Natural production potency of nipa (Nypa fruticans) sap as production commodity for bioethanol

Hidayat IW. 2015. Natural production potential of nipa (Nypa fruticans) sap as sources for bioethanol production. Pros Sem Nas Masy Biodiv Indon 1 (1): 109-113. Nipa (Nypa fruticans Wurmb.) sap is a potential source for bioethanol production. Nipa bioethanol production generates higher yield in comparison with other crops, such as sugarcane, cassava, coconut, and potato. This potential is very relevant to the national program on the development of new and renewable energy to meet the growing energy demand. Nipa can be found growing dominantly in mangrove ecosystem along the northern coast of Sumatra, particularly in South Sumatra. Sungsang, South Sumatra, is one of the critical habitats for nipa. This research was aimed to analyze the potential of natural production of nipa sap which can be processed further into bioethanol. The results showed that the potential natural production of nipa sap ranged from 109.45 to 437.86 L ha-1 day-1 in 2013. For further processing, nipa sap generating 8.98% to 14% of ethanol would then result in bioethanol ranging from 9.83 to 61.3 L ha-1 day-1 or 3,587.92 to 22,374.54 L ha-1 year-1.