Page 183 - Biofuels for a More Sustainable Future

168 Biofuels for a More Sustainable Future

new Energy Development Scheme, in which by 2015, about five million
tonnes of ethanol 5% (E5) and biodiesel 5% (B5) were expected to come into
national use, with total biofuel 5% consumption predicted to reach 36 million
tonnes by 2025. Henceforth, several efforts and activities from both the gov-
ernment and private sector have been conducted. Since then, this country has
to struggle plenty of issues to enact this biofuel scheme and only just after var-
ious endeavors of the government E5 has been available on the market since
January 1st, 2018. However, B5 is still under feedstock identification stage.
Previous studies on biodiesel feedstocks in Viet Nam mostly focused on Jatro-
pha curcas (MARD, 2010) and catfish fat (Rang, 2007), which only have high
potential to apply in Central and Southern Viet Nam. This issue called for
another attempt to reveal appropriate feedstocks for biodiesel production
in the North of Viet Nam. Accordingly, a project namely “Multibeneficial
Measures for Mitigation of Climate Change in Viet Nam and Indochina
Countries by Development of Biomass Energy,” funded by the Japan Science
and Technology Agency (JST) and the Japan International Cooperation
Agency (JICA), as one of projects of the Science and Technology Research
Partnership for Sustainable Development was implemented from 2011 to
2016 (hereinafter called SATREPS Project). This project strived for identi-
fying potential feedstocks for biodiesel production in each region of Viet
Nam, including the northern part, and proposing a closed loop system of
biodiesel production and utilization, starting from oil plant cultivation to bio-
dieselend-use.Thissystemcamewithhighexpectationsofreducingenviron-
mental problems and enhancing application of biodiesel, in order to support
the green economic development in this country.
The intercroppingof HibiscussabdariffaL. (Hibiscus) and VerniciamontanaL.
(Vernicia), and the cultivation of Pongamia pinnata (Pongamia) were highly
recommended, due to their ability to grow well in low fertile soil and provide
short-andlong-term economic profits.Furthermore,astheextractedoils from
Hibiscus-Vernicia and Pongamia seeds are inedible, their use has no conflict
with food production in Viet Nam. Consequently, those plants can become
feedstocks for the manufacture of biodiesel utilized in daily buses, coal mining
dump trucks, and cruise boats in Northern Viet Nam, which require nearly
60,000 kiloliters fuel annually. Note that in this paper, inedible oil means
not only oil thatcannot be consumed,due toitslowqualityortoxicity, but also
oil used for neither cooking nor any other form of food supply. As mentioned
before,theimplementationofbiodieselsystemsdoesnotalwaysmeanwin-win
outcomes. The sustainability of the entire life cycle of new biodiesel systems
needs to be evaluated.