more
complete combustion than gasoline. In addition, using gasohol results the reducing of
using MTBE substance which is harmful to environment.
5.2.2.6 Suggestions for preventing and reducing effect on environment
1. Construct wasted water treatment system in order to improve water
quality before releasing to environment.
2. Define fire fighting operation plan and rehearsal every year.
3. Check and maintenance and ensure that all electric wiring are in
good condition
4. Check and maintenance fire extinguishers as described in the
maintenance schedule
5. Labeling and place instruction sheet near all equipment, especially
fire extinguisher
6. Training on how to use and maintenance of equipments should be
held every 6 months
7. Inspecting health of workers every year
5.2.3 SWOT Analysis
Regarding to resources and technology available in Cambodia, SWOT
analysis can be made and concluded as below.
Strength Cambodia is an agricultural country. There are many kinds of energy plants
can be grown such as cassava and sugarcane.
54
Ratio of residence per area in the country is still low. This implies that
plantation area for energy plants can also be extended easily in near future.
Weakness
Lack of knowledge and technology transfer to majority people
Limited amount of raw material because sugar cane and cassava is still
demanded only for being food
Lack of organization to promote and support ethanol production and usage of
gasohol
Policy on research and master plan regarding to ethanol issue has not been
promoted in national scale.
Opportunity
Enormous space available to grow energy plant
Rising of oil price motivates people to search for alternative. This is chance to
promote the use of gasohol and ethanol production.
Threat
Rising of raw material price, such as sugar, due to increasing of demand
Automobile engine is still not completely improved for working with ethanol
No ethanol standard in Cambodia
Ethanol production technology is complex and costly, resulting high
production cost.
Regarding to information and discussion previously made, the following
conclusions can be made. Due to the lack of sugar and flour mills in Cambodia, this study
would propose only ethanol production system in commune scale. The production plant
should focus only making 50-60% concentration ethanol because it requires only simple
technology and low capital cost. The ethanol produced from this commune factory can be
gathered and proceeded to improve concentration in larger factory. In order to promote
production and usage of ethanol successfully in Cambodia, the following steps are
proposed;
55
1. Knowledge on energy plant and ethanol production process should be transferred
to people as much as possible.
2. Cultivation of energy plant should be promoted.
3. Sugarcane and cassava are suggested to be ethanol raw material
4. Small scale of ethanol production in commune may be most suitable for
Cambodia
5. It is suggested to use as simple technology as possible. A technology that based on
the differences of boiling points may be best option.
6. Research and laboratory considering on ethanol issue should be set up in order to
continue and improve know-how and knowledge about ethanol production
technique.
7. Start to promote the real usage of ethanol to public, in order to ensure and verify
that ethanol is usable with engine. It can begin by adding ethanol with gasoline
instead of using MTBE (Methyl Tertiary Butyl Ether)
56
Chapter 6
Database of Cambodian biofuel
As it is widely recognized that the information technology is very useful,
especially, when the precise and appropriate data (or information) is kept or accessed
through the reliable computer and network. Database system is one of the most
appropriate ways to store and publish the data.
In this chapter, the detail of the data base system of the study results is explained.
The information about the agriculture product for biofuel in Cambodia is published in the
website form and is able to link to the data base of DEDE.
6.1 Database system
Database means a set of data or information collected and stored systematically.
The data may be kept in a single folder or multi folders. However, it should be well
organized and related in order to access and implement the data easily. Some information
might be confidential and some is opened to public. Therefore, the data base management
system (DBMS) is sometimes necessary for developing the system.
6.2 Importance of the database system
The benefit of the good data base management system is as following;
6.2.1 Reduce the repetition of the data: some data may be required to access
by many users, if it is shared centrally, it will reduce the repetition to have
data in every computer and safe the computer memory.
6.2.2 Keep the data correctly: the shared data should be synchronized and
updated automatically for the correctness.
6.2.3 Protect and safeguard the data: for privacy and security reason, some
data is confidential and is allowed the access for some users only in order
to safeguard the data.
57
6.2.4 Share the data by using central control: the data base system work as
the central memory. The data can be shared and communicated by many
users.
6.2.5 Independence of data: sometimes, user can use or apply the data from the
system without any impact to the central system.
