Evaluation of Potential Raw Material for Industrial Scale Bioethanol Production in Indonesia.

Fossil fuel reserve becomes lower each day, while energy demand keeps increasing. For a developing country like Indonesia, careful planning to reduce the tendency of fossil fuel usage is critical. This brings an advancement in the usage and technology of biofuels in Indonesia. One important type of biofuels which consumption keeps increasing each year in Indonesia is bioethanol. With its tropical climate and huge land area, Indonesia has great potential of biomass to produce bioethanol. However, this potential cannot be fully utilized because of large area requirements for infrastructure, settlement, industry and food. Current biomass that is used as raw material to produce bioethanol in Indonesia is usually from crops like corn, sugarcane or cassava. Those plants could be used as bioethanol production, but their usage is also important in food sector. Another potential raw material is napier grass (Pennisetum purpureum) which bioethanol production is reportedly high and its usage do not compete with food availability. An evaluation of each potential raw materials for industrial scale bioethanol production is important to ensure Indonesia's energy security and decreasing the tendency of fossil fuel usage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]