Why is it that coconuts, the driver of our future are not taken seriously?
Is it because we are not well informed?
Actually, coconut oil yields high lauric acid content. Back in 1997, I’ve read an article from the Philippine Star about Jon J. Kabara who discovered in the University of Michigan that mono lauic acid (gyceryl monolaurate) or simply monolaurin lowers the viral load of AIDS in the human body. Luaric acid is apparently rich in colostrums that explain why breast fed babies shows high resistance to sickness.
In my last visit to DOST in pursuing my thesis, I came across with this information that we are now encapsulating monolaurin.
When I was still dealing with my baby thesis, my quest for information gathering lead me to the R&D Head of UNILAB back then in school year 1997 – 1998. Through the kindness of Dr. Torres, the R&D head, I was allowed to use their library at UNILAB.
Monolaurin could perturb the shell of the virus and penetrated until the nucleus thus killing the virus and halting its capacity to infest. And this is only momolaurin, one of the products of a coconut.
Coconuts as we all know are good source of oil that is mainly used in producing frying oils. Now that the price of copra has gone up to an average of PhP41.00/Kilo, it is only logical that the price of coconut oil has increased as well. A 375 mL frying oil sells for PhP50.
For those who love to use cosmetic products, you’ve probably heard of virgin coconut oil that is a good moisturizer and emollient. Your lotions and creams should contain emulsifiers and other emollients like stearic acid, monoglyceryl stearate and cetyl alcohol, these are all coconut based. Croda, Cognis, Rohm and Haas, etc are example of multinational companies that manufactures those products mentioned. Our very own Cocochem carries the same product line.
The high oil yielding coconut is also big for biodiesel industry. Currently, D&L sells BioActive brand at every gasoline station. Actually, even overly used coconut oils could be converted into biodiesel because the oxidized oil could by reduced by saponification, the then neutralized by acidification then finally, converted into a fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) by methylation. For chem. Students who are interested to make a more advanced study in this topic, you may approach Ms. Josefina V. Yumul and she’ll surely glad to help you out.
Coconut also yields “tuba,” a sweet tasting coconut wine. The coconut sap where we extract the “tuba” also yields coco sugar. The “sapal” of coconut meat in preparing a coconut milk could be make into coco flour. And the coco butter fat is a delicious substitute in manufacturing reconstituted milk.
Right now though, coconut land owners have this “pain – in – the – ass” problem. They are not allowed to cut down coconut trees that over populates the land area, or even those that are too old to be productive. You see, right now, there is a specified ratio of coconut trees per hectare that should be planted to ensure the health of the coconut trees that could be directly attributed to the yield of fruits.
If we rely on coconuts for progress and we can’t organize the coconut farming scheme because the law prohibits cutting down coconut trees that stands in the way, then does it not defeat the purpose of it all?
Catch – 22?
I was watching Channel 9 yesterday when I arrived home from work. My attention was caught by the news about the effect of the increase in temperature in the polar caps. This time its in North Pole, some flattened ice emerged on top of the ocean melting and eroding at the same time. The NBC channel had just reported flooding in some areas in the US due to the rise on water level and yesterday, it was the Sum of All Fears. Watching the news brings back some scene in the movie "The Day After Tommorow" which has the starting scene of oceanographers working in the North Pole witnessing the part chopping off from the icy continent. Of course, an icy tornado is the least of my concern. Being situated in the Philipines, in the equator, I am more worried about rising water level that can eventually sink some continents. Just this week, I've learned that its not just a mere gratification of scientific understanding; It is way more than that with the fact that some part of the US drowned in the flood in the states like Missouri and Nebraska due to the heavy down pour and water level. All we can wait for is heavy rain and were pickled.
The rising of the planet's temperature is due to green house effect. Some gases like CFCs are perturbing the ozone layer by forming intermediates with oxygen-3 molecule thus "disabling" the effect of the ozone layer and its function that screens out UV from the sun. There are gases that keeps the heat from getting out of the planet by entrapping it. There are gases that causes acid rain like the sulfo forms. Collectively, they are all called green house gases.