6.2.6 Expand easily: the database system should be able to expand easily and
does not affect to the main system.
6.2.7 Recover for any infect quickly: the data base system should be in a
uniform and standard format, if the system is collapsed, it should be able
to recover quickly and efficiently.
6.3 Structure of the data base system
In this project, the data base system is set as the network database which has a
structure as network related like the web. The network structure allows multi folders in
the upper level even the lower level has only single folder. For example, the relationship
between the biofuel and energy plants as shown in Figure 6.1. Designing the data base as
a web network is very convenient, when the user searches for the data; it will search
around and it does not need to reverse to the entering point. Also, one particular data can
be searched from many starting points.
Figure 6.1 structure of the data base network
58
6.4 Format of the web page
For the data base system in the form of the web page, the structure composes of
the items as followings;
Main page
About the project
Project background
Project objective
Project scope
Energy plant
Plants for biodiesel
Plants for bio-ethanol
Basic knowledge about biofuel
Production of biodiesel
Production of bio-ethanol
Potential of Energy plant in Cambodia
Data of energy plant in Cambodia
o Cultivated or planted area
o Quantity of the product
o Productivity
o Investment cost per unit area
Production Technology
Technology for producing biodiesel
Technology for producing bio-ethanol
59
Project summary
Summary of the project study
Summary of the project seminar
Data base system
Type of energy plants for biofuel (cassava, sugar cane, corn, paddy, oil palm,
Jatropha, soy bean, and ground nut) divided into 2 groups which are plants for
biodiesel and plants for bio-ethanol.
Primary data of the energy plants (cultivated area, product quantity, productivity,
investment cost)
Referenced data on the production of biofuel divided into 2 groups which are
biodiesel and bio-ethanol
o Table of bio-ethanol yield from different raw materials.
o Table of properties and content of fatty acids in different oils.
o Table of fuel properties of different oils and diesel
o others
60
Chapter 7
Seminar and Promotion on Biofuels
7.1 Biofuel seminar
The seminar on the title of “Potential of Agricultural Product for Biofuel in
Cambodia” has been carried out on the 22nd August 2006 at the meeting room of the
Ministry of Industry Mines and Energy (MIME), Phnom Penh, Cambodia. The attendants
are mainly from the concerned sector such as the MIME staffs, NGO, and private sectors,
in the total number of 26 persons (name list shown in Appendix C). The register form and
the questionnaire are also shown in Appendix D and E respectively. The back screen and
setup of the seminar room is as shown in Figure 7.1.
Figure 7.1 seminar room and the back screen
For the promotion of the project, the newspaper (2 publishers) and the Cambodian
TV program (2 channels) have been invited to join the seminar. Then they distribute and
promote the news and activities about the biofuel project.
61
In the opening ceremony, the representative from Thailand (Mr. Sorawit Nunt-
Jaruwong) has presented the background and the scope of the project. Then, Dr. Sat Samy
has given the speech thanking for the support from DEDE, ministry of Energy of
Thailand and hope for the future co-operation on energy project from Thailand. Also, Dr.
Sat Samy has extended his gratefulness to Ubon Ratchathani University, as a consultant,
for running this project well till the end of the project (in Figure 7.2). The group photo has
been taken at the end of the opening ceremony as shown in Figure 7.3.
Figure 7.2 Openning ceremony by Mr. Sorawit Nun-jaruwat and Dr. Sat Samy
Figure 7.3 Group photo after the opening ceremony
During the seminar, the content of the presentation is as following.
1. An overview on the energy situation in Cambodia
2. Data collection and potential of agriculture product for biofuel in Cambodia
62
3. Fundamentals and Technology for bio-ethanol
4. Fundamentals and Technology for biodiesel
5. SWOT analysis on the biofuel in Cambodia
Figure 7.4 shows the atmosphere during the seminar in the MIME meeting
room. All attendants were very interested in the seminar because, it is the first time to
have the biofuel seminar like this in Cambodia.
Figure 7.4 Atmosphere in the seminar room
Figure 7.5 Closing speech by Mr.Victor Jona
After the presentation, question, and suggestion, the representative from MIME,
Mr. Victor Jona has given the closing speech as shown in Figure 7.5.
