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Q & A on CME as Cocobiodiesel
CME is the diesel-like component of coconut oil. It involves the removal of glycerine from coconut oil and remaining fatty acid is reacted with an alcohol to become a new product known as “ Ester “. This process is known as esterification. If the alcohol reactant is methanol, it is known as coco methyl ester or CME. Not all CME can be classified as biodiesel. Only CME that is highly processed to conform with quality parameters established by the Philippines Department of Energy on Biodiesel standards can be called cocobiodiesel. Other countries have their own biodiesels. Rapeseed is biodiesel of EU countries; soybean is US; palm is Malaysia; canola is Canada; sunflower is Spain and Germany; Jatropha is South Africa. Coconut is known as the Philippine Biodiesel.
In petroleum lingo, the ideal diesel fuel is 100% normal paraffin ( n-parrafin ) which is fully saturated hydrocarbon which means it is 100% oxidation stable. As such, it is resistant to oxidation, not prone to bacterial growth, corrosion, rust formation, polymerization and gumming even without any anti oxidant additive. Being 100% saturated , the ideal diesel is easy to burn, has high Cetane number, and produces low NOx emission. These are the features of diesel fuel with high level of saturated component. However, the ideal diesel is not attainable because commercial diesel fuel contains a mixture of other components which are of lower oxidation characteristic such as olefins, iso-parrafins aromatics, others. These components are unsaturated hydrocarbon which means the fuel is a bit more difficult to burn and is prone to oxidation, bacterial growth, corrosion, polymerization, clogging etc. which result in deterioration of fuel quality. For this reason, multi additive packages are made integral part of diesel fuel formulation to address the problem of oxidation stability as well as to improve other performance parameters of a commercial diesel fuel.
Logically, the diesel fuel in natural state ( unadditized ) closest to the ideal diesel in content of saturated hydrocarbon, will have better oxidation stability, higher Cetane number and lower NOx emissions and less prone to bacterial growth, corrosion and polymerization.
In comparison, Cocobiodiesel is 91 % saturated carbon consisting of more than 60 % medium carbon chain making it a lot easier to burn. It is a loke 91% n-parrafin ( only 9 % short of the ideal diesel condition ). This is why it conforms to Tier 3 diesel standard even without an additive. Furthermore, its carbon chain contains an oxygen molecule provided by nature to ensure a more efficient combustion.
Following is the comparative content of saturated and unsaturated carbon chain in their natural state. The level of saturated hydrocarbon ( unadditized ) will determine the comparative oxidation stability of the fuels.
Saturated Hydrocarbons Unsaturated Hydrocarbons
Ideal Diesel 100% 0 %
Cocobiodiesel 91 % 7%
Palm Biodiesel 49% 51%
Unadditized Commercial Diesel 40% 60%
Jathropha Biodiesel 22% 78%
Soy Bean Biodiesel 16% 84%
Rapeseed Biodiesel 6% 84%
Least Ideal Diesel 0% 100%
Cocobiodiesel is the only diesel fuel in the world that is closest to the ideal diesel condition in oxidation stability. Additives are not needed in cocobiodiesel to Attain oxidation stability because it is highly oxidation stable, neither will it require additive for lubricity because it is a lubricity enhancer by itself. It does not need combustion improvers because it is inherent oxygen content which serves as a combustion booster by itself, and neither will it need detergency feature. All foregoing features prove without a doubt that Cocobiodiesel is the world’s perfect diesel in its natural state.
Cocobiodiesel has quality parameters better than commercial diesel since it conforms to the quality parameters of Tier 3 fuel standards without any additive. In comparison, local diesel is barely meeting Tier 2 standard even with multi additive content.
