Thailand Promotes Bio-industry

[george]

Thailand promotes bio-industry

BANGKOK: -- Thailand’s government is developing a strategy to promote plant-based bio-industry in order to reduce the country's imports of energy and chemicals.

The strategy will focus on the development of bio-diesel using natural raw materials including cassava, sugar cane, rice and oil palm extracts, the Director of the Industrial Economics Office, Chutaporn Lampasara told TNA on Sunday.

The government expects the strategy to help reduce Thailand’s huge imports of energy and chemicals costing 40 billion dollars a year.

Ethanol made from plants, like sugar cane, can be mixed with alcohol to produce gasohol, a more natural and cheaper form of fuel. Other plant products, like oil palm, can be blended with diesel to create yet another type of alternative fuel.

So far Thailand has concentrated on producing energy from plants, Mrs. Chutaporn said.

The Industrial Economics Office is studying which key industries should be developed using alternate forms of energy.

--TNA 2005-05-15