25-01-08 A Fukuoka-based venture company said it plans to build a demonstration plant in Malaysia to manufacture ethanol from sago palm trees, possibly the first undertaking of its kind in the world.
Necfer Corp., established in Kurume by Ayaaki Ishizaki, a professor emeritus at Kyushu University, said it plans to commercially produce ethanol at the Malaysian plant in a few years.

Ethanol is made in the United States, Brazil and other countries, often using a method involving fermentation of grain starches, drawing criticism that it raises grain prices.
Ishizaki said sago palm trees are not widely used as a food source and thus are a more reliable and efficient source of the biofuel. At the plant, which is expected to be completed in August, the company will make ethanol by fermenting starches taken from crushed sago palm trees.

According to the company, a new technology called Ultra High Speed Continuous Fermentation System, also known as the Ishizaki process, will be used in the production.
The method employs a bacterium named Zymomonas, which grows several times faster than regular yeast. The company says this allows it to ferment starch at the fastest speed in the world.