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Fuel-ling hopes of the coconut
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Today is Coconut Day. The coconut never ceases to surprise. Sometimes pleasant, at other times bad, like the present phase when coconut trees and farmers are in dire straits. There's some good news though, about coconut oil as a fuel. LEELA MENON goes into the nitty-gritty of this aspect of the nut.
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COCONUT IS oiling its way into a multifaceted global focus. Shedding its stigma as a cholesterol agent promoting cardiovascular diseases, coconut has gained global acceptability as a dietary fibre having significant cholesterol-lowering action. Coconut oil is also being acclaimed as the most eco-friendly biodiesel for diesel engines, sans pollution.
Coconut Methyl Ester, a product from coconut oil, can be used as a 100 per cent fuel for an Asian utility vehicle equipped with an ISUZU C-240 diesel engine for 25,000 kilometers. And it has also been proved through research that coconut oil is one of the best automobile lubricants.
So what ails the coconut sector? Conceding that coconut cultivation is beset with various handicaps like the root wilt disease for which no cure has yet been discovered, the coconut, of late, has been in the news, especially in the latest Mohanlal starrer, Thandavam, which deals with coconut farmers' plight. Reasons for its bad days are scarcity in production and partly due to the increasing consumption of tender coconut water, which is recognised as one of the most nutritious wholesome beverage, having a calorific value of 17.4 per 100 gm.
Ideal for gastro diseases, and far better than electrol. "Tender coconut water is the fluid of life", says Morton Satin, Chief of FAO's Agricultural Industries and post harvest management service. He was only echoing Charles Darwin who said "how delicious it is to be seated in shade and drink the cool pleasant fluid of coconut". It has minerals, sugars and proteins and vitamins. It has various medicinal properties and is good for infants suffering from intestinal disturbances or oral re-hydration. It is a tonic for the old and sick, diuretic, and can even be injected intravenously in emergencies.
It is also good in the treatment of AIDS. It contains organic compounds possessing growth, promoting properties, besides cooling the body. Even as Kerala, the land of coconut, with an inbuilt prejudice against consuming the tender nut as it is more profitable to sell the mature nut, is now learning to imbibe the tender coconut water, the sad fact is that the tender coconut we consume is produced either in Tamil Nadu or Andhra Pradesh. "It is because we have no wholesale market for coconut as in Tami Nadu or Karnataka", says Mr.Nandakumar, PRO of Coconut Board. It is the agents from Tamil Nadu who market tender coconut here. The Coconut Board is stepping in to promote the tender coconut, even producing a documentary on the delicious efficacy of the water. Biodiesel is the other facet of coconut. Biodiesel as an alternative fuel is gaining increasing acceptance globally because it is ecofriendly. It is non-toxic, biodegradable and free of sulphur and carcinogenic benzene.
Smoke emissions is minimal unlike diesel which emits heavy black smoke. Various studies, conducted to explore the possibility of using farm crops as a source of renewable energy, especially for transportation, confirm its efficacy. While ethanol has been focused for alternative fuel in gasoline engine, bio diesel has been tried for diesel engine. It is a fact that domestic demand for high and low speed diesel oils has increased globally in the last decade. Diesel oil forms 54 per cent of the total energy consumption in the transportation sector. Vegetable oils as alternative renewable fuel has been under consideration for a long time as plant oils comprise 12 to 18 carbon atom in their fatty acids structure. Coconut oil is already being used as biodiesel in Thailand.
Biodiesel is produced through a process called transesterification under which vegetable oils are made to react with an alcohol and a catalyst, forming esters and glycerol, which is then separated. Methanol is usually used in the reaction to lower the viscosity of vegetable oils. The search for alternative fuels by developed countries began in the context of the Gulf war to reduce the dependency on imported fuels which became scarce. Biodiesel was found to be the answer. It can be produced from coconut, soyabean, sunflower, rapeseed and palm oils. Thailand has already started using coconut oil blended with kerosene at the ratio of 20:1 to power their trucks and tractors and the first biodiesel filling station was opened at Prachuap Khiri Khan in Thailand.
The only barrier, especially for Kerala, is the cost, which is high due to raw material cost and processing technology. Coconut oil is sold for Rs.50 per kg while diesel is far cheaper. It is feasible in countries which have abundant vegetable products or island countries to which export of diesel can be costly. When and if diesel becomes unavailable, the consolation is that there is an alternative fuel.
Coconut oil, as automobile lubricant, has been tested in Kerala and found to be effective. In fact research conducted by a Mechanical Engineering student of the Thiruvananthapuram Engineering College who has completed his course proves the efficacy of coconut oil as automobile lubricant.
The research is being published shortly. Mary G.Enig, Director of Nutritional Sciences Division of Maryland, USA ,also stresses the importance of lauric oils in coconut for HIV infected individuals who need anti viral anti microbial and antiprotozoalmonoglycerides and fatty acids which are found in lauric oils. The benefits of coconut in heart disease is also under research by the Sri Chitra Institute in Thiruvananthapuram. Coconut oil is also a popular ingredient in the manufacture of cosmetics. It is perhaps the oldest and most widely used cosmetic vegetable oil because of low incidence of irritation sensitization and ideal for human skin. A newborn is always massaged with coconut oil before a bath. Though the trend to use oil baths have decreased with people, switching over to synthetic liquid paraffin oil with stabilised vegetable oils, coconut oil is irreplaceable. It is also good as a hair oil and is used in shampoos .
Again, it is the price of the oil that acts as a deterrent in popularisation. However, of late, coconut is going places, becoming value-added. Every part of the coconut is precious, including the shell and the husk. Coconut shell is an eco-friendly product to make cups, jugs, spoons etc as well as curios. Delightful creations made from coconut husk are on display at the Board premises. Various products are also being produced from coconut like coconut vinegar, Nata-de-coco, to be used as a dessert or ingredient in ice-cream, desiccated coconut, coconut cream, spray-dried coconut milk powder, coconut jam, coconut chips, coconut cheese, and coconut jaggery and coconut burfi, coconut chutney etc.
Technological research to produce these products have been effective making it possible to encourage product diversification and byproduct utilisation in the coconut industry.
"It needs feasibility studies, pilot-testing of new technologies market research and promotion to create consumer demand", Board sources said, adding that a Coconut Technology Development Centre is the solution.
Despite the possibilities of the many-faceted nut, the irony is that the coconut farmer in Kerala continues to be in the doldrums, nudging suicide. Obviously there is a gap between possibilities and effective governmental measures to tap it to the advantage of the grower.
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