I

would like to comment on the article, '€œPaying for biofuel with the environment'€ (The Jakarta Post, Sept. 15) by Priscilla Liu:

The article states: '€œThe popular perception that biofuel is '€˜green'€™ and environmentally good must be changed.'€ This is too general and misleading, especially with the view for palm oil. If we are talking about biofuel, we first have to differentiate between bioethanol and biodiesel.

Bioethanol is used as an additive fuel to gasoline to a maximal percentage of 85 percent. However, most cars can run only on a maximum content of 10 percent. Today, most bioethanol is made from sugarcane and corn. In 2013, global production stood at approximately 70 million metric tons. The US, which accounted for more than 50 percent of that total, and Brazil with more than 25 percent, are the major producers.  

In summary, bioethanol made from sugar cane is more environmentally friendly and produced at a lower cost than ethanol made from corn. The reason behind the US still using corn as its raw material is simple: the country is not a major producer of sugar cane due to its climate. Biodiesel can be used as a fuel substitute for petroleum diesel or it can be added at any percentage to run diesel engines. The feedstock for biodiesel is typically soybean oil, rapeseed oil or palm oil. Worldwide production was approximately 25 million metric tons in 2013, slightly higher than the 35 percent of bioethanol production. Six to 7 million metric tons each of soybean, rapeseed and palm oil are used.

If we compare biodiesel yields per hectare as energy figures, as we have done for ethanol, we get 5,500 kilowatt hours (kWh) for biodiesel from soybean oil; 9,250 kWh for biodiesel from soybean oil, and 46,000 kWh for biodiesel from palm oil.

I agree with the author of the article that we should be talking about the '€œcarbon neutrality'€ of biofuel because we have to consider the whole production chain of biofuels. Nevertheless, based on our best knowledge, biofuels based on palm oil are environmentally superior to any other biofuel source.

However, being the best does not mean that it cannot be further improved. We are blessed that this miracle plant oil palm only grows in a small corridor around the equator, and produces an exceptional yield compared to other oil seeds.

The yield of palm oil per hectare is approximately five to eight times higher than that of rapeseed or soybean and this produces an immense cost advantage. Due to the, more or less, interchangeability of these three vegetable oils, the cheapest one to produce - palm oil '€“ generally offers higher profits, especially during high-price periods.

Unfortunately, these high profits make businesspeople feel comfortable and safe, thus reducing the pressure on them to optimize their plantations and production. Therefore, during recent decades, not much has changed in the palm oil industry. The mills are using more or less the same technology that they used 30 years ago, and the yields on oil palm plantations has, on average, not increased significantly. The overall energy efficiency of a mill is far from state of the art.

In summary, achieving a sustainable production of palm oil needs the continual optimization of all the steps involved, including increased yields, optimal fertilization, optimal production and the optimal use of by-products. Copying and pasting alone will not be enough.

Roman Kuznik
Jakarta