The Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) is embarking on a project to produce fuel out of coconut oil as alternative to petroleum diesel.

PCA administrator Jesus Emmanuel Paras said production of filtered crude coconut oil would be done at the village or barangay level.

Paras said coconut farmers will be provided with technical assistance and the PCA will encourage them to form a farmers' cooperative for the purpose.

Having a one-ton capacity mini oil mill, he said, farmers themselves can manage the production of filtered coconut oil to supply fuel requirements of their barangay.

A one-ton oil mill can deliver at least 600 liters of coconut oil a day, and will be at least P5 cheaper per liter compared to petro diesel.

"If we are able to do this the soonest time possible, imagine the impact it would create on the lives of the coconut farmers, to the industry and to our country," he said. PCA is mass-producing superior coconut developed by local scientists in Zamboanga. These are 15 different hybrid coconuts developed by the PCA so far.

The synthetic coconut, which can propagate, is expected to be commercially available soon. Researchers are now conducting field-testing of the synthetic coconut, which can produce four times of using vegetable oil.

The concept of using vegetable oil as diesel fuel is not new, Paras said.

He said Dr. Rudolf Diesel, who invented diesel engine in 1900, used various vegetable fuels to run the engine.

However, the introduction of cheap petroleum-based fuel led to the sole use of such fuel for the diesel engine.

During World War II, Paras said the scarcity of petro diesel prompted the use of coconut oil. However, after the war, the use of coconut oil was not pursued due to the influx of cheap petro-based fuels.

This was also the tie when the coconut oil estherification process was introduced. Coconut methyl ester, or CME, has approximately the same properties as that of diesel fuel.

CME can be a 100 percent fuel substitute for diesel fuel or blended with petro diesel at a minimum of one-percent blend.

"If we are acknowledging that we are one of the biggest producers of coconut oil in the world, then we should take advantage of such great resource," Paras said.

"Domestic consumption of coconut oil should now be given a more preferential consideration particularly the production of filtered coconut oil," he added.