[ad_1]
This project has aroused the interest of international personalities such as the former Energy Minister of Indonesia
This project has aroused the interest of international personalities such as the former Energy Minister of Indonesia, who wanted to buy the invention; However, they refused because "this invention is made by and for Mexicans," says Rogelio.
According to data from the National Consumer Price Index, in June 2008, Magna gasoline had an approximate price of 7.17 pesos and in June this year it cost 18.58 pesos; that is, in 10 years, its cost has increased by 156%. If today began to use the ecological essence of Rogelio and Miguel, the increase in 2008 so far would be only 36%.
Despite visibility abroad and in the 2013-2018 National Plan it is proposed "to help improve air quality and reduce greenhouse gas emissions through more efficient fuels ", Rogelio and Miguel received support from the federal government once every ten years. Even so, the partners are about to open to the public Nopalimex, their biogas distribution plant.
"We use a Mexican cactus to replace the use of a polluting substance, at the same time that it benefits the economy," says Rogelio. In 2013, the Mexican Institute of Competitiveness estimated that in 2018 there would be 37,000 488 premature deaths and a cumulative economic loss of 20 million 300,000 pesos caused by air pollution generated by cars.
Organic energies: crazy
"This is not possible, I will not evaluate it," he told his colleague Miguel Aké when he presented his thesis on unconventional energies. It was in 1982 and President José López Portillo had a speech that focused on abundance and made oil the basis of the Mexican economy and energy .
"That year, they called me crazy because López Portillo had announced that we were living in wealth because we swam in oil, so talking about renewable energy was crazy "recalls Miguel.
He continued to experiment with organic products such as corn, barley and sugar cane; nevertheless, in the nopal he found a high energy content. I just needed a partner who trusted the project.
Rogelio is of peasant origin. When he was young and worked long hours in the sun, he wondered if there was not another activity that he could do on the ground. Before founding Nopalimex, he worked with corn and tortillas; But when gas and gas prices went up, his economy was affected.
"Throw your guavas to plant nopales", said Miguel to Rogelio, who had a plantation of this fruit. At first, Rogelio had doubts, but finally accepted and risked all his assets. "Ask him if he repents today," jokes Miguel.
Since they met by a mutual friend, Miguel told Rogelio that it was possible to produce energy capable of replacing the liquefied petroleum gas from the cactus. However, Sosa López has not yielded so easily, but comments "he convinced me because there were a lot of guavas and that no one was ready to innovate, they wanted to different results but it is not possible if the same thing is done ".
Risking all his possessions was not a mere decision, but he was encouraged because he claims to not understand people who have money and prefer to accumulate it before d & rsquo; Invest in something positive. "I'm not afraid of being poor, the worst is over, my children have economic stability, I became a father, and the rest I want to use to leave a good impact on the Mexican population", explains Rogelio.
Based on the trial: trial and error, they created a variety of cactus from the pollination of 150 different species, with what they can harvest 600 to 800 tons per hectare, when the average is between 200 and 800. That is, the production of Nopalimex is very profitable, in addition to not affect the food of Mexicans as it is not a variety intended for consumption.
"Initially, the objective was to produce nopal gas so as not to burn liquefied petroleum gas because it is highly polluting and reduces costs so that we always have a standard price." We realized that we had achieved this goal. the beginning of so many benefits that the cactus has, "says Rogelio.
Isis Romero Ibarra, Ph.D. in Chemical Sciences, confirms that "it is very important to add value to a national product, given that Mexico is one of the major producers cactus, it has a great advantage in exploiting this resource. "
Battle for the patent
When Miguel entered the laboratory of Technological University of North Aguascalientes, he noticed that he was facing an identical replica of the plant that he and Rogelio had built in Zitácuaro.
Three years ago, one of his employees borrowed the truck to work in Aguascalientes: he took the prototypes and sold them to Cruz Azul. In 2012, Nopalimex and the cement factory fought for the patent.
