Potentials of Bioenergy from the Sago Industries in Malaysia

The sago palm grows without the need for any form of fertilization, apart from some ground clearing during its first year of growth. It thrives mainly on peat soil which is unsuitable for most other crops. These make sago palm the best option as the starch source for tropical countries. Although the initial waiting period is long (up to 10 years for the plant to be harvestable), sago is the world’s highest starch producer at 25t/ha/year. The effluent which flows into the rivers is potentially polluting to the environment, more due to the voluminous amount of liquid and suspended solids, than from the minor concentrations of starch and sugar residues. The focus of this project is the production of bio-ethanol on the wastewater and solid residues (fibres), on the average containing about 3% starch and 5% dry matter, respectively.