Indonesia is known as a country that is abundant in natural resources. According to data from the Indonesian Institute of Sciences, Indonesia is a country with the second highest wealth of terrestrial biodiversity in the world. It doesn’t stop there, even when combined with marine biodiversity, Indonesia is the first highest country in the world with rich biodiversity (LIPI, 2020).
Along with that, this biodiversity has several benefits such as being a source of food and energy, absorbing pollution, and maintaining ecosystem stability. One type of biodiversity that can be utilized is microalgae. Microalgae are photosynthetic microorganisms that can be found in abundance in Indonesian waters, which incidentally has the second longest coastline in the world. This makes microalgae the potential to be developed in the bioprospecting framework. Bioprospecting itself is the exploration of biodiversity into genetic and biochemical resources that have commercial value. So how are efforts to exploit the potential of microalgae in Indonesia?
The biodiversity of microalgae in the world is estimated at millions of species and many of them have not been identified or even cultivated. However, several studies have succeeded in identifying the potential of microalgae on an international scale. Quoting the DW Planet report (2021) there are at least two products developed from the potential of microalgae itself, namely:
bioplastics; Microalgae contain polyhydroxy butyrate (PHB), which is one of the components for making plastics that are environmentally friendly (biodegradable).
Fertilizer; Microalgae have a high nutrient content which can be a component of liquid organic fertilizer.
More specifically on a national scale, microalgae bioprospection has begun to be developed. At least now there are three microalgae products being developed by several universities in Indonesia, namely (Hasna, 2020):
Drug; microalgae are used as neuroprotective extracts to treat damage to the nervous system associated with anti-diabetic control mechanisms.
In animal feed, microalgae are used as pellets which can increase reproduction and growth in fish and support the reduction of fish stress levels.
As a fuel, microalgae are used as lipid activation to produce environmentally friendly fuels in the form of bioethanol and biofuels.
The potential of Microalgae as Biofuel
Biofuels are currently being developed as a new and renewable energy source. This is in line with the energy mix target of 23% in 2025 by the Government of Indonesia. In an effort to achieve this target, microalgae are then looked at as a potential ingredient to be converted into biofuels. Related to that, there are at least three underlying reasons, namely (Purkan, 2019; Kusmayadi, 2021):
High productivity, microalgae do not require large areas of land for breeding, only use water for growth nutrition, and harvest quickly;
Environmentally friendly, microalgae carry out photosynthesis in their growth and development so that they use carbon dioxide and convert it into oxygen which ultimately creates a clean environment from CO2 gas pollution and can reduce greenhouse gas emissions;
High oil content, microalgae have the ability to produce 70% convertible lipid/oil and even have a higher oil content than coconut (6,757 lb/acre compared to 2,070 lb/acre).
In the process of converting it into biofuel, microalgae at least go through two stages (Pratami, 2015). First, the microalgae culture needs to be grown in a liquid medium (medium-sized bottle) that is circulated with air and irradiated. Second, the microalgae are extracted using a solvent (if it is still on a laboratory scale) or by heating it with a machine until the oil comes out (if it is on a large-scale production). The oil is then converted into ready-to-use biofuels through a transesterification reaction.
The large potential of microalgae to become biofuel (environmentally friendly vegetable-based fuel) has attracted a number of parties to carry out further research and development. The Coordinating Ministry for Maritime Affairs is interested in developing microalgae as an alternative to fuel oil (BBM). This development aims to reduce Indonesia’s dependence on oil imports. In addition, the development of this microalgae is also aimed commercially through a carbon trading mechanism where the microalgae itself has a fairly high ability to absorb CO2 (Fitra, 2015). Furthermore, the development of this microalgae also involves several universities and companies. One of them is Euglena Co. Ltd (a Japanese company engaged in biotechnology) together with Gadjah Mada University which is developing a microalgae-based bio jet fuel production technology (Grehenson, 2020).
Challenges of Microalgae Development as Biofuel
Even though it looks promising, actually the development of microalgae as biofuel encounters several problems. First, issues related to technology. Alan Koropitan (Academician in Marine Affairs, Bogor Agricultural University) stated that the very small size of microalgae makes it difficult to separate the oil or lipid content contained in the microalgae shell itself (Manalu, 2018). Extraction of microalgae at this time cannot be carried out on a massive scale and is still limited on a laboratory scale. Second, the issue related to economic prices. Pertamina revealed that the development of microalgae-based fuels is still constrained by higher prices than oil and gas which have been circulating in the market so far (Wulandari, 2015). In addition, the development of microalgae processing also requires an investment of more than 1 trillion rupiahs.
Despite being faced with a number of challenges, microalgae still have the potential as biofuels. With the large potential and available resources, the government should encourage business entities and banks to help fund the development of microalgae-based biofuel infrastructure. In addition, the government also needs to make regulations or regulations to attract investors to be interested in investing in the development of microalgae-based biofuel infrastructure itself. Finally, to attract interest in the use of microalgae-based biofuels among the public, it is necessary to have incentives and stimulus for the use of microalgae as a source of the energy mix in Indonesia.
References
A, D. P. (2021, July 2). Why The World Needs More Algae, Not Less. Retrieved from DW Planet A
Fitra, S. (2015, February 26). Atasi Impor Minyak, Kemenko Maritim Kembangkan Mikro Alga. Retrieved from Katadata
Grehenson, G. (2020, October 5). Peneliti UGM Kembangkan Mikroalga untuk Bahan Bakar Biojet. Retrieved from UGM
Hasna, T. (2020, January 6). Alga, Rahasia Indonesia Kaya Raya di Masa Depan. Retrieved from Kumparan
Kusmayadi, A. (2021, June 19). Potensi Mikroalga sebagai Energi Terbarukan di Indonesia. Retrieved from Times Indonesia
LIPI. (2020, September 17). Potensi Keanekaragaman Hayati Indonesia untuk Bioprospeksi dan Bioekonomi. Retrieved from Lembaga Ilmu Pengetahuan Indonesia
Manalu, J. (2018, July 18). Pemanfaatan Alga Sebagai Sumber Biofuel Masih Hadapi Tantangan Besar. Retrieved from Bisnis
Pratami, F. (2015, May 25). Pengolahan Biomassa Mikroalga Sebagai Langkah Awal Indonesia Mandiri Energi. Retrieved from ITB
Purkan. (2019, November 14). Potensi Mikroalga Indonesia untuk Sumber Produksi Biodiesel. Retrieved from UNAIR
Putri, T. (2019, September 29). Mikroalga, Kekayaan Biodiversitas Indonesia yang Potensial sebagai Sumber Energi Alternatif. Retrieved from Kehati
Wulandari, S. (2015, April 12). Alga untuk Jawaban Energi dan Limbah. Retrieved from Media Indonesia
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