63
7.2 Seminar assessment
After the “Potential of Agricultural Product for Biofuel in Cambodia” seminar, the
assessment has been carried out by asking the attendant to answer the questionnaire. The
results from the assessment are shown in Table 7.1-7.8.
Table 7.1 Percentage of the attendant by gender
Gender Amount (person) Percent (%)
male 22 84.62
female 4 15.38
Table 7.2 Percentage of the attendant by age
Age Amount (person) Percent (%)
Younger than 25 year 0 0.00
25-35 12 46.15
36-45 11 42.31
Older than 46 year 3 11.54
Table 7.3 Percentage of the attendant by occupation
Occupation Amount (person) Percent (%)
Government officer 22 84.62
Staff of private sector 2 7.69
Staff of non government
organization
2 7.69
Table 7.4 Percentage of the attendant by occupation by background knowledge
Knowledge level Amount (person) Percent (%)
very good 0 0.00
good 16 61.54
poor 10 38.46
64
Table 7.5 Percentage of the satisfactory on the seminar room
Satisfactory level Amount (person) Percent (%)
Very good 1 3.85
good 22 84.62
poor 3 11.54
Table 7.6 Percentage of the satisfactory on the presentation
Satisfactory level Amount (person) Percent (%)
Very good 4 15.38
good 22 84.62
poor 0 0.00
Table 7.7 Percentage of the satisfactory on the knowledge
Knowledge gained level Amount (person) Percent (%)
Very good 1 3.85
good 25 96.15
poor 0 0.00
Table 7.8 Percentage of the satisfactory on the possibility of knowledge application
Possible application Amount (person) Percent (%)
immediately 7 26.92
later 19 73.08
not at all 0 0.00
65
7.3 Question and suggestion
After the presentation, it is opened to the question and suggestion. The questions
and answers are summarized as following.
7.3.1 Question & answer
1. Question: Is there any environmental impact due to the production of
biodiesel and what is the recommendation?
Answer: There some impact. However, if the production is small
scale, it should be no problem to the natural resource. All the chemical
substance in the production process is bio-degradable. Some
environmental friendly substance nay be choosed to avoid the impct such
as KOH which is usually used as fertilization.
2. Question: In Cambodia, there are a lot of sugar palm growing naturally.
Why the study do not count the sugar palm as one the potential plant for
bio-ethanol?
Answer: In the bio-ethanol production, the potential on the raw
material is important. However, the most appropriate technology is still
very expensive and need to be the industrial scale. Therefore, the sugar
palm potential is still too low and it may be appropriate only for making
household sugar.
3. Question: Will there be the co-operation project (financial support) like
this with the non-government organization, not only government to
government?
Answer: At the moment, there is only government to government
co-operation only (according to the purpose of Thai government).
However, if the NGO or the Cambodian government would like to request
for some grant aid, they may use the results of this study to propose for the
further project (to Thai government or others as well).
4. Question: After this project, will there be the next step such as
technology transfer or demonstration on the production and application of
the biofuel in Cambodia to show the real practice.
Answer: The DEDE, Ministry of energy of Thailand, is well
aware that the technology transfer and demonstration is important. The
66
DEDE has put the next project in the next year plan already, and hopefully,
the government will put some budget on this project. However, this can not
be confirmed right now.
7.3.2 Suggestion from the attendants
1. The economical analysis for the biodiesel production should include
the tax as a cost in the biodiesel price as well if it is compared to the
diesel price in the gas station. Because the diesel price in the gas
station is included tax.
2. In order to promote the production and the use of biodiesel in
Cambodia quickly, Thai government should provide or co-operate with
the MIME to transfer the Thai technology to Cambodia as soon as
possible. The small scale or community scale may be the most
appropriate at the moment according to the raw material potential and
other conditions such as staff and technology.
67
Chapter 8
Summary
8.1 On the summary of the project
According to the scope of this project, the information or potential on the
availability of the agriculture product for producing biofuel is fully investigated. The
feasibility of the production and promotion biofuel in Cambodia is also analyzed and
planned. Some appropriate technology and suggestion are also recommended in this
report. It can be summarized as following.
