Cassava and sugarcane as raw materials for ethanol production in Thailand
2002
Suthipong Sthiannopkao(King Mongkut's University of Technology Thonburi, Bangkok (Thailand). School of Energy and Materials. Division of Environmental Technology)
Thailand should be careful not to rely on one crop for production of ethanol, due to market fluctuations. In the foreseeable future it is reasonable to implement a system that utilizes both cassava and sugarcane as raw materials. Northeastern region would provide ideal locations for ethanol production because this area produces large amounts of sugarcane, as well as cassava. Distributing small to medium scale plants throughout the northeast would be beneficial to improving socio-economic conditions throughout the area. These less centralized plants could produce 95 percent ethanol, which then could be shipped to larger centralized plants to be refined into neat ethanol. This decentralization would reduce transportation costs (since ethanol and not raw materials would be shipped long distances) as well as safety concerns. The major city centers, such as Bangkok, are also optimal locations for these larger plants. These plants should be located near current petroleum refineries. Thus, neat ethanol would not have to be shipped and could be mixed on site. The main objective of this article is to discuss the characteristics and practicality of potential use to cassava and sugarcane/molasses as raw materials for ethanol production in Thailand.
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