Need Strategy for Developing Nyamplung as Biofuel: Ministry

by Sanya S and Kenzu T (ANTARA) A special strategy is necessary for developing biofuel from nyamplung tree oil, a researcher from the biotechnology and forest plant breeding center of the Ministry of Environment and Forestry, Budi Leksono, has said.

Currently, oil from the nyamplung tree, also known as tamanu, is mostly used in cosmetics and drugs, he noted. Nyamplung oil has even been exported to some countries, he pointed out.

Although the oil for cosmetics and medicinal ingredients is priced up to Rp350 thousand per liter, the market for cosmetics containing tamanu is still very small, he said.

"The cosmetics market is at the top of the nyamplung market triangle, so the number (demand) is limited," Leksono said at a webinar entitled 'Not Only Palm Oil, Indonesia is Rich in Various Biofuels' here on Wednesday.

The position of nyamplung market for biofuel or BBN is below the triangle, he informed.

To turn nyamplung into biofuel, the government must build a strategy for developing the oil so that its price is cheaper than petroleum fuel, Leksono said. This will ensure biofuels are not only obtained from palm oil, he added. READ MORE

Excerpt from ANTARA: "It does not mean that tamanu will compete with palm oil. Palm oil is very much ready to be (used as) biodiesel with industry-scale process, even for export," Leksono noted at a webinar observed from here on Wednesday.

If developed further, tamanu oil could substitute palm oil as a biofuel, he added.

This substitution is necessary since palm oil distribution was halted due to global concerns, such as how biofuel cannot be in the form of edible oil, he said.

Tamanu trees could be cultivated in remote regions, which could prove useful since biofuel made from palm oil cannot be distributed to those areas, he added.

"Indonesia is a very rich tropical country. If tamanu oil is not utilized, then the cost of biofuel in Indonesia could rise further," the researcher said.

The tree also has a high non-edible oil yield of 30–80 percent. The method of processing tamanu oil has already been mastered by researchers and local residents, he pointed out.

"The use of tamanu oil industry waste is already known, and also its cultivation technique," Leksono said.

"Right now, there are no superior seeds with high productivity yet. This is what should be prepared in order to develop an industry based on tamanu," he affirmed.

Currently, the ministry is conducting research on extracting tamanu oil from 12 tree populations that are spread out over eight Indonesian islands, he added.

The researcher said he expects the research to become the basis for the government's policy in the future. The government is also expected to start using algae as biofuel, he noted. READ MORE