Bali Needs Alternative Energy that is Ready to Use

Bali Province as one of the world tourist destinations requires a lot of tourism support facilities such as hotels, restaurants, transportation, etc. On the other hand, Bali is still very dependent on energy supplies from outside Bali, especially from Java, so it is necessary to prepare alternative renewable energy sources that are potentially developed in Bali and also more environmentally friendly. One of the energies that allow for development in Bali is bioethanol. Bioethanol has been recognized as an important renewable and sustainable fuel source for the modern industry. Bioethanol is a transitional energy that can be used directly as fuel both to substitute fuel oil for transportation (in the form of liquid bioethanol), as well as for use in restaurants and hotels as a substitute for candles in the form of solid bioethanol. Bioethanol can be produced from sugary, starchy, and cellulose ingredients. The efficient conversion of carbohydrates to bioethanol is from sugary and starchy ingredients, but the amount is more limited. Lignocellulosic wastes from agricultural activities such as rice straw, corn straw, and other organic waste have high levels of cellulose content that are very abundant so it has the potential to be used as raw materials for making bioethanol. The bioconversion technology of cellulose into simple sugars and ultimately into bioethanol has been widely developed in the industrial sector. The production process starts from the preliminary treatment by physical and chemical methods to reduce the content of lignin so as to facilitate the process of cellulose hydrolysis by cellulase enzymes used in the bioconversion process. The simple sugars produced are then converted to ethanol through a fermentation process using microbes both yeast or bacteria. Yeasts that are often used are Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Zymomonas mobilis bacteria. This bioconversion technology can be done by various methods both using free cells or using immobilized cells. Cell immobilization methods there are many ways one of which is often used is the method of entrapping cells with support materials such as poly (phenyl alcohol), sodium alginate, etc. The use of immobilized cells is relatively better, can be used repeatedly, more stable, the separation between products, media, and cells is easier to conduct, reducing the occurrence of contamination and the conversion results are also relatively higher. Besides this method can be used in a continuous process. To obtain bioethanol that meets the standards for fuel, it needs to be purified to a minimum ethanol content of 99.5%. One method that can be used to produce ethanol with such purity levels, one of which can use the technique is known as the distillation-adsorption process. The development of this technology in Bali is expected to reduce the use of fossil energy and at the same time reduce the level of environmental pollution.