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In Brazil, They Fill Her Up with Biodiesel
Written by Brazzil Magazine
Friday, 27 August 2004
By the end of the year a mixture of regular diesel fuel with 2
percent vegetable diesel will be available in Brazil's gas stations,
reports Maria das Graças Foster, the executive secretary of the Brazilian
Ministry of Mines and Energy. There will be no difference in motor performance
or durability, she says. "Our biodiesel is perfect. It will be a reference
worldwide."
There will be no difference in motor performance or durability, she says. "Our biodiesel is perfect. It will be a reference worldwide."
According to Rodrigo Rollemberg, the secretary of Social Inclusion at the Ministry of Science and Technology, the use of the biodiesel will mean less dollar outflow and lower emissions of carbon gases into the atmosphere.
He says there are other good reasons to use it, such as job creation. The use of 2 percent biodiesel should mean around 150,000 direct and indirect jobs paying an average US$ 1,455 (4,300 reais) annually.
The use of biodiesel will also give family farming a boost as it uses castor-oil plants, the African oil palm, babassu palm, sunflower seeds and soybeans.
The government intends to gradually raise the addition of biodiesel to 5 percent over the next five years. At the moment, Brazil imports 6 billion liters of diesel annually at a cost of US$ 1.1 billion.
Minister of Mines and Energy, Dilma Rousseff, had announced earlier this month that Brazil would begin using a 2 percent additive of vegetable oil in its diesel fuel next year as part of its national biodiesel program. The idea was to be using a 5 percent vegetable oil additive by the year 2012. These dealines have been advanced now.
Where will the vegetable oil come from? Rousseff says that castor bean oil is an example of the way one solution can solve various problems. Because castor beans grow in the country's semi-arid region, their production will give the region a boost, reducing social exclusion there. It is also a non-polluting source of energy.
The minister said that in some place, such as Germany, there were studies on the possibility of using only vegetable oils for fuel. In Brazil, the idea is to begin using the mix in urban buses.
"Brazil needs to grow at 4.5 percent a year. In order to do that we need a trustworthy source of energy. We can have that with our hydroelectric power plants and alternative sources," said Rousseff.
Brazil created its national biodiesel technological development program, the ProBiodiesel, in October 2002. The program, coordinated by the Ministry of Science and Technology, mobilizes all sectors involved in the development of biofuels.
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