8.1.1 Biodiesel
8.1.1.1 Potential of raw material
The possible raw materials for producing biodiesel in Cambodia, would
be the oil from palm, Jatropha curcus, soy bean, and ground nut. Currently, the highest
potential oil is the Jatropha curcus which is available as a living fences and it is non-
edible. However, it can be used as a small scale or community scale only. The palm oil
has high potential, but it is edible and now exported for producing cooking oil. If the
industry would like to change to produce biodiesel, it is economically feasible. The
promotion on expanding the growing area should be done in parallels. Other currently
available oil is used cooking oil, however, the management on collecting the oil is
required.
8.1.1.2 The appropriate technology for biodiesel
Due to the quantity of the raw material and the current technology in
Cambodia, the appropriate technology for promoting the biodiesel in Cambodia should be
a small scale and simple one, but economically feasible. The investment cost and
maintenance cost should be low as well. Therefore, from the analysis, the UBU Gold 2
biodiesel reactor would be the most appropriate demonstration system for Cambodia in
this short stage.
68
8.1.1.3 Impacts from the biodiesel production
The production of biodiesel has very little impact on the environments,
if the operator treats the wasted water properly. The environmental friendly substance can
be used and it can become benefit (as plant fertilizer) as well. On the other hand, the air
emission from using biodiesel is less than those of diesel. The use of biodiesel will also
help to save the import of fossil fuel and help the people to build their own energy.
8.1.2 Bio-ethanol
8.1.2.1 Potential of raw material
The possible raw material for bio-ethanol in Cambodia would be rice,
corn, cassava, and sugar cane. From the survey, it is found that these crops are quite low
in productivity in Canbodia. They are also consumed as food in the country. In term of
availability potential, these are considerably low in potential. Therefore, if Cambodia
would like to produce bio-ethanol, there should be a long term plan and promote the bio-
ethanol plants.
8.1.2.2 The appropriate technology for bio-ethanol
At the beginning stage, due to the shortage of the raw material supply,
Cambodia may start on producing bio-ethanol in a smalls scale by simple technology.
However, the concentration of ethanol would be less than 99.5% which is able to use as
the MTBE replacement or engine fuel. The large scale and high concentration (99.5% or
dehydrate methanol) need high investment, high technology, and proper feed of raw
material.
8.1.2.3 Impacts from the biodiesel production
From the study, the impact on the production of bio-ethanol is not
significant. Most of the production wastes are bio-degradable. Oppositely, the emission
gases from the engine using bio-ethanol mixture is better than that of gasoline. The
production will also reduce the import of gasoline from oversea and generate the
economic value in the community.
69
8.2 Summary of the seminar
The seminar has been done on the 22nd August 2006, at MIME conference room.
It is successful in term of launching the new knowledge and possible technology for
Cambodia. This might be the very primary project about biofuel in Cambodia. There are
26 attendants from associated sector. The newspaper and TV program have also joined
the seminar and help to promote the biofuel in Cambodia.
8.3 Recommendations
This project primarily focuses on the potential of the agriculture product or raw
material for producing biofuel (biodiesel and bio-ethanol) in Cambodia. Other factors
such as current situation, technology, and future plan have been investigated as well. For
the further step, some recommendation are given as following.
1. Basic knowledge, understanding, and the familiarity on biofuel should be
promoted to people.
2. Demonstration and technology transfer on biofuel is very significant, in the first
stage, and they can be shortcut to the practical applications in a short period.
3. Small scale technology might be the most appropriate for the short term
demonstration and promotion.
4. Domestic research and development should be carried out concurrently.
5. National policy, strategy, and road map on biofuel must be set to determine the
biofuel direction in Cambodia.
6. Industrial scale may require high investment, serious demand/supply, and proper
standardization.
7. Plantation of energy plants should be planned and promoted to build the strong
potential.
70
Bibliography
1. The Standing Committee on Energy (2002), Renewable Energy: bio-ethanol and
biodiesel, House of Representatives, National Assembly of Thailand, pp. 88-141
(in Thai).
2. Plant information, department of Agriculture (URL:
http://www.doa.go.th/pl_data/index.html , access on 05 July 2006) (in Thai)
3. Cambodia Information (URL: http://www.maff.gov.kh/e-library/e-library.html,
access on 01 August 2006)
4. Annual conference on agricultural, forestry, and fisheries, Kingdom of Cambodia,
10-11 April 2003.
5. Annual conference on agricultural, forestry, and fisheries, Kingdom of Cambodia,
April 2004.
