Aditiya Harjon Bahar, Teuku Meurah Indra Riayatsyah, Chitra Ismi Sofila Nadia, Arridina Susan Silitonga, Abdi Hanra Sebayang, Topan Erlangga
As one of the largest agricultural industries in Indonesia, the sugarcane industry plays a vital role in realising the potential of second-generation bioethanol production from sugarcane bagasse (SCB). Despite this fact, SCB is not perceived to be a value-added commodity on a domestic scale, and therefore, it is mostly treated as agricultural waste and disposed via open burning. In this study, life cycle cost (LCC) analysis was carried out to assess the potential of SCB as a feedstock for second-generation bioethanol production in Indonesia. By taking a project lifetime of 20 years and using the average SCB yield per year of a local sugarcane factory (203 kton/year), the total SCB bioethanol yield was estimated to be as high as 30.9 ML/year. The corresponding LCC of the SCB bioethanol production project was determined to be $177.18 million with a payback period of 5.09 years. The levelised cost of bioethanol from SCB ($0.541/L) was lower than the bioethanol selling price recommended by the General Directorate for Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation (EBTKE) at $0.766/L, indicating that the SCB bioethanol production project is economically feasible. The findings of this study provide insight into the potential of SCB as a value-added commodity for second-generation bioethanol production in Indonesia, which will encourage local industries and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to venture into SCB bioethanol production. © 2025 The Authors
Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology, University of Technology Sydney, 2007, NSW, Australia; Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Technology, Sampoerna University, Jakarta, 12780, Indonesia; Energy Research Center, Faculty of Engineering and Technology, Sampoerna University, Jakarta, 12780, Indonesia; Centre for Technology in Water and Wastewater, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology, University of Technology Sydney, 2007, NSW, Australia; Mechanical Engineering Department, Institut Teknologi Sumatera, South Lampung, Way Hui, 35365, Indonesia; Center of Renewable Energy, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Politeknik Negeri Medan, Medan, 20155, Indonesia; Hidroteknik Andalan Company, Jalan TGK., Cik No.01 GP. Lamdon Leung Bata, Banda Aceh, 23244, Indonesia