House Commission VI Proposes PTPN Develop Sorghum-Based Bioethanol

Jakarta (ANTARA) - Member of House Commission VI Ida Nurlaela has proposed that PT Perkebunan Nusantara (PTPN) consider developing sorghum-based bioethanol as an alternative for downstream food and energy processing, in addition to cassava and corn. “We, in West Java, have a lot of land that may be unproductive and could be developed, among other things, for sorghum. Perhaps this could be an input for PTPN,” Ida said during a hearing between PTPN III and its sub-holdings with House Commission VI at the Parliament Complex in Senayan, Jakarta, on Monday. She explained that sorghum has the potential to be developed on land that is dry, hot, and located in lowland areas below 400 metres above sea level, such as in Pangandaran and several other areas in West Java. She noted that based on academic research, processing sorghum into bioethanol also yields economically valuable derivative products. Waste from sorghum seed production can be used as organic fertiliser, while the bagasse from sap extraction has potential as biomass for co-firing with coal in steam power plants. She therefore encouraged PTPN, particularly through PalmCo, to study the use of sorghum as a raw material for bioethanol. In addition to supporting the diversification of renewable energy feedstocks, sorghum cultivation is considered capable of optimising the use of less productive land without disrupting main food commodities. “Perhaps PTPN has the desire to carry out this process, not only relying on cassava or corn for bioethanol, but sorghum is also a material that can be used for bioethanol and there is sufficient land that can be used on unproductive land,” Ida said. PTPN’s downstream food and energy processing for industrial development has so far used palm oil, sugar cane, cassava, and corn to produce bioethanol. However, there are still problems with inadequate sugar factories and sugar cane farmers facing difficulties selling their harvests, leading to a build-up of sugar stocks. This proposal is expected to be an alternative for diversifying bioethanol processing materials that could provide a greater economic impact on other commodities, such as sorghum which can be developed in the West Java region.