Khairul Saleh, The Jakarta Post, Palembang, South Sumatra
For one couple, four years of research and experiments have come to fruition, with very positive results.
Djoni Bustan, who has a PhD in mechanical engineering, and his wife Sri Haryati, have created a number of different kinds of biofuels from crude palm oil (CPO), sugarcane residue, coal and castor seeds -- with coal and CPO-based fuel in the trial stage.
Their series of experiments with CPO produced the general types of fuel needed like bio-gasoline, bio-kerosene and biodiesel, through three reactors, which are capable of converting triglycerides into a paraffin, olefin, naphtene and aromatic (PONA) compound.
The quality of Djoni's biofuel is higher than market products (of state oil and gas firm Pertamina), with various advantages.
The process of manufacturing biodiesel using renewable resources generally requires a single-step transesterification reaction.
But the biofuel is not immediately ready for use.
Djoni's biodiesel is ready for use, with physical properties resembling those of Pertamina's diesel oil, because his machines can change CPO into PONA.
This biodiesel also has higher aromatic and octane numbers than Pertamina diesel.
"Now we are only making improvements, such as in combustion stability, through our demo plant," Djoni said.
"Combustion trials have shown that our fuel burns faster than market products."
Previous laboratory tests and the current pilot plant experiments have shown his biofuel is a promising but costly alternative fuel.
The completion of this demo-plant phase will take a maximum period of six months and require more funds.
The economic side of this innovation can be ascertained only after the present demo stage, with mass production to follow.
"The problem is that the local CPO price is unstable. The government should aim to bring down the price of renewable energy," he said.
Djoni is chairman of the South Sumatra Council of Experts and said he was optimistic once biofuel is widely marketed, it will buffer the fuel supply and the nation will be independent in the field of energy.
He said biofuel should be produced in rural areas, where the raw materials are produced, before being delivered to cities. Though investors are interested in biofuel production, the unstable price of CPO has prompted most of them to cancel or postpone their plans.
Djoni said if the central government and the oil palm business association could not control the price of CPO, any attempt to manufacture biofuel from CPO would be futile, because of its uncompetitive price.
Gasoline is now priced at Rp 4,500 per liter compared to Rp 7,000 for CPO.
"With the CPO price uncertainty today, investors' CPO-based fuel production schemes will not materialize," he said.
While anticipating favorable policies, Djoni said he hoped the South Sumatra provincial administration would issue a regional bylaw requiring oil palm estate companies to build biofuel plants on their plantations.
"It would be an unusual policy, but the central government in fact has not made such a rule yet," he said.
The couple continues to conduct trials and explore the possibility of cooperation with estates.
In Djoni's view, estate firms will suffer no losses with the presence of biofuel plants because their estates and CPO-based fuel processing units are integrated.
"Ideally, the plants become one with the estate environment so that plantation waste can be utilized and the distribution of fuel products will meet the demand of local people as well.
"If this happens, villages will likely develop into centers of energy sources," Djoni said.
He said he is registering his novel products for intellectual property rights.
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