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The current study makes use of life cycle assessment to evaluate the potential greenhouse gas (GHG) savings in coal electricity generation by 5% co-firing with sorghum pellets. The research models the utilization of 100 thousand hectares of under-utilized marginal land in Flores (Indonesia) for biomass sorghum cultivation. Based on equivalent energy content, 1.12 tons of pellets can substitute one ton of coal. The calculated fossil energy ratio of the pellets was 5.8, indicating that the production of pellets for fuel is energetically feasible. Based on a biomass yield of 48 ton/ha•yr, 4.8 million tons of pellets can be produced annually. In comparison with a coal system, the combustion of only pellets to generate 8,300 GWh of electricity can reduce global warming impacts by 7.9 million tons of CO2-eq, which is equivalent to an 85% reduction in GHG emissions. However, these results changed when reduced biomass yield of 24 ton/ha•yr, biomass loss, field emissions, and incomplete combustion were considered in the model. A sensitivity analysis of the above factors showed that the potential GHG savings could decrease from the initially projected 85% to as low as 70%. Overall, the production of sorghum pellets in Flores and their utilization for electricity generation can significantly reduce the reliance on fossil fuels and contribute to climate change mitigation. Some limitations to these conclusions were also discussed herein. The results of this scenario study can assist the Indonesian government in exploring the potential utilization of marginal land for bioenergy development, both in Indonesia and beyond.

Biomass from annual fibers and agricultural wastes as a raw material to produce particleboard or other composite panels has gained increased popularity. The purpose of this study was to investigate the suitability of corn stalk as a material for particleboard manufacturing. The effect of adhesive type and concentration on the physical and mechanical properties of particleboard manufactured from corn stalk was evaluated. Particleboards were produced using hot-pressing machine at temperature of 130 °C for urea formaldehyde (UF) and 150 °C for phenol formaldehyde (PF) adhesives until 10 min. The size of particleboards and target density were 25 mm x 25 mm x 0.9 mm and 0.8 g/cm3, respectively. The adhesive content was varied from 8, 10 and 12 wt%. The results showed that the physical and mechanical properties of particleboards had better values with increasing the adhesive concentration. The board bonded with PF adhesive showed better physical and mechanical properties than the board bonded with UF adhesive. The modulus of rupture, modulus of elasticity and internal bond of the board bonded with 12 wt% of PF fulfilled the requirement of the JIS A 5908 (2003) for type 13 particleboard.

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