There are two issues all governments are facing today, that is, environmental protection and energy crisis. Due to the limited land, high population, and shortage of nature source, Taiwan government has been planning the strategies for the preparation for the pollution gradually worsen and the energy becoming high cost.
The economy prosperousness, along with environment pollution is unavoidable from the fast-growing industry and business development. The increased concentration of waste gas and carbon dioxide released from factories and vehicles and the other pollutant have resulted in the breakage of ozone layer and greenhouse effects. The global average temperature is increased by 0.5oC in the last century. If no actions are taken in the countries of the world, the temperature will continue to rise and the climate model of the earth will change, resulting in the inconceivable consequences.
Specialists warned that if the earth temperature is increased by 5oC, tsunami and storms will be augmented. The sea level increase will cover all the cities on the coast and even causing the death or no reproduction of many living species. To prevent from the disaster, Union had held a meeting for environmental developments on June 13th of 1992. The “United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Chang (UNFCCC)” signed by 154 initially and updated 166 countries, was the declaration of global control to “Anthropogenic Greenhouse Gas” emission. It became effective from March 21st of 1994. Simultaneously in December of 1992, “Kyoto Protocol” was signed by many nations, hoping the “Anthropogenic Greenhouse Gas” concentration in the air can be limited within the range of not endangering the safety of nature. Carbon dioxide is the major greenhouse gas, 55% of all, causing the global warming in the earth. Thus the major controlling objective of “Kyoto Protocol” becomes carbon dioxide released from fossil energy burning. Taiwan as a member of the global village, is supposed to share the reduction task in order to pay the duty of earth environment protection to the earth. In addition, the exhaustion limits of carbon dioxide will affect the ratio of all energy sources and the industry structure. Therefore our nation has to carry out the policy of “air quality improvement” as well as the development of new energy and the readjustment of industry structure, avoiding the overwhelming impact to the economy.
About the topics of energy shortage crisis, there are differences among them. But what can be certain is the development of nuclear energy is slowdown. There are many advanced countries ceasing to build nuclear power plants, even shorten the usage. Besides, the fire power plants with coal as the raw material, is another source of air pollution. The task for energy production consequently relies on the depleting crude oil and natural gas. The reports of world energy indicated that the crude oil reserve is estimated merely to have end before 2150 of mining capacity. From the stable increase trend of the total demand in the world today, the petroleum supply will be at risk, at least the rise of oil price can be expected in the near future.
To develop new energy source for the prevention of damage to the earth cannot postpone. Governments of many countries are actively developing energy alternatives. For Taiwan as an island of small land and high population without nature source, the introduction of bioDiesel for renewability, exhaust reduction should be beneficial for the air quality improvement and the alternative energy applications.
At the same time of advocate energy saving, all countries are actively promoting the new energy source to meet the demand in the future. In all the alternative energy, the renewable energy is the one with highest potential for developments. Projects for promoting solar energy, earth heat, and ocean source utilization have been studied by the advanced countries such as America, Germany, and northern Europe. The biological energy is most acceptable among all. The reason may be the higher availability for the raw material of producing biological energy, easier manufacturing, and no or minor adjustment on the engines of the vehicles using the energy.
BioDiesel is one of the biological energy.
According to the definition made by Department Of Energy of United States, bioDiesel is produced from soybean oil or other vegetable oil and is the most ideal and clean fuel among the alternatives for fossil Diesel. Today in the US, bioDiesel has been widely used in public transports such as city buses, school buses, etc. Furthermore, California government has succeeded on bioDiesel use in the fleets of clean areas for the reduction of seawater pollution. In Germany, the use of bioDiesel has been popular for some time. After the first introduction of bioDiesel in 1992, the consumption of bioDiesel has grown 500 times in five years, expecting the total accumulation of 150,000 MT in 2002 in Germany.
The other feature of bioDiesel is that it can be directly used in Diesel engines without making adjustment. It can as well be used as clean fuel oil in public buses, trucks, farming machines, vessels, and small generators. In Taiwan, bioDiesel effect upon exhaust improvement was recognized by EPA so that permitted the registration of “additives for the improvement of Diesel exhaust emission.” However, the bioDiesel cost is higher than fossil Diesel cost as the reasons unaccepted for the applications.
In conclusion, low pollution and renewability makes bioDiesel as ideal and clean energy in the high-cost energy period of time today. But the imported cost may not be accepted by the transportation industry so the use will be delayed. In order to improve the air quality in Taiwan and lower the dependence to imported fossil, it is suggested that our government refers to the biological policy in US, Germany, etc. The according “investment incentive policy” for bioDiesel needs to be studied to encourage domestic production for the purposes of lowering the product cost and making the clean energy widely used.
