Village waste facility produces fuel, fertilizer

A village in Mandaue City in Cebu province has started converting plastic waste into bunker fuel.

So far, Barangay Pagsabungan has produced 50 liters of bunker fuel since officials began to operate a plastic-processing machine in June at a facility on a 1,500-square-meter lot.

Pagsabungan, which was derived from the early residents’ penchant for cockfighting, became a pilot area for the city’s “plastic-to-fuel” project following its success in solid waste management.

Mayor Jonas Cortes saw the facility to convert plastic into bunker fuel when he was in Germany and wanted to adopt the program in Mandaue City, according to city information officer Roger Paller.

But the equipment in Germany was expensive so Cortes did the next best thing: Make a machine using the same concept and German technology.

A reliable fabricator based in Lapu-Lapu City was able to duplicate the German technology at a lower cost of P1.8 million, Paller said.  It was delivered to the 1,500-sq-m Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) in Pagsabungan.

If proven efficient, the equipment will be given to the other 26 city barangays so they can also produce their own bunker fuel from plastic garbage.

Pagsabungan takes pride in its MRF, which also processes biodegradable garbage into organic fertilizer. Every month, it collects 60 cubic meters of biodegradable waste and 50 cubic meters of nonbiodegradable waste from its 20,280 residents, as well as industrial and commercial establishments.

The organic fertilizers are used in growing eggplants, okra, alugbati and other vegetables in the barangay’s own farm at the back of the facility.

The fertilizers are given free to residents but sold for P200 per sack to outsiders.

The plastic-to-fuel chamber can process 40 kilograms of thin plastic garbage at a time, according to former Barangay Chair Andres Suson. It has a heat chamber, condenser, catalyst reactor and biofilter.

Forty kilos of

the collected plastic garbage are shredded, washed and dried before these are heated in the chamber for nine hours. Steam from the chamber is filtered before it turns into liquid and stored in an aluminum barrel. The steam is  actually bunker fuel in vapor form.

The solid byproduct is used as alternative to wood fuel for cooking.

According to the Department of Science and Technology (DOST), the technology to convert plastic into bunker fuel is nothing new since it has been used in several countries. The standard procedure has been adopted in Germany, said Edilberto Paradela, the department’s regional assistant director for technical operations.

Paradela, however, warned that the bunker fuel produced from plastic could not be immediately used to power engines and machines since it had to be processed first. Some chemicals must be mixed with the fuel before the engines and machines can  run properly, he added.

The Department of Energy still has to examine the bunker fuel produced from trash to determine if it is safe to use, Paradela said.

Edgar Osorio, science research specialist, said he wanted to inspect the facility, which produces smoke while processing, to see if it is environment-friendly.

Suson, who was appointed assistant city engineer in July, said it could not yet be determined how much plastic could produce a liter of bunker fuel.

Once the bunker fuel fills the aluminum barrel, the city government plans to accredit the facility with the DOST.

Suson said the bunker fuel could be sold to owners of seagoing vessels.

While Pagsabungan hopes to earn from the sale of bunker fuel, he said the project was mainly aimed at reducing garbage volume. Already, the volume of plastic garbage collected has dropped by about 20 percent, said Michael Leyson, who is in charge of the plastic processing chamber.