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Vietnamese scientists are ' warming ' a current research direction: developing and applying bio-derived fuels including alcohol-based gasoline, biodiesel .

There have been quite a number of positive research results published. But ' passport ', or in other words, the legal corridor for this fuel to come into life is never known.

Benefit from both lines!

The aforementioned fuels are ' stamped ' by the international scientific community. In Vietnam, this field has also had many research projects and came to the conclusion: the ability to use biofuels is very high and more significant in terms of fossil fuel sources (master oil is weak) becomes more expensive.

According to Associate Prof. Dr. Ho Son Lam - Director of Institute of Applied Materials Science (Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology), Vietnamese vegetable oil can make diesel fuel called biodiesel, targeting three ' destinations ': reducing load and reduce dependence on oil resources; reducing environmental pollution, specifically emissions from biodiesel fuel less harmful than petroleum diesel (when using 1kg of biodiesel can reduce 3kg of CO ₂ compared with diesel oil and other hazardous substances); solve the output for farmers planting oil crops, especially in bad lands.

Meanwhile, also at the Institute of Applied Materials Science, through practical research, concluded: it is possible to mix biodiesel and petroleum diesel at the rate of 5-20% of biodiesel used for generators. Particularly for cars, when using fuel with 20% biodiesel and 80% oil, it will not affect the structure and working regime of the machine. With alcohol-based gasoline, the research team Nguyen Phuong Tung, Vu Tam Hue, Pham Viet Hung, Nguyen Quoc Hung, Vo Duc Quy, and Luong Thi Bich published a successful study of mixing gasoline-alcohol blends.

Testing of running cars with biodiesel fuel (mixing 20% ​​of vegetable oil into petroleum diesel), conducted by the Institute of Applied Materials Science in August 2006 (Photo: TTO) Accordingly, from the sources whether in water and some imported materials, blended with alcohol-based gasoline (10% of alcohol volume) and this blended gasoline meets the specifications of A92 unleaded petrol. Also according to the research team, the engine test results show that the criteria in the engine operation of alcoholic gasoline compared to commercial gasoline A92 do not change much.

To study not around the laboratory .

Sharing with the scientific community in the direction of the above-mentioned research, Ms. Nguyen Thi Phuong Thoa - University of Natural Sciences, National University of Ho Chi Minh City - said that promoting research and use of vegetable oil as fuel Diesel may be a prerequisite for the development of oil-bearing plants and to expand the oil refining and manufacturing industry on a large scale.

But she said that in the near future, the development and use of biodiesel produced from vegetable oil in Vietnam will certainly be limited ' because we do not have a plan to plant oil-bearing materials for production of alternative fuels ' . From the survey on oil plants, 'in the immediate future, it is recommended to research the production of diesel fuel from vegetable oil with low value food such as cotton oil, rubber seed oil .' - Ms. Thoa suggested.

Many scientists also agree that the lack of stability in the source of raw oil (plants and animals) and the scale of production may make it difficult to process biodiesel when the commune The association really cares and needs.

Similarly, to produce alcoholic gasoline, it is necessary to have a very high quantity of anhydrous alcohol, also known as pure alcohol (99.5%), while the alcohol production capacity meets the standards to be mixed into gasoline in our country. acknowledged to be very weak, backward technology and alcohol prices of this type are more expensive than gasoline.

According to the calculations of experts, to prepare about 400,000 tons to 1.5 million tons of bio-derived fuels (temporarily calculated at 35% of alcohol-based gasoline, 60% of biodiesel .) more than 31,000 tons of ethanol and 4,000 tons of vegetable oil are needed. But to have this source of preparation materials is not easy.

But perhaps the ' other half ' has a profound impact on the success or failure of biofuel development in Vietnam depending on the actions of state management agencies. One of the first things to mention is that the Vietnamese standard for fuel has biological origin ever born? Along with that is a system of mechanisms and policies to encourage research and investment in the production of alcohol, vegetable oil . from the stage of cultivation and processing to consumption of products.

Examples are tax exemptions for investors and consumers when using and producing bio-derived fuels.'Without the' hand 'of the State in proposing a roadmap for using biofuels and enacting a legal framework for this new fuel, the scientists' research is also at a level that make fun only! And then the research results are just around the drawer . ' - Associate Prof. Dr. Ho Son Lam confided.

Technical doctor DO HUY DINH - Additive and petroleum product development company (APP):

Need serious testing!

Biofuels have been used by many countries, and in our country, there is a policy of researching to make this kind of fuel and have a trial orientation in densely populated cities.In my opinion, it is necessary to test in three phases: testing in the laboratory, testing on standard motor test strips, testing on long-term field with good quality motor cars.

These test stages to assess fuel standards, determine engine power, engine torque at different speed ranges, fuel consumption, exhaust components, fuel compatibility with the engine details, engine corrosion and abrasion as well as ensure the stability of the engine in operation.

In addition, the development of new fuels also requires the consent of engine manufacturers . There are so new consumers feel secure to use.The test results should be published before the scientific council of fuel - the motivation to advise the Ministry of Science and Technology to issue the Vietnamese standard for this fuel, to create a legal corridor for enterprises producing and distributing new fuel circulation in the market and users feel secure when buying goods.

QUOC THANH recorded

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