May 2, 2012
Korea's KIST launches Indonesia's bio-ethanol plant
In order to produce bio-ethanol using inedible resources, the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) is set to hold the building completion ceremony of a pilot plant on Tuesday (May 1) at the Research Centre for Chemistry under the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI).
The plant will use the next generation bio-ethanol technology that has yet to be commercialised. The existing first generation technology has been used to produce ethanol using edible resources such as sugar cane and corn. The plant will apply the new technology to producing fuel ethanol using agricultural waste such as coconut peel, instead of food.
If it is verified that the technology can produce ethanol from inedible materials, the KIST will expand the plant to produce 20,000-30,000 litres per day, and commercialise the technology. The new scientific capability is being praised as a success case of the government's green growth policy in that it has laid out a model responding successfully to reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in cooperation with a developing country.
Indonesia, the world's largest producer of palm oil, the raw material for bio-diesel and an owner of the world's second largest tropical forests, is highly interested in developing national bio-energy. The plant construction is an official development assistance (ODA) project to provide sustainable technology support. It has been carried out as part of the East Asian Climate Partnership project executed by the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA).