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An upland city of the Philippines is continuously battling against its garbage disposal, wherein biowaste makes up the significant fraction in its MSW with the residential area as the primary contributor. Due to its heterogeneity, very few studies focused on the analysis and characterization of biodegradables. This study aims to conduct a waste analysis of biodegradable generated among households as an initial approach for sustainable organic management options. Results showed that a household consisting of 3–9 members have biowaste per capita generation that ranges from 0.04 to 0.31 kg/day, with a weighted average of 0.1122 kg/day. A five-member household can generate an average 0.55 kg per day, in which, 46% is mostly food scrap, followed by kitchen waste-vegetables and fruits (41%), kitchen waste-raw meat and fish (4%) while yard/garden and wet papers comprise the 5% and 4%, respectively. The family size showed a positive relationship with household generation and a negative correlation to per capita generation. The study also revealed that 51% of the respondents do not divert their biowaste at the source. Hence, this research endeavor recommends the need of each household to have decentralized biological treatment as a practical mode of waste diversion and reduction.

The world today is literally and figuratively burdened with heavy loads of garbage, which pose a hazard to human health and the environment. A concerted effort by all sectors of society is required to find an immediate, effective, feasible, and practical solution for the management of waste and garbage. Composting is one of the most practical methods. This study aims to explore the role of community involvement in the design phase of a functional compost bin. Kafagway, the former name of Baguio City, is the only American hill station in Asia, designed by the world-renowned architect Daniel Burnham and intended for 25,000 people. Now the city, also known as the City of Pines, is home to 342,200 households and is overcrowded due to rampant and disorganized urbanization, aggravated by an influx of tourists, resulting in a problematic pileup of garbage. Biodegradables comprise the largest amount of municipal waste which is potentially convertible into valuable useful by-products. By actively involving household participation, the respondents manifested their choices beyond the physical dimensions of their preferred compost bin, which revealed an interesting interplay of various sociodemographic issues in their choice, affecting their attitude, behavior, and eventual compliance toward effective waste disposal and management.

The research highlights the available and proposed biowaste management practices in Baguio City. It also gives scenario based analysis.

The research highlights the available and proposed biowaste management practices in Baguio City. It also gives scenario based analysis.

Pyrolysis is an important technology to convert lignocellulosic biomass to a renewable liquid energy carrier known as pyrolysis oil or bio-oil. Herein we report the pyrolysis of pigeon pea wood, a widely available biomass in the Philippines, in a semi-continuous reactor at gram scale. The effects of process conditions such as temperature (400-600 ◦C), nitrogen flow rate (7-15 mL min−1) and particle size of the biomass feed (0.5-1.3 mm) on the product yields were determined. A Box-Behnken three-level, three-factor fractional factorial design was carried out to establish process-product yield relations. Of particular interest is the liquid product (bio-oil), of which the yield was shown to depend on all independent variables in a complex manner. The optimal conditions for highest bio-oil yield (54 wt.% on dry feed intake) were a temperature of 466 ◦C, a nitrogen flow rate of 14 mL min−1 and a particle size of 1.3 mm. Validation of the optimized conditions proved that the average (n = 3) experimental bio-oil yield (52 wt.%) is in good agreement with the predicted value from the model. The properties of product oils were determined using various analytical techniques including gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), gel-permeation chromatography (GPC), nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (13C- and HSQC-NMR) and elemental and proximate analyses. The bio-oils were shown to have low ash content (0.2%), high heating value (29 MJ kg−1) and contain high value-added phenolics compounds (41%, GC peak area) as well as low molecular weight aldehydes and carboxylic acids. GPC analysis indicated the presence of a considerable amount of higher molecular weight compounds. NMR measurements showed that a large proportion of bio-oil contains aliphatic carbons (~60%), likely formed from the decomposition of (hemi)cellulose components, which are abundantly present in the starting pigeon pea wood. Subsequent preliminary scale-up pyrolysis experiments in a fluidized bed reactor (~100 gfeed h−1, 475 ◦C and N2 flow rate of 1.5 L min−1) gave a non-optimized bio-oil yield of 44 wt.%. Further fractionation and/or processing are required to upgrade these bio-oils to biofuels and biobased chemicals.

