DME to be used as fuel in transportation and households

By Demas Simbolon

The government is pushing for the use of low rank coal as a raw material in the production of dimethyl ether (DME), a cheaper alternative fuel for transportation and household use.

Director General of Oil and Gas Evita Legowo said on Monday that an investor has expressed interest to produce DME using low calorie coal as raw material. The government is currently drafting the necessary regulations to facilitate the production and distribution of DME-based fuel in the country, hopefully to be completed by the end of this year.

Evita said that the country has ample supply of low calorie coal, with reserves estimated at around 11.54 billion tons in Sumatra, and 7.17 billion tons in Kalimantan.

Because of its low energy value, the low quality coal does not have strong demand in the export market, thus the reason for developing it at home into DME.

Evita said that the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources? Lemigas and state-owned oil and gas firm PT Pertamina are currently conducting research to determine the appropriate mix of DME in LPG. If this can be done, it would help reduce the country?s import of LPG, she added.

Editing by Reiner Simanjuntak