In terms of lubricity, oxygen content, medium carbon chain and has narrow distillation range all methyl esters or biodiesels are alike. However, in terms of oxidation stability ( i.e., level of saturated carbon ) as well as distillation range ( i.e., carbon length and temperature range in which diesel turns to vapor ), biodiesel differs from each other. Cocobiodiesel consist of mostly saturated medium carbon chain and has wide distillation range. Rapeseed and soybean consist of unsaturated long carbon chain and narrow distillation range. As this may sound too technical, the simple meaning is that cocobiodiesel has better rate of volatility for combustion, better cold startability, better solvency and detergency , superbly better oxidation stability, and even in small quantity add-on to diesel fuel. It is the only biodiesel that substantially reduces Nox emission . This makes a world of difference for which reason, cocobiodiesel is a premium class of biodiesel.
Highly processed cocobiodiesel has a Cetane number of 70. ( Additized local ADO number is a measure of the “ ignition delay “ or the time gap from fuel spray to combustion. Simply, it is a measure of combustion efficiency of the fuel much like octane for gasoline. The higher the number , the better is the combustion efficiency.
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It has oxygen content of 11 % provided by nature that enhances combustion. It serves as combustion improver.
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It has inherent solvency feature that cleanses, declogs, and protects the functional parts of the fuel system. It restores fuel system efficiency.
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It has excellent lubricity feature. A 1 % blend can already enhance the lubricity of diesel fuel by as much as 30 %. It is a lubricity enhancer by itself.
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It has a wide distillation range ( or volatility ) that gives good cold startability.
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It is 91 % saturated carbon and therefore burns easily. Furthermore, more than 60% of its component are medium chain which means they have lower ignition temperatures. It is 9% short of the diesel ( 100% n-parrafin ) and is not prone to bacterial growth, corrosion, polymerization., gumming, others.
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It has a Flash Point of 107 deg C and therefore about twice safer in handing and storage than fossil diesel.
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It has high oxidation stability in its natural state ( i.e., without additive ) and is equal to or better than commercial diesel that has been additized with oxidation stabilizer.
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Being highly saturated , it is hydrophobic ( repels water ).
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Being a hydrocarbon ( or otherwise referred to as carbohydrate due to its oxygen content.), it is diesel component in its true sense just as olefin is a diesel components. It is not an additive having a different chemical ingredient like organo metallic additives.
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Being a highly saturated carbon chain, it is the only biodiesel that reduces NOx emission.
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It is biodegradable, non toxic and contains practically zero sulfur.
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It is one of few products or technology in the Philippines that has been accepted for carbon credit trading.
With tests from USNREL, Tokyo Metropolitan Research Institute ( TMRI ), Daeduk Institute in South Korea, SGS Japan; Independent Petroleum Laboratories thru BP in New Zealand; Nihon University, BASF Germany; and many more laboratories and institutes. Furthermore, various field and engine test have been conducted under the supervision of the Department of Energy.
A blend of cocobiodiesel even with just 1 % will have two main actions: 1) It restores engine efficiency. Old engines with heavy carbon soot deposits and with clogged or partially clogged fuel nozzles will be cleansed and declogged in a short period of time to restore fuel spray atomization efficiency. It will likewise provide film lubricant layered on metal surfaces of the fuel pump and injector unit ( known as boundary lubrication ) and 2 ) it will enhance combustion efficiency cold startability; and acceleration response on its oxygen content, wide distillation range ; high content of saturated carbon ( easy to burn ) and high Cetane number.
Result is efficient combustion, cleaner air, more mileage, reduce M& R expense, prolonged engine life and driving satisfaction.
Numerous mileage test on older engines ( 3 years old and above ) have registered mileage improvement from 10% to as high as 25%. Dirty engines registered mileage improvement due to a higher degree of cleaning fuel nozzle declogging or higher degree of efficiency restoration. Even with just 10% mileage improvement , simple arithmetic will show reduction in fuel consumption by 9.1%.
Since the ball park figure of the annual diesel in the Philippines is 7 Billion liters more or less, the cocobiodiesel program requiring a blend of 1 % translates to only 70 million liters per year of coconut methyl ester source locally from the coconut industry.
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