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  BIOFUELS (ETHANOL) PRODUCTION And the T’boli Land in South Cotabato

     The National Biofuels Program of the Philippines recognizes the vital role of the sugarcane industry as the major supplier of feedstock for the production of bioethanol, the green energy or the renewable energy.

     The T’boli ancestral land consisting of 20,000 hectares of arable land with farm to market roads, rivers, and good climate in South Cotabato is good for the planting of sugarcane, as feedstock for biofuels (bioethanol) production. Sugarcane provides the highest yield of ethanol per hectare compared to other crops (with the possible exception of sweet sorghum, the worth as feedstock of which remains to be proven locally).

     The  Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) estimates the yield per hectare of the following feedstock:

Feedstock Yield per Hectare, tons Liters Ethanol per ton Liters Ethanol Yield per hectare/yr

Corn 2.39 370 1,768*

Cassava 7.75 180 1,395

Sweet Sorghum 50** 60 6,000*

Sugarcane 65 70 4,550

Mandated Bioethanol-Gasoline Blend

     The Biofuels Act of 2006 which was signed into law in 2007 mandates that two (2) years from the effectivity of the Act, at least 5% bioethanol shall comprise the annual total volume of gasoline sold and distributed by each and every oil company in the country, subject to the requirement that all bioethanol blended gasoline shall contain a minimum of 5% bioethanol by volume.

     Within four (2) years from the effectivity of the law; the NBB shall determine the feasibility and recommend to DOE to mandate a minimum of 10% blend of bioethanol by volume into all gasoline fuel distributed and sold by each and every oil company in the country.

Feedstock Requirement, Using Sugarcane

     A 5% minimum blend will need around 223 million liters of ethanol by 2009. With a 10% blend, 482 million liters (inclusive of consumption growth rate) will be needed by 2011 (DOE figures).

According to SRA, these volumes will need:

% Blend Liters Ethanol Sugarcane Area* MT Sugarcane**

5% minimum blend 223 million 49,000 hectares 3,186.000

10% minimum blend 482 million 106,000 hectares 6,886,000

* 4,550 liters ethanol per hectare sugarcane

** 70 liters ethanol per MT sugarcane

The Bioethanol Agro-Industry

     The minimum economic size of a bio-ethanol plant is 100,000 liters EtOH per day, running for 300 days annually.

     Such plant will require 7,000 hectares of sugarcane feedstock at the present productivity of cane farms, requiring about 1,500 tons cane per day to operate.

     This means that the T’boli land consisting of 20,000 hectares of contiguous land can support a biofuels manufacturing plant of 250,000 liters EtOH per day, which is most economical, because there is already an economies of scale.

     Adjunct facilities, i.e., those that will be appended to existing milling installations, are the most expedient way to produce ethanol and will need around 18 months of construction phase.

     Stand -Alone mill distilleries, on the other hand, will take 24-30 months to construct.

     The investors are always face with the problem of adequate cane supply, it being always  the primary issue irregardless of type of facility to be constructed.

     Reckoned on the above, and based on criteria of crop suitability, weather, displacement of other crops,  encroachment to existing canefields, plus the perceived aggressiveness of respective project proponents, the proposed bio-ethanol plants are as given below, in order of priority:

     However, this issue is not a concern in T’boli land is South Cotabato, since the 20,000 hectares of land can be utilized to the optimum to produce feedstock all year round.

According to SRA study, the indicative Investment Required (For a distillery with a capacity of 100,000 liters per day) are:

Adjunct Stand Alone

A. Industrial:

Civil Works, Land, Buildings P 140 M – P 300 M

Machinery                                   P  560 M – P 850 M

Energy System, Environmental      P  100 M -150 M

                                               Total:          P  800 M – 1,300 M

 B. Agricultural: (if not yet developed)

For 7,000 hectares                       P  700 M

 TOTAL INVESTMENTS, plant and agricultural:  P 1.50 – B P 2.00 B

     Note: T’boli land, being considered a “GREEN AREA” will require 20% – 30% more expenses agriculturally due to clearing and more extensive pre-development operations (add: P 200 M). However, the high investment cost will necessitate a sound overall environment, specifically addressing the cane supply issue, before any investment will be realized.

     In sum, the T’boli land in South Cotabato is an ideal area for the integrated biofuels (ethanol) production using sugarcane as feedstock,  to produce ethanol sugarcane fuel, or fuel ethanol made from sugarcane.