The development of hot spring heat source incubator for duck eggs was deemed necessary to design the utilization of hot spring as heat source for incubating duck eggs, to reduce the use of electricity. This study addressed issues such as replacing conventional source of energy with geothermal energy in Los BaAˆos, Laguna, Philippines for incubation of eggs (ducklings, ballot and penoy). The experimental design used was two factors at three levels (2 × 3): ventilation opening (30, 45 and 60°) and number of evaporating pans (3, 4 and 5 pans) and each run had duration of 23 h. Sampling of the average temperature and relative humidity showed an average of 100 samples per hour. The data were analyzed using surface response regression to select the run within optimal conditions. The surface response and multiple regression revealed that the optimal setup was with the ventilation opened at 30° and 5 evaporating pans in the incubator. The optimal conditions were the mean temperature and relative humidity of 37.5°C at the top tray and 49.6% at the bottom tray as predicted by the mathematical model using trial version of Design of Experiment (DoE) 10.0. Key words: Hot spring, incubator, heat source, geothermal, energy, duck eggs.

The economic analysis of a manual and automatic turning hot spring incubator developed at the University of the Philippines-Los BaAˆos, Laguna Province, Philippines, was studied by comparing its performance with the conventional electrical incubator. This research can help small-scale farmers by reducing operational cost and increasing profitability. To determine the feasibility, undiscounted and discounted measures were used. For undiscounted measures, the break-even point (BEP) and payback period (PBP) for the conventional electrical incubator, manual and automatic turning hot spring incubator were 2788, 1950 and 4552 balut; and 2.31, 0.751 and 1.755 years for balut production; 723, 660 and 1540 ducklings; and 1.852, 0.856 and 1.998 years for duckling production, respectively. For the discounted measures, benefit-cost ratio (BCR), net present value and internal rate of return (IRR) for the conventional electricity incubator were 1.07, 1.36 and 1.20; ₱4176.88, ₱34359.81 and ₱22357.39; and 7.16, 36.44 and 20.35, respectively, for balut production and 1.15, 1.44 and 1.16; ₱6264.42, ₱28320.29 and ₱12740.51; and 15.15, 43.78 and 15.88, for ducklings production, respectively. Finally, the outcome of this research can be adopted by balut producers that have access to hot spring. The hot spring manual turning incubator was the most feasible incubator for balut production than the conventional incubator. Key words: Hot spring incubator, conventional, manual, automatic, ducklings, economic analysis, balut.

This study confirms that lack of space due to high population density restricts household members and the barangay to comply with the existing law regarding composting. With these, community involvement in the design stage of compost bin as initial stage was done accordingly. The participants were voluntarily interviewed and were given questionnaires, which was endorsed and approved by barangay committee.

Currently, commercially available UAV Pesticide Sprayers in the Philippines are very expensive. Therefore, this study aimed to develop a locally made automated UAV Pesticide Sprayer for rice production system that is much cheaper than the current price in the market. Moreover, the One-liter Capacity UAV Pesticide Sprayer has an autopilot flight control system- allowing the pilot to fly the UAV without directly maneuvering the controls. Pixhawk 2 Cube and Arduino Uno were used as flight and spray controllers, respectively, while Mission Planner 1.3.68 was used as the UAV sprayer’s ground control station. The result from the UAV sprayer’s field performance test revealed that its effective field capacity was 750 m2 per 10 minutes, and its application rate was 3.2 liters per 1,000 m2 of the field. Meanwhile, it was observed that its battery’s life was too short to cover at least a tenth of a hectare. Nonetheless, it was found that relative to the tank capacity and field capacity of the UAV Pesticide Sprayer, the one that was developed in this study was the cheapest, compared to the current price of UAV Sprayers in the market.

