Special Feature
This is a video report about
World Business: A couple of
years ago, with surging
demand for biofuel from
Europe and riding crude oil
prices, investors rushed to
build plants to turn palm oil
into biodiesel. But with
falling oil prices and
changing opinions towards
biofuel many of those
projects were put on hold.
To adapt, biofuel producers
now have to be a little more
creative.
|
 |
Biodiesel in South Korea |
|
| |
In South Korea, current diesel consumption is approximately 28 million tonnes per year. In view that all crude oils are imported and the nation is facing severe air pollution, biodiesel ie emerging as a promising lotion.
The preparation of the new Korean biodiesel standards started around Sep 2003, while the draft was prepared in Sep 2004. Technically, the standards are very close to EM14214 as follows: -
| PARAMETER |
EN14214 |
KOREAN STANDARD (OCT 2004) |
| Kinetic Viscosity |
3.5 - 5.0 |
1.9 - 5.5 |
| CFPP |
Regional Specification |
No specification for B100 |
| Acid Number |
0.5 |
0.5 or 0.8 |
| Iodine Number |
« 120 |
No Specification |
With the establishemet of the Korean biodisel standard, fleet tests have been started to test its validity, where major Korean car, oil companies and biodiesel producers have participated in the project. The fllet test will last for 2 years and results will be ready by August 2006.
Presently, soybean oil is the main feedstock used for biodiesel production. However, the Governement is also looking into the feasiblity of using other feedstock such as used frying oil, palm oil, rapeseed and etc. to enhance the security of feedstock.
|
|
|
|
|
|