The study of bioenergy with molasses raw materials: analysis of potential and problems in its development in East Java, Indonesia

Abstract

The Indonesian government is gradually reducing its dependence on petroleum fuels by mixing it with biofuels. One of the biofuels used is bioethanol made from molasses. This study aims to analyze the potential for sugarcane development at the farm level, identify bioenergy problems, and provide bioenergy development recommendations based on molasses. The research was conducted in East Java Province in 2016, with updated data in 2019. The analytical methods used were quantitative and qualitative. The results of the research are as follows. In 2019, the potential of molasses produced reached 260.06 thousand tons in East Java Province. However, there are some technical and socio-economic problems in developing biofuels from molasses, including the low yield of sugar, limited processing of molasses into bioethanol, lack of bioethanol marketing guarantee, and lack of synergy in bioethanol policy development. Some policy recommendations proposed to support the sustainability of bioethanol production in the future are policy supports for increasing sugarcane farming, capital support for bioethanol producers, guarantee in the bioethanol marketing, and synergies in developing bioenergy policies.