© 2015 by the authors, licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This paper presents the findings of an expert working group of researchers from East Asian countries. The group was tasked with developing a theoretically sound and practically implementable methodology for assessing the sustainability of biomass utilisation in East Asian countries based on the needs and potential of biomass resources in this region. Building on six years of research conducted between 2007 and 2013, the working group formulated a set of main and secondary indicators for biomass utilisation under three pillars of sustainability. For the environmental pillar, the main indicator was life cycle greenhouse gas emissions and secondary indicators were water consumption and soil quality. For the economic pillar, the main indicator was total value added and secondary indicators were net profit, productivity, and net energy balance. For the social pillar, the main indicators were employment generation and access to modern energy, and the secondary indicator was the human development index. The application of the working group methodology and indicators in sustainability assessments of biomass utilisation will enable decision makers in East Asian countries to compare the sustainability of biomass utilisation options and to make decisions on whether or not to launch or sustain biomass utilisation initiatives.

This chapter aims to discuss the strengths and weaknesses of Low-Carbon Technology (LCT) from the perspective of Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) and its implications for regional cooperation. The chapter undertakes a Meta-Policy Analysis in order to determine the key LCTs that can significantly influence the INDC targets; determine if the transition to a low-carbon energy future by 2030 is economically feasible and viable under INDCs; and to determine how the regional and international cooperation could accelerate investments required for achieving the INDC targets.

A jatropha sheller was designed, fabricated, and optimized consisting of mainframe, rotary cylinder, stationary cylinder, transmission system powered by 1kW variable speed electric motor with feasibility of manual operation. Performance evaluation considered moisture content, clearance, and roller speed as independent parameters while the responses comprised of recovery, bulk density factor, shelling capacity, energy utilization of sheller, whole kernel recovery, oil recovery, and energy utilization by extruder. Moisture contents from 9.5 to 16.5%wb failed to affect the response variables. The clearance affected the response variables except energy utilization of the extruder. The roller speed affected shelling capacity, whole kernel recovery, and energy utilization of the extruder. Optimization of shelling and extrusion operations resulted in operating conditions of 9.5%wb moisture content, clearance of 6 mm, and a roller speed of 750 rpm with acceptable quality of shelled kernels.

In response to the importance of assessing both positive and negative impacts caused by biomass utilization for energy, number of initiatives in the world are currently working on development of criteria and indicators for sustainable biomass utilization. Although there is abundant biomass to be utilized in East Asia, it is difficult to say that countries in this region are at forefront of those initiatives. In this context, in order to provide a decision-making methodology to evaluate sustainability of biomass energy utilization in East Asia, the authors were formed as an expert working group in 2007 and since then has been conducting researches to assess its sustainability with the concept of triple bottom line; namely, environmental, economic and social aspects of sustainability. In addition to the development of a methodology and indicators for sustainability assessment for biomass energy utilization, we have field-tested the applicability of the methodology in selected four East Asian countries. This paper firstly explain the methodology the working group developed, secondly the results and lessons learned from the field-tests of the methodology, and thirdly the latest works based on those lessons, aiming at comprehensive assessment of the sustainability of biomass energy initiatives at small to large scale in East Asian countries.

The overall vision of the Philippine government is the reduced dependence on imported energy through environmentally desirable options such as the use of bioethanol. Sugarcane is considered to be tested and ready for bioethanol production. This paper presents the value addition from sugarcane production to processing into bioethanol as well as the prospects of the bioethanol industry in the Philippines. The total value added for the industry is the summation of all the value added in each enterprise such as personnel remuneration or the wages paid, taxes and duties earned by the government from the enterprises, depreciation and interest on investments, and the entrepreneur's net profit. Total value added (including the profits generated out of the by-products) of bioethanol production amounted to PhP82,716.79 (US$1,879.93)/ha production of sugarcane processed into bioethanol. Bioethanol production showed optimistic results in terms of employment created and government income through taxes. The total number of man-days required in the whole process from sugarcane production to ethanol production summed up to 130 man-day/ha/year. Tax revenues were estimated at PhP2,277 (US$51.76)/ha/year. The bioethanol industry has great potential of contributing to the reduction of the country's dependence on imported fossil fuel with due regard to the protection of public health and the environment, at the same time providing opportunities for livelihood for poverty alleviation and sustainable economic development and energy security.

