Sustainable biodiesel plant to come online in September

Indonesia-based Waterland will receive its new green biodiesel plant in Bali later this month. It is scheduled to open in September.

The plant, which will produce biodiesel from camelina with the aid of enzymes and ethanol, is being developed and delivered by Dutch company FirmTec. Once operational the plant will make biodiesel to power generators for the production of electricity.

This novel method of biodiesel production was invented by the Fraunhofer Institute in Germany and bought by Waterland. The conventional process uses methanol – a petroleum product which makes the process less sustainable.

Waterland cultivates biofuel crops along with food crops, known as intercropping, across Asia. In the future the company says it intends to manufacture its own ethanol as well, which is also needed for the process.

'This means that the company will soon be producing all the raw materials it needs for the new green biodiesel itself and will therefore no longer be dependent on the fluctuating global market prices for vegetable oil and methanol,' FirmTec said in a statement.