Beginning in 2011 about 3 percent of Taiwan's vehicle fuel may come from biomass fuel alcohol generated from rice stalks, a fuel of the future that not only makes great use of agricultural waste, but is also friendly to the environment, the Atomic Energy Council's (AEC) Institute of Nuclear Energy Research (INER) said yesterday at a press conference.
The cellulosic ethanol [fiber alcohol] program was initiated last year by the Bureau of Energy under the Ministry of Economic Affairs in view of the emerging global need for a sustainable source of alternative fuels, program manager Wang Jia-bau (
"In 2010 the program is projected to conclude with a mature technique to mass produce rice stalk fuel alcohol," he said.
"The development of biomass fuel is currently one of the hottest fields of research worldwide -- everyone wishes to find a cheap, clean and sustainable replacement for increasingly scarce petroleum," Wang said.
Biomass fuel is considered carbon neutral, since the carbon emissions produced by the burning of the fuel are canceled out by the carbon absorbed during photosynthesis by the plants used to make the fuel, he said.
"Compared to some current biomass fuels made of corn or sugarcane, which are controversial because of their competition for human food, the INER's program aims to distill ethanol fuel from agricultural wastes [fibers] such as rice stalks or sugarcane pulp," he said.
The resulting alcohol can be mixed into petroleum to make E3 fuel -- which means that the mixture contains 3 percent alcohol and therefore reduces carbon emission of vehicles that use the fuel -- he said.
Fuels that are under 10 percent alcohol would not require modified vehicles, he said. However more alcohol content is used in some countries, he said.
"For example, Brazil leads the pack by selling E22 fuel," he said.
Though the current technology in the labs is costly, the team hopes that once a feasible production method is developed, fuel alcohol will be as low as NT$25 per liter when mass produced, at which point the INER will transfer the technology to businesses, he said.
Though the raw materials for the alcohol cost less and mass production will be more efficient than for petroleum, the current challenge of these "second generation biomass fuels," is that their production requires more technological advancement, he said.
"Compared to, say, corn alcohol, the process to make fiber alcohol involves a`pretreatment' -- a method to expose the sugars in the raw materials so that fermentation is possible," he said.
High pressure, high heat or using diluted acid are all options, but "whoever finds the cheapest and most efficient pretreatment method would come out ahead in the race to make the best fuel alcohol in the world," he said.
"Now is a good entry point for Taiwan to enter biomass fuel research since the technology that is mature enough for commercial production has yet to be seen in the international market," Wang said.
"Taiwan's development in this field is almost on par with most other countries -- last year we successfully generated 10kg batches, yielding 2 liters of 99.5 percent fuel alcohol per 10kg of rice stalks, when the most in the field is about 2.5 liters," he said.
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) today issued a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-wong effective from 5:30pm, while local governments canceled school and work for tomorrow. A land warning is expected to be issued tomorrow morning before it is expected to make landfall on Wednesday, the agency said. Taoyuan, and well as Yilan, Hualien and Penghu counties canceled work and school for tomorrow, as well as mountainous district of Taipei and New Taipei City. For updated information on closures, please visit the Directorate-General of Personnel Administration Web site. As of 5pm today, Fung-wong was about 490km south-southwest of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan's southernmost point.
Almost a quarter of volunteer soldiers who signed up from 2021 to last year have sought early discharge, the Legislative Yuan’s Budget Center said in a report. The report said that 12,884 of 52,674 people who volunteered in the period had sought an early exit from the military, returning NT$895.96 million (US$28.86 million) to the government. In 2021, there was a 105.34 percent rise in the volunteer recruitment rate, but the number has steadily declined since then, missing recruitment targets, the Chinese-language United Daily News said, citing the report. In 2021, only 521 volunteers dropped out of the military, the report said, citing
A magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck Kaohsiung at 1pm today, the Central Weather Administration said. The epicenter was in Jiasian District (甲仙), 72.1km north-northeast of Kaohsiung City Hall, at a depth of 7.8km, agency data showed. There were no immediate reports of damage. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effects of a temblor, was highest in Kaohsiung and Tainan, where it measured a 4 on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale. It also measured a 3 in parts of Chiayi City, as well as Pingtung, Yunlin and Hualien counties, data showed.
Nearly 5 million people have signed up to receive the government’s NT$10,000 (US$322) universal cash handout since registration opened on Wednesday last week, with deposits expected to begin tomorrow, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. After a staggered sign-up last week — based on the final digit of the applicant’s national ID or Alien Resident Certificate number — online registration is open to all eligible Taiwanese nationals, foreign permanent residents and spouses of Taiwanese nationals. Banks are expected to start issuing deposits from 6pm today, the ministry said. Those who completed registration by yesterday are expected to receive their NT$10,000 tomorrow, National Treasury
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