Executive Summary Report.Pdf

Evaluation and Suggestions for Improvement of Energy Self-Sufficiency Community-Based Biodiesel Project (Northern and Northeastern Regions) 1. Background In accordance with the government resolution of January 18, 2005 on the development and promotion of biodiesel in Thailand and an associated action plan dated May 17, 2005, the Ministry of Energy, together with the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives, has been promoting the production and consumption of biodiesel in the country at both community and commercial levels, with the goal of reaching a daily production of 3.02 million liters of B100 by 2011. During the period 2005-2006, the Ministry of Energy via the Department of Alternative Energy Development and Efficiency (DEDE) implemented “Energy Self-Sufficiency Community-Based Biodiesel Project” in 72 communities around the country; and in 2007 planned to expand the project to cover additional 400 communities. To address common implementation problems and ensure project sustainability, project evaluation is necessary. 2. Objectives 1) To determine success and challenges of “Energy Self-Sufficiency Community-Based Biodiesel Project” 2) To improve feedstock management efficiency, consumer confidence in biodiesel, and community participation 3) To address common implementation problems and provide suggestions for improvement of “Energy Self-Sufficiency Community-Based Biodiesel Project” 3. Project Coverage 168 select communities, under Department of Alternative Energy Development and Efficiency’s Energy Self-Sufficiency Community-Based Biodiesel Project, in Northern and Northeastern Thailand 4. Scope of Work and Implementation Plan To ensure that the above objectives are met, we specifies the following scope of work and implementation plan (Figure 4.1): 1) Obtaining list of select communities from the Department of Alternative Energy Development and Efficiency; and reviewing current status of biodiesel production and capacity of these communities, e.g. feedstock sources and prices, feedstock and chemical procurement, and biodiesel production and sales Evaluation and Suggestions for Improvement of 1 Energy Self-Sufficiency Community-Based Biodiesel Project (Northern and Northeastern Regions) Executive Summary Report 2) Follow-up, monitoring, and evaluation of existing biodiesel projects in select communities (a 2- day activity for each community) for improvement of management efficiency; and grouping of communities into subgroups for better collaboration among all biodiesel stakeholders, including: • Assessing communities’ knowledge and understanding of feedstock management, manufacturing process, and wastewater treatment, as well as biodiesel awareness in the communities • Production assessment and biodiesel sampling (at least 1 sample per community) for quality control based on the 2006 Department of Energy Business characteristic and specification regulation of community-based biodiesel for agricultural engines (specifically, viscosity at 40 0C, flash point, water and sediment, acid number, and total glycerin) • Assessment of biodiesel wastewater treatment facility’s performance and water sampling (at least 1 sample per community) for determination of pH, BOD, COD, TSS, and oil and grease values 3) Identification of problems and detailed solutions for each select community and subgroup based on results from 2) 4) Development and execution of plan for improvement of feedstock management, consumer confidence in community-based biodiesel, and biodiesel quality which meets the Department of Energy Business standards; and biodiesel sampling for post-execution quality control (a 2-day activity for each community) 5) Summary of study results and suggestions for improvement of “Energy Self-Sufficiency Community-Based Biodiesel Project” 6) Organizing at least 1 seminar, with at least 150 stakeholder participants, to present study results Evaluation and Suggestions for Improvement of 2 Energy Self-Sufficiency Community-Based Biodiesel Project (Northern and Northeastern Regions) Executive Summary Report Evaluation and Suggestions for Improvement of Energy Self-Sufficiency Community-Based Biodiesel Project 1................... (Northern and Northeastern Regions) 2................... 3................... 4.................... Obtain list of select communities . 