THE Korean discoverer of “green bio-energy” will visit Bohol next week to scout for areas suitable for the massive production of red algae. Gov. Erico Aumentado said he met Dr. Gyung Soo Kim, Ph.D., chief executive officer (CEO) of Biol Systems Co., Inc. and principal researcher for the Green Process Research and Development Department of the Korean Institute of Industrial Technology (Kitech) in Seoul during his visit to South Korea on May 30 and 31 as part of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's delegation. Korean Ambassador to the Philippines Joong-Kyung Choi who visited Bohol only a week earlier joined Kim in the meeting.

Aumentado said for green bio-energy production to be profitable, Kim needs a minimum of 10,000 hectares planted to the variety identified to grow abundantly in the Philippines – the cottonii species. The governor has alerted Provincial Agriculturist Liza Quirog and her staff on Kim's visit and instructed her to delineate the areas in Bohol suitable to red algae culture. He expects Kim to give Quirog his requirements on top of the minimum area during the scientist's visit slated this Sunday and Monday. Tourism and agriculture are Bohol 's major economic drivers. As such, Aumentado promotes them especially in his travels abroad including the latest trip with the President to Seoul and Jeju Island also in South Korea , then to Moscow and St. Petersburg in Russia .

Red algae compared

Kim is bullish for red algae compared to crops or wood. Crops, harvested once or twice a year, may compete with the need for food and drive prices up. Crops have carbon dioxide fixation ability (CO2 FA) of 5.1 tons per hectare (tph), and on top of sunlight and CO2, need water, land and fertilizer to grow. Wood, harvested once in eight years, has CO2 FA of only 4.6 tph, needs lignin removal in the manufacturing process. Unabated harvesting may result to forest damage. It has the same needs as crops to grow. On the other hand, red algae can be harvested four to five times a year, has high CO2 FA at 36.7 tph, has no lignin, no disadvantage to other food or the forest, and needs seawater only on top of sunlight and CO2 to grow. Unlike sugar, starch or wood, algae feedstock does not need to undergo grinding, the dry mill or lignin removal. It goes direct to saccharification, then fermentation and produces bio-ethanol already. Kim's research aims for a world “free from fossil fuel” as his company's motto states. Bio energy which is 100 percent recycled energy reduces or eliminates the high demand for fossil fuel, high oil price, energy security risk, environmental pollution, global warming and melting iceberg, he adds.

Investment prospects

In Seoul, Aumentado also talked economics and campaigned for investments in the Philippines among personalities like Dr. Dongsoo Kim, Ph.D., chair and president of the Korea Export-Import Bank; Jun-Sik Yoon, senior secretary to the President of Korea for economic affairs and Edward Eun-Gap Chang, president of the Korean Chamber of Commerce Philippines. In-Sik Kim, reporter for the economy policy desk of the Korea Economic Daily covered the talks.