6. Annual conference on agricultural, forestry, and fisheries, Kingdom of Cambodia,
April 2005.
7. Annual conference on agricultural, forestry, and fisheries, Kingdom of Cambodia,
29-31 March 2006.
8. Statistical year book 2003, Kingdom of Cambodia.
9. Thailand Institute of Scientific and Technology Research (2004) “Executive
Summary: Feasibility on biodiesel pilot plant for community”, presented to The
Department of Alternative energy Department and Efficiency, 43 pages. (in Thai)
10. Faculty of Engineering Ubon Ratchathani University (2006) “Final report: Survey
on productiona and application of biodiesel from used cooking oil” presented to
Office of Energy Region 7, Permanent Secretary Office, Ministry of Energy, 95
pages. (in Thai)
11. P. Triyasuti, K. Pianthong, P. Sathenrum, T. Kiriya (2005) “ Final Report:
Production of Biodiesel from Used vegetable Oil and effect on Engine
performances,” Presented to Ubon Ratchathani University, 86 pages. (in Thai)
12. P. Janewanichpujjakul (2006) “Community Biodiesel for Self Sufficient
Economy” Presentation document (powerpoint slide), Annual Seminar of the
TISTR, NAC 2006, 1 April 2006, Science Park of Thailand, Pratumthani, 30
slides.
71
13. F. Ma, M.A. Hanna, 1999, “Biodiesel production: a review”, Bioresource
Technology, vol. 70, pp. 1-15.
14. L. T. Baldassarri, C. L. Battistelli, L. Conti, R. Crebelli, B. D. Berardis, A. L.
Iamiceli, M. Gambino, and S. Iannaccone, 2004, “Emission Comparison of Urban
Bus Engine Fueled with Diesel Oil and Biodiesel blend”, Science of The Total
Environment, Vol. 327, pp. 147-162 .
15. M. Canakci, A. Erdil, and E. Arcaklioglu, 2006, “Performance and Exhaust
Emissions of a Biodiesel Engine”, Applied Energy, Vol. 83, pp. 594-605.
16. Richard Mogg, 2004, “Biofuels in Asia: Thailand relaunches ‘Gasohol’ for
automotive use”, Refocus, Vol. 5, pp. 44-47.
17. Jonathan D. Ulmer, Raymond L. Huhnke, Danielle D. Bellmer and D. Dwayne
Cartmel, 2004, “Acceptance of ethanol-blended gasoline in Oklahoma”, Biomass
and Bioenergy, Vol. 27, pp. 437-444.
18. K. Roman, 2003, “From the Fryer to the Fuel Tank: the complete guide to using
vegetable oil as an alternative fuel” 3rd Edition, Joshua Tickell Publications, New
Orleans, Louisiana, USA. 162 pages.
72
Appendix (A)
Survey Form for Energy Sector Survey Form for Agriculture Sector Survey Form for Industrial Sector Survey Form for Commerce Sector Survey form for Field Survey
73
Survey Form for Energy sector
Organization..................................................................................................................................................................... address.............................................................................................................................................................................. ........................................................................................................................................................................................... source(Name/surname).................................................................................................................................................. Energy demand
year Energy type
demand, liter/year Diesel demand, liter/year Gasoline 91 demand, liter/year Gasoline 95 demand, liter/year Gasohol demand, kg/year LPG demand, kw-h/year Electricity
Note ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
74
Survey Form on Agriculture sector
Organization..................................................................................................................................................................... address.............................................................................................................................................................................. ........................................................................................................................................................................................... source (Name/surname).................................................................................................................................................. Plant for Ethanol
year item
Planted Area, hectare product, ton Cost/hectare, USD
Cassava
others Planted Area, hectare product, ton Cost/hectare, USD
Sugar cane
others Planted Area, hectare product, ton Cost/hectare, USD
Corn
others Planted Area, hectare product, ton Cost/hectare, USD
Rice
others Planted Area, hectare product, ton Cost/hectare, USD
……………………….
others Planted Area, hectare product, ton Cost/hectare, USD
……………………….
