Lang
Deliana Dahnum, a researcher at the Chemical Research Centre under Indonesia's National Research and Innovation Agency, has developed a metal-organic framework catalyst to convert coconut oil into biofuel for jet aircraft.
She said aviation biofuel is a renewable fuel that uses vegetable oil as its feedstock.
Speaking during a discussion on Thursday, she noted that "Indonesia has great potential due to its abundant natural resources in the form of coconut oil, which grows well in tropical regions."
According to Dahnum, coconut oil is a good feedstock for aviation biofuel because inedible coconuts, such as old, small or rotten ones, can be processed to make an alternative jet fuel.
Converting coconut oil into aviation biofuel requires a catalytic process assisted by an effective catalyst.
To that end, Dahnum developed a catalyst based on metal-organic frameworks, an innovative material for converting coconut oil into biofuel for jet aircraft productively and efficiently.
She added: "The development has reached the laboratory testing stage and shows potential for being scaled up further, including the use of coconuts unsuitable for consumption, in order to maximise energy sustainability."
She also said she was optimistic that the innovation would reduce reliance on fossil fuels while supporting the use of environmentally friendly local resources.
She went on to express hope that her research could be built upon and advanced to a more developed stage.
She added that the technology is expected to make a direct contribution towards meeting Indonesia's sustainable energy needs.
It would also support Indonesia's goal of achieving net-zero emissions by 2050 through the strategic conversion of its resources into new and renewable energy alternatives.
At the recent G20 forum in Brazil, President Prabowo Subianto said Indonesia had developed technology to produce solar power and petrol from palm oil.