Page 188 - Biofuels for a More Sustainable Future

172 Biofuels for a More Sustainable Future

development schemes include regional development, upland provinces
development, and supporting provinces dwelling near the border between
Viet Nam and China frontier for economic development and national secu-
rity (Prime Minister, 2007b). Moreover, coal mining in Quang Ninh Prov-
ince contributed about 95% of total national hard coal production, both
underground and open-pit mining. However, this activity has considerably
affected natural resources and the environment of this area, including defor-
estation, forest degradation, soil erosion, abandoned mine lands, and water
pollution. Therefore according to the National Mining Development Plan,
all open-pit mines must be closed by 2020 that made 6699hectares (ha) of
open-pit mine lands and mining dump sites need to be reclaimed in Quang
Ninh Province.
To avoid the land-use conflict between oilseed crop cultivation with
other economic activities, especially food crop production, this research
only considered unused low fertile and degraded land areas (including
unused mountainous land, rocky mountains without forest and mining rec-
lamation areas) and unused oilseeds as potential sources for biodiesel feed-
stock acquisition. Table 6.1 presents data on biodiesel production and
yield and potential land-use types.

2.5 Promising feedstocks for biodiesel production
In 2013 SATREPS Project started to implement a pilot plantation of several
oil plants, including Pongamia, Vernicia, Jatropha (J. curcas L.), and Camellia
(Camellia oleosa) in Quang Ninh Province. The following year, a total of
6700 7- to 8-month seedlings were transplanted into three hectares of a coal
mining dump site (Nui Beo), in which the number of Pongamia, Vernicia,
Jatropha, and Camellia seedlings were 500, 2200, 2000, and 2000, respec-
tively. Initial results showed that after 18months, Pongamia was the most
feasible species to grow in this area since it had the highest growing rate
of more than two times faster than other plants, and survival rate of 97%,
in which that of Jatropha, Vernicia, and Camellia were 46%, 65%, and
86%, respectively (SATREPS Project’s expert observation data).
Other practical data from various cultivation fields proved that Vernicia
and Hibiscus could grow well in the low fertile soil and precipitation con-
ditions of the Northern area of Viet Nam (Tran, 1996). On the other hand,
previous studies denoted that although biodiesel from Hibiscus can
meet almost all quality requirements according to biodiesel standards of Viet
Nam (TCVN/QCVN) and other countries such as Japan (JIS K2390), the