Japanese firm to produce ethanol from tropical sago palm
Japan-based Necfer Corp. (New Century Fermentation Research Ltd.) plans to build a demonstration plant in Malaysia to manufacture bioethanol from sago palm trees — possibly the first such endeavor in the world. Sago is a highly efficient energy crop, producing large amounts of starch and yielding more ethanol per hectare than any other currently grown biofuel crop. Necfer has developed its own dedicated fermentation technology to convert the resource into biofuel.
The true sago palm (Metroxylon sagu) has been described as mankind's oldest food plant with the starch contained in the trunk used as a staple food in southeast Asia (earlier post). Traditionally, hunter-gatherers use a complex and labor-intensive process of felling the tree, splitting it open, removing the starch and cleaning out its poisonous substances, after which it is ready to be consumed (picture, click to enlarge). The carbohydrate itself is very nutritious and some of us may have even tasted it because some modern starch products (tapioca flour) are made from it. As these sago-growing hunter-gatherers migrate to the cities, they abandon their healthy starch-rich diet and choose for fat and sugar food habits that don't differ much from ours.
But the sago palm remains, in the wild. The International Plant Genetic Resources Institute (IPGRI), which strives towards diversifying the world's agricultural crop base and maximizing the potential of less known plant species, considers the palm to be a typical 'underutilized' crop. It published an easily accessible but comprehensive study about sago [*.pdf], in its series about "neglected and underutilized species". The study shows the potential of the crop, where and how it is currently used, which barriers there are to increasing its use, and which environmental problems could be associated with its cultivation.
One of the potential uses of the sago palm's starch is renewable bulk chemicals, biopolymers (previous post) and ethanol. Throughout its lifecyle, the tree with its very high photosynthetic ability accumulates large amounts of starch in its trunk, reaching a maximum when it is about 15 years old, right before its (single) inflorescence occurs. In the wild, around 5 tonnes of starch per hectare can be harvested, but plantations show yields of up to 30 tons per year.
Necfer aims to harvest on average 15-20 tons of starch per hectare per year, equatating to around 8,000 to 10,000 liters of ethanol per hectare - more than any other current biofuel system is capable of, including sugarcane. Sago starch is of such a quality that ethanol conversion efficiencies of up to 72% can be obtained (for hydrated ethanol). It is thus one of the most productive energy crops suitable for liquid fuels. Add that residual biomass can be used as a feedstock for the production of power and heat.
Necfer was founded by Ayaaki Ishizaki, professor emeritus of Kyushu University, and uses the “Ishizaki process” — a fermentation process based on the bacterium Zymomonas. According to Necfer, Zymomonas is a bacterium with a much higher growth and fermentation rate than yeast:
energy :: sustainability :: biomass :: bioenergy :: biofuels :: ethanol :: sago :: starch :: Malaysia ::
It is not clear whether Necfer's venture will evolve around a new sago plantation, but one thing is certain: the crop suffers from a lack of research and development, most notably in crop improvement, phytopathology and plantation management techniques. Despite yearly symposia on sago, the palm has a long way to go before it will be used on a large scale.
Here and there, things are moving, though. The Malaysian government has started a 50,000 hectare plantation with sago palms in Sarawak, and considers it to be a crop with large potential for the development of a biofuels industry. Sago is set to become the second pillar of Malaysia's bioenergy program [*.pdf].
The crop grows in a select type of humid low-land forest, especially in Papua New Guinea, Malaysia and Indonesia. Its large-scale cultivation would almost certainly involve deforestation, leading to sustainability problems.
Picture 1: sago palm logs ready to be processed at a large mill in Sarawak, Borneo, Malaysia. Courtesy: Pelita, Malaysian Land Custody and Development Authority, Sago Development website.
Picture 2: people in Papua New Guinea using the traditional technique to harvest and clean sago starch.
References:
Kyodo: Venture firm to build sago bioethanol plant in Malaysia - January 24, 2007.
Michiel Flach, Sago palm, Metroxylon sagu Rottb. [*.pdf] Promoting the conservation and use of underutilized and neglected crops. 13. IPGRI International Plant Genetic Resources Institute.
Biopact: Sago, an interesting but underutilized ethanol crop - June 25, 2006
Biopact: Notes on biopolymers in the Global South - March 11, 2007
The true sago palm (Metroxylon sagu) has been described as mankind's oldest food plant with the starch contained in the trunk used as a staple food in southeast Asia (earlier post). Traditionally, hunter-gatherers use a complex and labor-intensive process of felling the tree, splitting it open, removing the starch and cleaning out its poisonous substances, after which it is ready to be consumed (picture, click to enlarge). The carbohydrate itself is very nutritious and some of us may have even tasted it because some modern starch products (tapioca flour) are made from it. As these sago-growing hunter-gatherers migrate to the cities, they abandon their healthy starch-rich diet and choose for fat and sugar food habits that don't differ much from ours.
