Gasohol BE 10, a fuel substitute from cassava<\/p>\n
The nation's fuel crisis has made many aware of the urgent need
\nfor Indonesia to seek alternative fuel sources to prevent such
\nproblems from reoccurring. One fuel mix that would economize the
\nuse of gasoline and is also more environmentally friendly than
\ntraditional mixes is Gasohol BE 10. Oyos Saroso, The Jakarta Post
\nstringer in Bandarlampung, writes the first of two articles about
\ngasohol.<\/p>\n
Eko Winarto can still smile despite the shortage of Premium
\ngasoline in Central Lampung, not because he still has an ample
\nsupply of the fuel, but because his old motorbike, a 1980 Honda,
\ncan accelerate faster on a new Premium-saving mix, gasohol.<\/p>\n
Eko says the bike's exhaust pipe produces less noise and the
\nmotorbike feels more responsive -- like it wants to run away on
\nhim.<\/p>\n
\"The engine no longer stalls. The carburetor is always clean
\nand entirely free from traces of dirt and water sediments. And
\nthe most important thing is -- it accelerates quicker,\" Eko told
\nThe Jakarta Post, grinning.<\/p>\n
Eko is an employee at the technical and engineering division
\nof the Starch Research Center under the auspices of the Agency
\nfor the Assessment and the Application of Technology (BPPT),
\nlocated in Sulusuban, Terbanggi Besar, about 250 kilometers north
\nof Bandarlampung.<\/p>\n
The supervisor of a pilot project on the use of cassava as an
\nalternative source for bioethanol, Eko's motorbike not only takes
\nhim to work every day -- it is part of his work. Several
\ncolleagues, including Lampung BPPT head Agus Eko Tjahjono also
\nuse the fuel they produce to run their vehicles.<\/p>\n
The production of Gasohol BE 10, a fuel additive\/substitute,
\nis a relatively simple process. The cassava plant is first peeled
\nwith a machine and then processed until the organic mix reaches
\nan alcohol level of 96 percent -- equivalent to bioethanol grade
\nfuel.<\/p>\n
It is then blended with Premium gasoline at a ratio of 10:90
\n-- hence its name bioethanol gasohol, or Gasohol BE 10.<\/p>\n
As an additive agent, gasohol can be mixed with gasoline to a
\nratio of 20:80 without having to modify the engines of most
\nvehicles. Trials have shown that gasohol contains more oxygen,
\nwhich makes engine combustion more complete, and creates less
\ncarbon emissions, making it more eco-friendly than other mixes.<\/p>\n
Agus, a fermentation technology expert who graduated from
\nJapan's Hiroshima University in 1994, said the bioenergy fuels
\nproduced by BBTP Lampung were superior to regular gasoline or the
\nPertamax currently on the market.<\/p>\n
\"My car engine has never stalled after using gasohol. It
\naccelerates faster, runs smoothly and its emission level is low,
\nbecause Gasohol BE 10 emits less carbon monoxide and hydrocarbon
\ncompared to gasoline,\" he said.<\/p>\n
State Minister of Research and Technology Kusmayanto Kadiman's
\ndriver once tried out the gasohol in the minister's car. At first
\nhe thought the 2000 Opel Blazer had been reconditioned, Agus
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
As gasohol is still in the trial stages, only a select few are
\nusing it, with Kusmayanto filling his white Land Rover Discovery
\nwith the fuel since Jan. 27; the day it was made public at the
\nCentral BPPT in Jakarta.<\/p>\n
While the additive is slowly gaining acceptance here, the idea
\nfor it has been around for a long time. The project in Lampung
\nwas first established in 1983, with the processing equipment and
\nthe 200-hectare facility on a 2,000-ha plot of land in Sulusuban
\nfunded by the Japanese government.<\/p>\n
The project sees BPPT researchers working together with the
\narea's residents, who help grow the cassava crop. The BPPT also
\nhas about 1,000 ha of agency-managed cassava and corn
\nplantations.<\/p>\n
The project was ceased in the mid-1986s when oil prices
\nplunged drastically to around US$10.00 a barrel, making fuel-
\nsaving substitutes uneconomic to produce.<\/p>\n
It was revived in 2002 as the nation's oil production capacity
\ndropped and domestic fuel consumption began to surge.<\/p>\n
\"When local fuel production drops and the total consumption of
\nfuel increases, whether we like it or not, we have to turn to
\nbioethanol,\" Agus said.<\/p>\n
\"We will continue to encourage the public to use gasohol, we
\nwill ensure it meets government standards and we hope to
\ndistribute it on the market.\"<\/p>\n
Agus said gasohol would reduce processed oil imports
\nsignificantly if it was sold on the market, and could mean
\nIndonesia would no longer need to import extra fuel to meet
\ndomestic demand.<\/p>\n
Lampung BPPT ethanol and derivative technology division head
\nArif Yudiarto said recent trials with a Toyota Kijang van
\ntraveling at an average speed of 80 km\/h proved that the quality
\nof Gasohol BE 10 surpassed that of Premium and Pertamax brands.<\/p>\n
\"Ethanol contains 35 percent oxygen, and it can replace methyl
\ntertiary butyl ether. Ethanol can easily dissolve in water and
\nthis doesn't cause water pollution unlike pure gasoline, which
\nhas higher levels of toxic gases, such as carbon and aromatic
\nagents. Gasoline, meanwhile, is not water-soluble and causes more
\npollution,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Gasohol has long been used in the United States, Canada,
\nIndia, Thailand, China, the Philippines and Japan, where it is
\nmixed 10:90 with regular gasoline. Brazil is the only country
\nthat uses a 20:80 split.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/gasohol-be-10-a-fuel-substitute-from-cassava-1447899208",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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