In 2013, the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Social Development, Fisheries and Food (Sagarpa) accompanied them for the equipment of the l & # 39; 39, biogas plant, only support that they received from the federal government. Two years later, the Governor of Michoacán gave them less money to test the operation of biogas in cars, but later there was no collaboration.
In 2015, the Mexican Institute of Industrial Property (IMPI) informed them that it would not give them the patent because their proposal had no technological breakthroughs. To refute the decision, Miguel and the engineer José Luis Arvizú, a researcher at the National Institute of Electricity and Clean Energy (INEEL), analyzed the report point by point and showed that the Innovation is to produce energy only with cacti.
In order for Nopalimex to obtain the patent, it has been taken into account that it emits no pollutants at any time of its production, that is why it is ecological, that the peasants carry out a patent. decent work without having to emigrate and that "the economy remains in place of origin, not like wind and solar energy as foreign teams come to Mexico, use our resources, take the l & # 39; money and here there is only a shortage, "explains Rogelio.
Although the federal government did not follow them, the same year they received the labor award from the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection in the agricultural sector for engineering applied to the production of biogas .
Ottmar Reyes, a doctor of chemical sciences, says that despite the road traveled, the transition from conventional gasoline to biofuels "will not happen overnight because the automotive industry must adapt its designs to that cars can biofuel and that's something that will take time. "
Production completely clean
A hundred or so nopales, regardless of their size or condition, are brought to the mill for grinding, thus the process of biogas begins. Subsequently, the mixture is transferred to a fermentation tank where bacteria and microorganisms break down the cactus in the absence of oxygen, generating methane.
When the partners started the project, the first results showed that the gas contained harmful substances, to clean it, they requested the help of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization ( UNIDO). Ramiro Magaña, national coordinator of the same, sent to Vienna the samples of the product and the data showed that he had a large amount of biomass, material able to turn into fuel.
Both contacted Dr. Jorge Huacuz Villamar, INEEL's Director of Unconventional Energies, who visited the factory with disbelief because the Institute's researchers had worked without success on the same project as Miguel and Rogelio. "At first, he told us that it was not possible, we showed him the tests, he was convinced and he told us," We should have done it for 20 years and you've got it already, "says Miguel.
The institute helped them to perfect the cleaning technique in which they remove sulfuric acid, highly corrosive and other harmful substances. They signed an agreement with INEEL to use their data and experiences, apply them to the plant and develop biogas that replaces traditional gasoline.
"Moving to the cleanest and most renewable energies is very important, given the fact that we have always been dependent on oil, although the amount of renewable energy used today is very small. we are entering the field of biomass "explains Dr. Isis Romero, researcher and professor at the National Polytechnic Institute.
Now, Rogelio and Miguel perform the purification in three filters in which the hydrogen sulfide, carbon dioxide and other harmful substances are extracted for the mechanism of the car and the environment At this point, nopal gas can already replace LPG. In order to achieve the replacement of gasoline, it is still necessary to dry the biogas to remove the moisture and then compress it, after which it can be loaded into the vehicle's tank.
Members tested nopal-based gasoline in a Chevrolet 98 with the intention of demonstrating that, no matter what car you have, the general population can have access to this invention. "When the car was pointed at the audit center, she could not read anything because she was measuring the polluting waste, but when the biogas comes out, it's practically clean, so the audit center could not read it, "says Miguel.
Water and sediments from fermentation are reused to take full advantage of the properties of the cactus. The first leaves the tank with a high nitrogen content, which is beneficial for the plants, for this reason Nopalimex workers use water as organic fertilizer in the same plantation and with the sediment a compost is created which produces an organic fertilizer.
"To open the factory to the general public, we do not need customers, because the inhabitants of Zitácuaro already ask Rogelio for the inauguration, we need investors who support this powerful and innovative project for Mexican society "concludes Miguel.
Source link
