One of the technologies strongly being considered is the use of waste cooking oil to fuel jeepneys. Scientific literature has indicated various ways to utilize vegetable oils in engines including utilizing it pure with pre-heating and blending it with diesel fuel either as straight oil or bio-diesel. The project intends to know which is the most viable and technically feasible option and formulate a road map for its commercialization and mass adoption. The study is consist of five components including laboratory and field testing, business planning and advocacy, life cycle assessment and results dissemination.

The laboratory test focuses on the emissions factor, fuel economy and power effects of the various technology configurations on jeepneys. The main technology configurations (100% cooking oil with preheating, 20% waste cooking oil biodiesel blend and 15% crude waste cooking oil blend ) will be tested using the chassis dyno laboratory of the Vehicles Research and Testing Center at the University of the Philippines. While ideally this phase precedes all other components, testing date has to be moved a number of times for factors beyond our control. Laboratory testing was originally scheduled last March 2009 but has to be move to April due to the test lined up at the facility. Come April however, the emissions analyzer bogged down and has to be sent to Thailand for repair. Finally testing was done in September 9 and 11 but before the biodiesel run was completed the power of the dyno shut down for unknown reasons. It was later learned that the cooling system of its control cabinet was clogged by excessive particulate matter and caused the heating of the system and its eventual shut down for protection purposes. Then came Typhoon “Ondoy”, which halted the testing once again. Fortunately the water sippage did not damaged the dyno. Testing however would have to wait another month as the analyzer was sent to the U.S. for calibration.

Baseline testing was conducted on the mini engine test bench of Technological University of the Philippines to look at the relative power, consumption and emissions performance of intermediate technology configurations. Further tests will be done and the preheating temperature will be varied from 50 C to 75C while blending percentages for waste cooking oil biodiesel and crude will be set from 10% to 20%. Once again, testing encountered a number of hitches. The analyzer could not be activated on the first scheduled date last September 4 which was later learned to be due to calibration issues. The baseline testing was implemented last October with other configurations scheduled on the first week of November.

Field testing is ongoing in Los Banos City, Laguna and was made possible though the enthusiasm and cooperation of SNOBLOB, the local jeepney cooperative, the support of the local government of Los Banos and the dedication of our project coordinator in the area. The openness and dynamism of the local government and cooperating partners was a major criteria in the selection of the test site and we're glad that we made the right choice. A Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) between Don Bosco and SNOBLOB was signed assigning the latter to be in charge of the oil collection, processing and distribution. An oil filtering equipment was installed by Don Bosco at the office of SNOBLOB. Bulk of the oil collected currently is supplied by Chowking (a local fast food chain that is part of the Jollibee Food Group, which includes famous Philippine brands like Jollibee, Greenwich, and Red Ribbon). The local branch of Chowking has agreed to sell the oil at PhP10.00 per liter (lower than the PhP15.00 going rate in markets). In exchange, the test jeepneys bore the promotional banners of the company, along with the project banner. The rest of the oil was sourced from the local barangays (local communities). SNOBLOB earns a net amount of PhP3.00 per liter of the oil sold as an added incentive. A separate MOA was signed with the drivers and operators of the test units, indicating that their vehicles will be used for the testing, and whatever downtime and damages that will be caused by the technology will be compensated by the project. The main objective of the field test is to validate the results of the laboratory fuel consumption and identify maintenance and durability issues connected with the technologies.

The whole test will take three months plus a month for the baseline test. Currently, the test units are now on the third week of using the technologies. Initial observations have shown an increase in emissions and decrease in power for all units, which could be traced to the detergency effect of the biofuels. This has been confirmed by the carbon deposits in the fuel filter indicating that the biofuel has cleaning effects on the engine and exhaust system. The reduced power may also be traced partly to the clogged fuel filter. The vehicles have also been rechecked for proper injection system operation and engine condition to identify other reasons of power reduction. After minor adjustments and replacement of the fuel filter, vehicle performance has improved and will continue to be monitored.

Even before we get the results of the study, the enthusiasm of some of the councilors and the mayor of Los Banos has prompted the drafting and approval of a City ordinance banning the use and sales of waste cooking oil for animal feed processing and reuse. It also stipulated that government institutions such as public schools and offices will be obliged to collect their oil to be sold to the public transport sector for processing and eventual use as fuel. The approval of the ordinance is considered as a major step in the commercial adoption of the technology.

The computational spreadsheet for the life cycle assessment of the various technologies have been prepared and we're waiting for the fuel economy and emission results from the laboratory and field testing. Business planners have also been commissioned and started to gather data and are also waiting for the results of the tests. 

Hoping that there will no further hitches, the research project is expected to be finished by February 2010. The Peace and Equity Foundation (PEF) have shown interest in allowing the team to present the results during their technology forums in various areas of the country. These forums are organized for people’s organizations to inform them on the possible technologies that they can adopt to improve their income.