03/11/2009 (Biotechnology & Biosafety Information Centre) - Thailand is one of the world's major agricultural countries. A large part of the nation's irrigable land is allocated for cultivation and it has a climate that is suitable for growing a wide variety of crops. Thailand produces a broad range of quality agricultural products and is a key international exporter of agricultural products. Under Thailand's 15-year Alternative Energy Plan, the government intends to promote the use of bioenergy produced from ethanol, biodiesel, biomass, and biogas. These alternative fuels can be made from raw materials that are abundant in Thailand such as cassava, sugar, rice and palm oil.

Biofuel: Ethanol & Biodiesel

The major crops used for ethanol production in Thailand are sugarcane and cassava. Currently, Thailand is the largest producer of sugarcane in South-East Asia, with around 0.9 to 1.1 million hectares of land allocated for sugarcane cultivation and an annual production of about 73 million tons of sugarcane.To support the use of sugarcane for ethanol production, a 3-year sugarcane development plan (2008/09-2010/11) was devised by the government. It aims to increase the production of sugarcane by raising the average yield to 94 tons per hectare. The plan calls for the adoption of strategies including better farm management, irrigation and varieties improvement. The increase in sugarcane production will be primarily for ethanol production. Cassava is considered one of the best raw materials for ethanol production because of the low costs and energy requirements for growing and harvesting the crop. In addition, it can be processed into fresh roots during the harvest season or into dried chip with its starch extracted when fresh roots are out of season. Currently, Thailand is the world's third largest producer of cassava

(annual production of 25 million tons of roots) and allocates 1.2 million hectares of its agricultural area to cassava cultivation. The national average yield for cassava is about

22 tons per hectare, which is higher than the world average.While cassava and sugarcane are major crops used for ethanol production, Thailand is also exploring new

potential feed stocks for bio-ethanol production. These include sweet sorghum, as well as many types of cellulose waste and harvestings.

Biodiesel

Palm oil is the major raw material for biodiesel production because of its low cost. Thailand is the third largest palm oil producer in Asia, behind Malaysia and

Indonesia. To raise the production of palm oil to meet increasing demands, the Ministry of Agriculture has put up a development plan to achieve higher yields i.e. to raise

production to 20 tons per hectare , through genetic improvement of the crop and adopting better management techniques.6 The plan also calls for the land allocated to oil

palm cultivation to be expanded to 1 million hectares by 2011.In addition, other raw materials available in Thailand can potentially be used for biodiesel production. Some of

these include used vegetable oil and oils extracted from coconut, soy bean, ground nut, castor, sesame, sunflower and jatropha.

Biomass

Biomass is another source of alternative fuel in Thailand.Agricultural residues such as rice husk, straw, bagasse, cassava pulp, corncob and corn leaf, oil-palm fruit brunch,

shell and fiber, as well as wood chip are sources of biomass. Presently, around 60-90 million tons of agricultural residues are produced each year. Of these, around 65-70%

is unused. The surplus biomass can potentially give rise to 5,000 - 8,000 ktoe of energy annually or around 2,000-3,000 MW of electric energy.

Biogas

The use of biogas is recognized as an environmentally-friendly and sustainable development solution. Currently,Thailand has about 10,000 food factories and 20 million

head of livestock which generates waste and wastewater for biogas production. The total biogas production can potentially reach 2,064 million m3 per year (equivalent to

1,011 ktoe). This amount of biogas can generate 289 MW of electric energy or substitute approximately 939 million litres of fuel oil.7 The top sources of feedstock for biogas

production are cow manure, cassava pulp, and wastewater from cassava-starch factories.

In conclusion, Thailand is rich in the feedstock needed for biomass and bioenergy production. This abundance in raw material combined with Thailand's technology capabilities in this area will contribute to it becoming a hub for bioenergy in Asia.