Asia Biomass Energy Cooperation Promotion Office
Fifteen researchers from nine countries are taking part in the New Energy Foundation’s (NEF) Asia Biomass Researcher Invitation Program for FY2011. Starting this month, the NEF invitation researchers activities in regions all around Japan will be introduced.
Dr. Setiyo Budi (from Indonesia)
Photo: Dr. Setiyo Budi
Five of the 15 NEF invitation researchers in FY2011 were invited from Indonesia, which is the most from any country. For this month's NEF invitation researcher we will introduce Dr. Setiyo Budi, who came from PT. Semen Gresik, Indonesia’s largest manufacturer of cement.
Dr. Budi spent three months researching at the Research Center of Engineering Innovation at JFE Engineering Corporation, which is located in Tsurumi Ward, Yokohama City, starting from October 2011. Dr. Budi is the first NEF researcher to carry out research at a private company in Japan. He applied for the NEF Invitation Research Program out of the desire to create networks with Japanese researchers, companies, and research institutions by performing biomass research in Japan.
PT. Semen Gresik uses biomass (rice husks, coconut residue, and sawdust) as the fuel for its cement production. The company has said that it was able to reduce its consumption of coal, which is the conventional fuel for this, by 2% in 2011 through the use of biomass. In addition, it is also making progress in using jatropha plants, which are not a foodstuff, as fuel. The major raw materials in cement include limestone, clay, and so on. Cultivating jatropha plants on the sites where such resources were excavated has the dual benefits of using the land effectively and producing biomass.
Photo: Dr. Setiyo Budi holding woody biomass
The cultivation of jatropha plants produces 1.3 tons of jatropha oil and 3,000 tons of waste each year, all of which is being put to use as fuel at present. The research in Japan is research and development on using this biomass efficiently and at minimal cost.
During his stay in Japan Dr. Budi was able to take part in various exhibitions and seminars related to biomass, while also getting acquainted with front-line biomass research from both Japan and countries around the world. This was the first time in his life that Dr. Budi was able to do research overseas, at the end of which he said with a smile, “Every day spent living in Japan was new and original, and I enjoyed my stay.”
