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Thailand's 15-year alternative energy plan to be ready end-month |
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Thailand's 15-year alternative energy development master plan is expected to be ready to present to the National Energy Policy Committee for approval later this month, a source at the country's energy ministry said Monday. The plan aims to have alternative energies account for at least 20% of the country's total energy usage by 2022, the source said. It aim to substantially increase the use of biofuels, solar, wind and hydro energy in power generation and biodiesel and ethanol blending in vehicle fuel, as well as hike the usage natural gas in vehicles to 30 % of all fuel consumed by 2022. If the targets are achieved, Thailand can reduce energy import bills by Baht 608 billion ($17 billion) a year and lower greenhouse gas emission by 42 million mt/year, the source said. Garbage in, energy out (Bangkok Post, 29.08.2008) Two years ago, Samut Prakan Municipality was facing a severe shortage of landfill sites to deal with sludge from households and factories, and officials sought expert help from Professional Waste Technology (PWT). Little did they or the PWT specialists imagine that their discussions would lead to the new invention. PWT, with expertise in managing toxic and industrial wastes, knew that plastics waste could be turned back to its original form, petroleum, through pyrolysis technology. But the European technology was far too expensive for a local administration in a developing country. Pyrolysis essentially transforms plastic waste to petroleum by reversing the normal plastic production process. However, PWT was determined to find a cost-effective solution. Collaborating with Therm Engineering Co, a local machinery maker, a new and affordable high-tech approach materialised. With a budget of 40 million baht, the two parties achieved their goal after two years of research and development, according to Somchai Lertwisettheerakul, vice-president of business development for PWT. ''Indeed, we were expecting to see an energy price crisis several years ago, and that is why we were interested in pyrolysis. However, we were just trying to build a prototype _ we had no idea whether we could make it commercially or not,'' he said. Fortunately, the former government led by Surayud Chulanont was offering strong support for the development of renewable energy through tax holidays and import tariff waivers on for imported equipment through Board of Investment (BoI) privileges. With government support, the two parties determined that their invention could be commerciallised. PWT opened Southeast Asia's first plastic waste converter to produce oil at Prak Sa in Samut Prakan in May this year. It can handle 10 tonnes a day to produce oil output of between 6,000 and 8,000 litres. A small quantity of byproducts including liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and ash retrieved from the conversion process can also be used to generate power, while ash can be sold as as raw material for cement and tyre production. ''Our Thai invention is very cheap at 40 million baht a unit, while foreign-made units cost 100 to 200 million baht,'' Mr Somchai said. ''Furthermore, we can prove that a locally made product has less energy consumption. ''Oil output such as fuel oil and diesel have also had their quality approved by PTT Plc and its subsidiaries”, Mr Somchai added. Thailand's leader in waste disposal and treatment is now developing the second generation of plastic waste-to-oil condensate machinery to meet huge demand from more municipalities. The new units will be more energy efficient and could handle more types of plastic wastes such as foam. They will be available in various sizes from one tonne, to two, 10 and 20 tonnes of waste input per day. Mr Somchai said the invention could help many municipalities that are struggling to find landfill sites in the face of opposition by community residents and stricter environmental regulations. He expects that tens or even hundreds of millions of tonnes of waste in existing landfills could also be turned into methane for power generation, but first plastic and organic waste need to be separated. The plastic could be converted to oil and the organic waste fermented for fertiliser, and finally the empty landfill could be turned into a reservoir.
Thailand disposes of
41,900 tonnes a day of waste, of which 85% goes to landfills and the
rest goes to recycling plants or incinerator, while some is turned into
fertiliser. Around 40% of the total disposal comes from Greater Bangkok.
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Platts Commodity News, 15.09.2008 |
