More on the hot topic of China halting Ethanol expansion due to soaring grain prices.

The Agriculture Ministry has stated that:

1. They are giving priority for food over biofuels.
2. They are encouraging farmers to grow sorghum, cassava and other non-grain crops on marginal land to supply biofuel processors.
3. Top priority is protecting arable land and ensuring adequate food supplies.
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Note: This article was originally made on Sept 15, 2006

I went up to the model farm of Nestle in Tagum along the Agusan-Davao Highway in Mindanao (from Davao City drive up to Tagum then once you hit the NFA in Tagum it’s just a few more meters down the road)…. originally a coffee model farm, they decided to intercrop Jatropha Curcas with their coffee plants (which they sell at Php 5.00/cutting) The plant has now found useful life as a source of energy… before their uses were mostly medicinal, fencing, and for attracting fruit scarring beetles in commercial banana plantations (so that they won’t scratch the banana’s and lower their selling value.)
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I was watching a local farming show when the topic touched on Jatropha Curcas. It turns out that a lot of people have been heading to the DENR and asking about Jatropha Curcas, the problem was that the local government units were unprepared to answer the barrage questions. So the DENR has stepped up to train their personnel to answer the common folks questions. What was surprising was on the last part of the show the host mentioned that people can register to plant Jatropha in public idle lands.
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A research paper studying the effects of Palm Oil and Jatropha based Biodiesel on Diesel Engines was released (with Petrol Diesel used as a baseline) by a research group from Institut Teknologi Bandung in Indonesia. I had no direct access to the report but am basing my findings on the summary posted by Green Car Congress. The test used 10/90 Biodiesel/Diesel mixture for Jatropha and Palm Oil (B10) as well as full 100% Biodiesel (B100) and normal fossil fuel based Diesel (PetroDiesel).
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