Of course we blame it on something, like industrialization or ignorance or greed. Then again, we have to act, and it has to be now.
There are discoveries that help ease out green house effect. Electric cars are already in use in some countries, Belgium and Japan are already using them. Magnetic levetation vehicles are already researched for other traffic application other than bullet trains or the Japanese "shinkansen." Yet this requires total restructuring, highways should be able to repel the magnetic flux of the vehicle floating over it; Alot of engineering in the design should be considered to make this project work. And if the project works, it would only entail the phasing out of all vehicles that runs on internal combustion engines. Those that are fueled by gasoline or diesel.
Internal combustion engine is the pivotal discovery for progress, and it did not fail to promote progress then and now. Locomotions of all types revolutionized the world. Transportation, commerce and industry relied on it heavily. Though pollution from these locomotions has been reduced from then, the damage has been done.
Damage control included planting of trees, and phasing out of "old technology" that is blamed for pollution. Thus the Kyoto Convention. Japan now reprocesses the freon from there ref, car aircon and other airconditioning system into hydro flouric acid and carbon dioxide. Toyota, Mecedes Benz and Chrystler to name a few now has car that converts its fuel into water and carbon dioxide. Some folks even attache solar plates on there home and vehicles. These are all good example of saving the planet which entails higher learning, higher economic set up and higher integrity. Sad to say, mere third world political will is flimsy in comparison.
The third world will cling on to second hand diesel engine from Japan (for example). In the Philippines, phasing out of all diesel engines, clean air compliants or smoke belchers will cripple the economy which will take miracle to recover. So the question is: Is phasing out of diesel engine an answer to help the planet whose green house problem knows no boundaries? No ! ! ! Not the third world.
The answer is a fuel that could be completely combusted into carbon dioxide and water. This could fuel diesel engines. This fuel is composed of fatty acids that are easier to crack down into carbon dioxide than that of straight chain aliphatic carbon. The fuel I am talking about is the methyl ester fuel from plant oils otherwise known as BIODIESEL.
Biodiesel, could, in the mean time fuel these diesel engine while we are building up our economy to par those who can afford magnetic levetation technology and electric cars and those cars that could degrade its fuel into carbon dioxide and water. But as for now, let us be contented with a BIODIESEL who could in the same way degrade fuel into carbon dioxide and water, that is, even without special equiptment.
The biodiesel production in the Philippines follows TRANSESTERIFICATION method. This method uses toxic reagents such as sodium methoxide or the combination of sodium hydroxide and methanol plus of course the substrate which is the fat or oil. The problem with this method is its complexity. Pressure and temperature should be meticulously watched as they are maintained at a high. This method is not at all fool proof and accident like implosion is inevitable.
The only good side I see in this method is the one-step process it could perform. Thus a biodiesel producer only have to put all the starting raw materials and worry about the correct pressure and temperature and wait for the end result. The last step would be separation of the methyl ester from water.
But then again, much as the question of correct pressure and temperature should not worry a skilled operator, an accident could happen, and the worst that could happen is the escape of the methoxy substance that is not only environmental hazard but also poisonous. Of course, the physical harm that an imploding vat could do is a threat, the explosion caused by it causes fire and even the shock could actually kill.
At this point, most companies known to produce biodiesel thrive through transesterification.
As for me, though this is just my opinion and should not be taken seriously by a science researcher, I will never use transesterification. WHY? Because if I can use the more easy to follow three-step method I'll stick with it.
The three-step method includes fat/oil splitting and in this method, GLYCERINE, a by-product of this biodiesel production calls for an expensive price when sold and could be extracted easily becuase the said method does not impart the glycerine with toxic materials unlike in transesterification.
That is why I am not inclined to use transesterification method.
