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Innovative Bio-production in Indonesia (iBioI): Integrated Bio-refinery Strategy to Promote Biomass Utilization using Super-microbes for Fuels and Chemicals Production

Bioresources

Republic of Indonesia

Finished

Innovative Bio-production in Indonesia (iBioI): Integrated Bio-refinery Strategy to Promote Biomass Utilization using Super-microbes for Fuels and Chemicals Production

Producing Fuel and Chemicals Ecologically with Major Switch from Petroleum to Biomass

Principal Investigator

- Prof.
  OGINO Chiaki
  Graduate School of Engineering, Kobe University
- Prof.
  Prasetya Bambang
  Head of Research Center for Biotechnology, Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI)

ODA Recipient Country

Republic of Indonesia

Research Institutions in Japan

Kobe University / Nagasaki University

Research Institutions in Counterpart Country

Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) / University of Indonesia (UI)

Adoption fiscal year

FY 2012

Research Period

5 Years

Overview of the Research Project

Using super-microbes to create fuel and chemicals, aiming to build a sustainable economy with biomass
Indonesia is a rich store of varied biomass and bioresources. This project aims to produce renewable energy and chemicals from biomass feedstock derived from palm tree waste, which does not compete with food crops. Specifically, by emulating creative factories that create chemical compounds with high efficiency from sugars in the biomass by artificially reconstructing metabolic pathways, the project aims to develop transgenic microbial "cell factories" that can lead to achieving significant energy savings and cost reductions for the whole production process.

Using biomass effectively can make this project a standard-bearer for eliminating global dependence on fossil resources
A major switch from the current dependence on fossil fuels to biorefineries that produce bio-based products from biomass would result in a paradigm shift in the structure of the chemical industry. Practical experiments in Indonesia will represent a pilot demonstration model for the use of cellulosic biomass, and the technology also has potential to be deployed in countries such as Thailand and Malaysia that have large storage potential of biomass.

Photo gallery

The feedstock under consideration for the current project is the empty fruit bunches (EFB) remaining after extracting palm oil. The main component of EFB is cellulose, and until now the bunches have been disposed of as waste in Indonesia. There is great potential for microbial conversion of EFB to fuels as well as chemicals.