新加坡用棕閭油生產燃料

Recently the NHK News reported the following:
原油相場が高騰するなか、石油の代替燃料として注目されるバイオディーゼルを作る世界最大規模の工場がシンガポールに完成し、８日、記念式典が開かれました。
シンガポールに出来た工場は、フィンランドの石油会社が６３０億円を投資して建設したもので、アブラヤシからとれるパーム油を主な原料として年間８０万トンのバイオディーゼルを生産でき、バイオディーゼルの工場としては世界最大規模となります。バイオディーゼルは地球温暖化対策につながるとして、欧米を中心に需要が急増しており、シンガポール工場で作る燃料もヨーロッパに輸出されます。一方、アジアでもガソリンの代替や産業振興策として、バイオディーゼルの利用が進められていますが、原料のパーム油は調理用の安価な油として広く家庭でも使われていることから、燃料の材料とすることに疑問の声も根強くあります。特に最近はバイオディーゼル向けの需要が増えて、タイなど一部の国ではパーム油の値上がりや品不足が深刻になっており、シンガポールの巨大工場の完成を受けて、今後、バイオディーゼルの原料を巡って、改めて議論を呼ぶことになりそうです。

(試譯)
As the market price of crude oil was soaring, the world's largest scale factory of bio diesel was completed in Singapore, and as an alternate fuel it was given attention; the commemorative ceremony was held on the 8th.
The factory established in Singapore was the investment of an oil company in Finland that had invested 63 billion yen to construct; it could produce 800,000 tons of bio diesel a year using palm oil taken from the palm as the main raw material, and this factory of bio diesel became the world's largest in scale. As for the bio diesel, it was assumed that it had connections with measures to control global warming, and its demand had increased rapidly in Europe and America, and the fuel made in this Singapore factory would be exported to Europe. On the other hand, on the advance of bio diesel as gasoline substitution and as the plan to promote industry in Asia, there were deep rooted voice of doubt over the use of palm oil as the raw material for burning fuel, because it was widely used as cheap cooking oil in homes. Especially, with the demand for bio diesel was increasing recently, and in some parts of the country such as Thailand the price hike and the shortage of palm oil were serious, the completion of a huge factory in Singapore would likely re-start the discussion over the use of raw material for the bio diesel.

Whether agricultural food product should be used as the raw material to produce fuel is always a topic for argument.