But the sago palm remains, in the wild. The International Plant Genetic Resources Institute (IPGRI), which strives towards diversifying the world's agricultural crop base and maximizing the potential of less known plant species, considers the palm to be a typical 'underutilized' crop. It published an easily accessible but comprehensive study about sago [*.pdf], in its series about "neglected and underutilized species". The study shows the potential of the crop, where and how it is currently used, which barriers there are to increasing its use, and which environmental problems could be associated with its cultivation.
One of the potential uses of the sago palm's starch is renewable bulk chemicals, biopolymers (previous post) and ethanol. Throughout its lifecyle, the tree with its very high photosynthetic ability accumulates large amounts of starch in its trunk, reaching a maximum when it is about 15 years old, right before its (single) inflorescence occurs. In the wild, around 5 tonnes of starch per hectare can be harvested, but plantations show yields of up to 30 tons per year.
Necfer aims to harvest on average 15-20 tons of starch per hectare per year, equatating to around 8,000 to 10,000 liters of ethanol per hectare - more than any other current biofuel system is capable of, including sugarcane. Sago starch is of such a quality that ethanol conversion efficiencies of up to 72% can be obtained (for hydrated ethanol). It is thus one of the most productive energy crops suitable for liquid fuels. Add that residual biomass can be used as a feedstock for the production of power and heat.
Necfer was founded by Ayaaki Ishizaki, professor emeritus of Kyushu University, and uses the “Ishizaki process” — a fermentation process based on the bacterium Zymomonas. According to Necfer, Zymomonas is a bacterium with a much higher growth and fermentation rate than yeast:
energy :: sustainability :: biomass :: bioenergy :: biofuels :: ethanol :: sago :: starch :: Malaysia ::
It is not clear whether Necfer's venture will evolve around a new sago plantation, but one thing is certain: the crop suffers from a lack of research and development, most notably in crop improvement, phytopathology and plantation management techniques. Despite yearly symposia on sago, the palm has a long way to go before it will be used on a large scale.
Here and there, things are moving, though. The Malaysian government has started a 50,000 hectare plantation with sago palms in Sarawak, and considers it to be a crop with large potential for the development of a biofuels industry. Sago is set to become the second pillar of Malaysia's bioenergy program [*.pdf].
The crop grows in a select type of humid low-land forest, especially in Papua New Guinea, Malaysia and Indonesia. Its large-scale cultivation would almost certainly involve deforestation, leading to sustainability problems.
Picture 1: sago palm logs ready to be processed at a large mill in Sarawak, Borneo, Malaysia. Courtesy: Pelita, Malaysian Land Custody and Development Authority, Sago Development website.
Picture 2: people in Papua New Guinea using the traditional technique to harvest and clean sago starch.
References:
Kyodo: Venture firm to build sago bioethanol plant in Malaysia - January 24, 2007.
Michiel Flach, Sago palm, Metroxylon sagu Rottb. [*.pdf] Promoting the conservation and use of underutilized and neglected crops. 13. IPGRI International Plant Genetic Resources Institute.
Biopact: Sago, an interesting but underutilized ethanol crop - June 25, 2006
Biopact: Notes on biopolymers in the Global South - March 11, 2007
4 Comments:
Sago is NOT a staple food in southeast Asia; is IS a staple food in the Pacific island of Papua. Already subject to several other programs design to eliminate the Melanesian people (see Yale Law School report "Indonesian Human Rights Abuses in West Papua: Application of the Law of Genocide to the History of Indonesian Control"
The Necfer Corp. plan would simply accelerate this genocide.
But Andrew, Necfer is investing in Malaysia. Is it driving a genocide there too? Apparently not, because as you say, the Malay don't see sago as a staple food. Sago has become an industrial crop there.
Thank you for referencing one of our publications, but please note that the name of the organization is now Bioversity International (not IPGRI) with web site at http://www.bioversityinternational.org/
Tepung sagu is used as flour although the demand might not be high now. Sago is also used as dedak or animal feed for poultry and other animals.
I am very sure exploitation of sago will lead to collision with the economy of the poor rural people.
Now with foodstuff getting expensive it is better to convert sago to food...not biofuel
It has always been a bad practice in fermentation technology when the raw materials is food for the people. Ishizaki should know when he worked with Aji No Moto the number of times alternative source for carbohydrates the company is scouring. But at least Aji No Moto produces food
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