Bioethanol factory to start production in Kebumen

A new bioethanol factory in Kebumen, Central Java, Indonesia, has begun producing bioethanol to make the raw materials for cosmetics, anti-pest drugs and alternative energy. The factory will use corn and sugar plant waste from local farmers and sugar factories in the province and Yogyakarta. “Corn has been a favorite agricultural product here. We have plenty of stocks of it,” Kebumen Regent Rustriningsih said when opening the factory in Mungu village, Petanahan, on May 25. The factory, Rustriningsih added, will need some six tons of corn a day, providing local farmers with market opportunities for their corn products. The regency, she said, produced 27,200 tons of corn in 2007, some 3,600 tons of which were produced by Petanahan farmers, where the factory is located. Operated by PT Bio Prima Energi Mandiri (BPEM), the factory is to produce bioethanol mostly for use in the cosmetic industries, according to company Director Halim Dani Hidayat. (May 28, 2008)