ITS introduces bioethanol to batik producers

Batik industrial centers in Central and East Java are currently feeling the pinch of high production costs as the price of raw materials soars and the scarcity of kerosine worsens. In Pekalongan, for example, around 270,000, or 60% of workers involved with the batik industry are at risk of losing their jobs as demand continues declining. Experts said the provincial administration had run a conversion program aimed at curbing kerosene dependency by promoting butane, but batik manufacturers claimed use of the alternative heat source yielded a product with poor overall quality. A number of batik producers have tried replacing kerosene with gas, but have found the fires from gas burners are too intense to dissolve wax, thus affecting the product quality. The Pekalongan regency administration had earlier thought of replacing kerosene stoves with electrical stoves to heat wax, but the move was unsuccessful because people simply did not adopt the technique. (April 3, 2009)

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