others
75
Planted Area, hectare product, ton Cost/hectare, USD
………………………
others Plant for Biodiesel
Year Item
Planted Area, hectare product, ton Cost/hectare, USD
Palm
others Planted Area, hectare product, ton Cost/hectare, USD
Physic nut
others Planted Area, hectare product, ton Cost/hectare, USD
Bean (soy)
others Planted Area, hectare product, ton Cost/hectare, USD
Ground nut or peanut
others Planted Area, hectare product, ton Cost/hectare, USD
Sun Flower
others Planted Area, hectare product, ton Cost/hectare, USD
ละหุง Rape seed
others Planted Area, hectare
76
product, ton Cost/hectare, USD
sesame
others Planted Area, hectare product, ton Cost/hectare, USD
Rubber
others Plant for Biodiesel (con)
year item
Planted Area, hectare product, ton Cost/hectare, USD
Coconut
others Planted Area, hectare product, ton Cost/hectare, USD
………………………
others Planted Area, hectare product, ton Cost/hectare, USD
………………………
others Planted Area, hectare product, ton Cost/hectare, USD
………………………
others Planted Area, hectare product, ton Cost/hectare, USD
……………………….
others
77
Survey Form for Industry sector
Organization..................................................................................................................................................................... Address............................................................................................................................................................................. ........................................................................................................................................................................................... Name (source)................................................................................................................................................................. General information
industry amount productivity remark sugar Flour (cassava, corn etc) Vegetable Oil Coconut milk Others................. Others................. Others................. Details
Year Sugar
Productivity (Ton) Operating period (m/y)
Factory name/address .................................................... ................................................... ....................................................
Productivity (Ton) Operating period (m/y)
Factory name/address .................................................... ................................................... ....................................................
Productivity (Ton) Operating period (m/y)
Factory name/address .................................................... ................................................... ....................................................
Productivity (Ton) Operating period (m/y)
Factory name/address .................................................... ...................................................
78
.................................................... Productivity (Ton) Operating period (m/y)
Factory name/address .................................................... ................................................... ....................................................
year Flour (cassava)
Productivity (Ton) Operating period (m/y)
Factory name/address .................................................... ................................................... ....................................................
Productivity (Ton) Operating period (m/y)
Factory name/address .................................................... ................................................... ....................................................
Productivity (Ton) Operating period (m/y)
Factory name/address .................................................... ................................................... ....................................................
year Coconut milk
Productivity (Ton) Operating period (m/y)
Factory name/address .................................................... ................................................... ....................................................
Productivity (Ton) Operating period (m/y)
Factory name/address .................................................... ................................................... ....................................................
79
year Vegetable oil
Productivity (Ton) Operating period (m/y)
Factory name/address .................................................... ................................................... ....................................................
Productivity (Ton) Operating period (m/y)
Factory name/address .................................................... ................................................... ....................................................
year others
Productivity (Ton) Operating period (m/y)
Factory name/address .................................................... ................................................... ....................................................
Productivity (Ton) Operating period (m/y)
Factory name/address .................................................... ................................................... ....................................................
year others
Productivity (Ton) Operating period (m/y)
Factory name/address .................................................... ................................................... ....................................................
Productivity (Ton) Operating period (m/y)
Factory name/address .................................................... ................................................... ....................................................
80
year
others
Productivity (Ton) Operating period (m/y)
Factory name/address .................................................... ................................................... ....................................................
Productivity (Ton) Operating period (m/y)
Factory name/address .................................................... ................................................... ....................................................