168................. Reviewing current status Monitering and evaluatuon (pre-execution) 1. Knowledge and understanding 2. Management manufacturing process 3. wastewater treatment Failed Development and execution Post-execution Summary and suggestions Seminar Figure 4.1 Scope of work and implementation plan 5. Evaluation Criteria In assessing communities’ knowledge and understanding of biodiesel, we use methods such as surveys, interviews, and field observations to collect from each select community information about: production practices, wastewater treatment facilities, and management practices. For each of these 3 criteria, we assign weighting factors to various components to account for relative importance and use the resulting total weighted score to rate the community. Our rating scales for all the criteria are shown below: Evaluation and Suggestions for Improvement of 3 Energy Self-Sufficiency Community-Based Biodiesel Project (Northern and Northeastern Regions) Executive Summary Report 5.1 Production Practices • Community with the total weighted score under this criterion of 90 or above and a raw score for each and every component that is above the minimum requirement is rated excellent in production. • Community with the total weighted score under this criterion in the range of 80-89 and biodiesel products which pass all the quality tests is rated good in production. • Community with the total weighted score under this criterion in the range of 70-79 and biodiesel products which pass all the quality tests is rated fair in production. • Community with the total weighted score under this criterion of less than 70 or a biodiesel product which fails any of the quality tests is rated needs improvement in production. 5.2 Wastewater Treatment Facilities • Community with the total weighted score under this criterion of 10 is rated excellent in wastewater treatment. • Community with the total weighted score under this criterion of 9 is rated good in wastewater treatment. • Community with the total weighted score under this criterion of 8 is rated fair in wastewater treatment. • Community with the total weighted score under this criterion in the range of 0-7 is rated needs improvement in wastewater treatment. 5.3 Management Practices • Community with the total weighted score under this criterion of 81% or above is rated excellent in management. • Community with the total weighted score under this criterion in the range of 66-80% is rated good in management. • Community with the total weighted score under this criterion in the range of 55-65% is rated fair in management. • Community with the total weighted score under this criterion of 54% or below is rated needs improvement in management. Evaluation and Suggestions for Improvement of 4 Energy Self-Sufficiency Community-Based Biodiesel Project (Northern and Northeastern Regions) Executive Summary Report 6. Follow-Up, Monitoring, and Evaluation of Existing Biodiesel Projects in Select Communities 6.1 Current Production Practices Various technologies used to produce biodiesel in existing biodiesel projects in 168 select communities include: 1) The 60-liter BNB Inter Group Co., Ltd. biodiesel production machines – used in 115 communities (68.45%) 2) The Water Pacific Ltd., Part. biodiesel production machines – used in 7 communities (4.17%) 3) The Naval Dockyard Department biodiesel production machines – used in 39 communities (23.21%) 4) The Chiang Mai University CMU-2 biodiesel production machines – used in 5 communities (2.97%) 5) The 100-liter BNB Inter Group Co., Ltd. biodiesel production machines – used in 1 community (0.60%) 6) The Prince of Songkla University biodiesel production machines – used in 1 community (0.60%) Surveys, interviews, and field observations about current production practices in these communities reveal the following information: The communities’ biodiesel facilities are staffed with knowledgeable people who can follow production manuals. Most of these facilities only run twice a month. Production costs range between 6.00 to 35.67 Bahts/liter, with waste cooking oil feedstocks accounting for a large part of total costs due to high competition between the communities and other middlemen in obtaining these feedstocks. As a result, the communities may sometimes find it difficult to obtain needed feedstocks and are unable to ensure their biodiesel facilities run smoothly. The communities use waste cooking oils and animal fats as their primary biodiesel feedstocks, purchasing these feedstocks on- or off-site from local restaurants, retailers, factories, and schools. The oils and fats are filtered and preprocessed to remove water and contaminants. In most of these communities, community committee members are involved in local biodiesel production. Production manuals are followed closely in all of the communities, although in some communities changes such as feedstock washing, increasing reaction time, increasing the number of washes, and allowing more glycerin separation time are made to production processes to improve efficiency. Most of the biodiesel output is used to fuel single cylinder agricultural engines in the area, a practice which fulfils energy self-sufficiency objective. Evaluation and Suggestions

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