Japanese tests could see sago used for biofuels

Several projects in Japan on the go since 2008 are perfecting the use a technology that could utilise sago to produce ethanol.

President of Bio-Energy Corporation Hideo Noda claims this research on producing bioethanol production from cellulosic materials has been carried out successfully.

‘In our project, a hydro-thermal pre-treatment without adding sulfuric acid had been introduced and ethanol fermentation had been performed successfully with rice straw, wheat straw, bagasse and others,’ Noda was quoted as saying. ‘The process could also be applicable to the cellulosic part of sago, but this needs to be further explored.’

Nado added that the present pilot technology at a plant in Hyogo had a 20kg per hour capacity and turned one tonne of rice straw into 200 litres of ethanol.