This study assesses the sustainable energy potential from non-plantation biomass resources in the Philippines. Biomass resources considered for energy potential were agricultural residues and animal manure; fuelwood and charcoal that can be potentially released due to efficiency improvements, and substitution by other fuels; municipal solid wastes; and black liquor. The results show that by year 2010, the largest portion of the country's total energy potential will come from agricultural residues amounting to 431 Petajoules (PJ) or 44% of the total potential, followed by substitution, 253 PJ or 26% and then from efficiency improvement at 232 PJ or 24%. With 1990 as base year, the total energy potential is expected to be 28% higher in 2000 at 727 PJ, 45% higher in 2005 at 824 PJ, and 71% higher in 2010 at 969 PJ.

This study aims to estimate land availability for biomass production, identify and evaluate the biomass production options in terms of yield per hectare and financial viability, estimate sustainable biomass production for energy, and estimate the energy potential of biomass production in the Philippines. In estimating the area for biomass production, two land availability scenarios are considered, namely, Scenario 1 (S1) which assumes that there will be no increase in the area under permanent crops, arable lands, forest plantations and agroforestry (AF) lands by 2010 (with 1997 as the base year), and Scenario 2 (S2) which assumes that the total land area under permanent crops, arable lands, forest plantations and AF increases by about 10% by 2010. Three possible scenarios are used to account for the projected biomass demands by the year 2010, namely incremental biomass demand (IBD), sustainable biomass demand (SBD), and full biomass demand (FBD). Under IBD the surplus land for bioenergy plantation would be 1.94 and 1.16 Mha under S1 and S2, respectively. While under SBD, the remaining land for bioenergy plantation is 1.44 and 0.66 Mha under S1and S2, respectively. Because of the high value of biomass requirements, FBD cannot be applied in the country. Therefore under FBD, there will be no land available for bioenergy plantations. Three major forestry options are also considered for bioenergy production: short rotation forest plantation, long rotation forest plantation and AF. The total annual biomass production potential for energy in the country is in the range of 3.7– 20.37 Mt under the different scenarios and options. Assuming the energy content of wood is 15 GJ t −1 , energy potential of the produced biomass is 55.5 million to 305.6 million GJ. If 1 Mt of woody biomass can generate 1 TWh of electrical power, then the annual electricity generation potential also ranges from 3.7 to 20.37 TWh . The potential amount of electricity generated through bioenergy plantation would be from 3% to 22% of the country's projected electricity demand by the year 2008. Barriers and policy options for biomass production for energy are also discussed.

This study aims to analyse the policies pertaining to and the barriers to the commercialisation of biomass energy technologies in the Philippines and to devise suitable policy measures to overcome these barriers. The barriers are categorised into five different types: market and finance-related barriers, technological barriers, information dissemination-related barriers, policy barriers and institutional barriers. In order to overcome the barriers to the commercialisation of biomass energy technologies (BETs), the following policy measures are proposed: development of appropriate financing packages; information on available BETs and financing packages; development of local competence; development of market awareness and acceptance; technology assessment and technical capability-building; formulation and enforcement of quality standards; information and education campaign; revision of rules and regulations on project accreditation requirements; and development of appropriate fiscal incentives. Moreover, an integrated approach on the part of the government is required. The government needs to foster the active participation of the private sector, especially in the development and implementation of BET projects. It needs to formulate and implement policies and programmes supporting the market of BET products to attract the private sector. A well-developed market is the key to long-term sustainability, as it encourages private entities to venture on commercially viable projects.

In order to provide decision-making methodology to evaluate sustainability of biomass utilisation in East Asian context, an expert working group has been formed since 2007 and has been conducting researches to assess the sustainability of biomass utilisation with the concept of triple bottom line focusing on environmental, economic and social pillars of sustainability. Based upon the methodology developed in 2008, the WG had conducted four pilot studies in India, Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines in 2010 to field-test the methodology developed and investigate the sustainability of various feedstocks utilisation for biomass energy. This paper aims at introducing the sustainability assessment methodology the WG developed and addressing experiences and lessons learned through the pilot studies.