81
Survey Form on Commerce Sector
Organization..................................................................................................................................................................... address.............................................................................................................................................................................. ........................................................................................................................................................................................... source (Name/surname)................................................................................................................................................. Commercial Statistics
Year item
Export, ton/year import, ton/year
Cassava
Average price, USD/ton Export, ton/year import, ton/year
Sugar cane
Average price, USD/ton Export, ton/year import, ton/year
Corn
Average price, USD/ton Export, ton/year import, ton/year
Rice
Average price, USD/ton Export, ton/year import, ton/year
Palm
Average price, USD/ton Export, ton/year import, ton/year
Physic nut
Average price, USD/ton Export, ton/year import, ton/year
Bean (soy)
Average price, USD/ton Export, ton/year import, ton/year
Ground nut
Average price, USD/ton
82
Export, ton/year import, ton/year
Sun Flower
Average price, USD/ton Commercial Statistics (con)
year item
Export, ton/year import, ton/year
ละหุง rape seed
Average price, USD/ton Export, ton/year import, ton/year
Sesame
Average price, USD/ton Export, ton/year import, ton/year
Rubber
Average price, USD/ton Export, ton/year import, ton/year
Coconut
Average price, USD/ton Note ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
83
Field Survey Form
Location/address.............................................................................................................................................................. ........................................................................................................................................................................................... name/surename................................................................................................................................................................ General Information Number of person in the family......................person Average income per year.................................. Energy Plant obtained 1)..........................area.............hectare productivity...............kg/hectare investment.............USD/hectare price…..…. USD/kg 2)..........................area.............hectare productivity...............kg/hectare investment.............USD/hectare price…..…. USD/kg 3)….......................area.............hectare productivity...............kg/hectare investment.............USD/hectare price…..…. USD/kg 4)..........................area.............hectare productivity...............kg/hectare investment.............USD/hectare price…..…. USD/kg Energy Demand Demand on diesel per month.................................liter price/liter............................. Demand on gasoline95 per month.................................liter price/liter............................. Demand on gasoline91 per month.................................liter price/liter............................. Demand on Gasohol per month.................................liter price/liter............................. Demand on LPG per month.................................liter price/liter............................. Others................................................................................................................................................................................. …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………... ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. Machinee Number of car....................car type ......Gasoline .......Diesel Size.................................... CC Number of motorcycle.................... size.................................... CC Agriculture machines (small tractor, generation, engine pump etc) ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
84
Electrical Equipment item amount Power, watts
Fluorescent Lamp Incandescent Lamp Fridge T.V Fan Air Conditioner Iron Rice Cooker Electric pan Washing Machine
85
Appendix (B)
Conversion Factor
86
Conversion factors
Energy Unit multiplied
by Approximate Conversion
Factor
equals Unit
British Thermal Units (Btus)
× 1,055.05585262 = joules (J)
calories (cal) × 4.1868 = joules (J) kilowatt hours (kWh) × 3.6 = megajoules (MJ) tonnes of oil equivalent × 10,000,000 = kilocalories (kcal) tonnes of oil equivalent × 396.83 = therms tonnes of oil equivalent × 41.868 = gigajoules (GJ) tonnes of oil equivalent × 11,630 kilowatt hours
(kWh) Area
Unit multiplied by
Approximate Conversion Factor
equals Unit
hectares (ha) × 6.25 = rai acres × 0.40469 = hectares (ha) square miles (mi2) × 2.589988 = square kilometers
(km2) square feet (ft2) × 0.09290304 = square meters(m2)
Currency
Unit multiplied by
Approximate Conversion Factor
equals Unit
riel × 0.01 = baht riel × 0.00025 = USD baht × 0.025 = USD
87
Appendix (C)
Seminar Attendants
88
89
Appendix (D)
Registration Form
90
91
Appendix (E)
Seminar Assessment Form
92
93
Consultant Member
Consultant members, under Research and Service on Energy Center (RSEC),
Ubon Ratchathani University, for this Co-operation on Energy between Thailand and
Cambodia are listed in the below Table.
Consultant Position
Assoc.Prof.Dr.Sdhabhon Bhokha Honorable Project Consultant
Asst.Prof.Dr.Umphisak Teeboonma Project Manager
Asst.Prof.Dr.Kulachate Pianthong Deputy on Project Manager
Asst.Prof.Dr.Chawalit Thinvongpitak Mechanical Engineer
Asst.Prof.Dr.Nalin Pianthong Industrial Management
Engineer/Economist
Asst.Prof.Dr.Adun Junyalert-adun Engineer/Energy Technology affair
Asst.Prof.Pisit Techarungpaisan Engineer/Energy Technology affair
Asst.Prof.Prachasanti Thaiyasuit Mechanical/Energy Engineer
Ms. Songsupa Pumsupa Mechanical/Energy Engineer
Ms. Bongkot Bonphet Mechanical/Energy Engineer
Dr. Wunlaya Viriyasanekul Engineer/Agriculture affair
Asst.Prof.Buncha Buddadee Engineer/Environmental affair
Mr. Chakrit Poh-ngam Engineer/Technology Transfer affair
Mr. Pajunban On-sanit Engineer/Computer affair
