Petromoc to look into ethanol production

Mozambique’s state-owned fuel company Petromoc signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Indian company Rusni Distilleries and the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics for a feasibility study on the production of ethanol from sweet sorghum. Although nothing has yet been defined in terms of funding for an ethanol distillery, or deadlines for building it, Petromoc is thinking in terms of a factory that could produce a million liters of ethanol a day, according to local media. Petromoc Representative Eugenio Silva said the Indian institute has promised to provide all the technical support necessary for smallholder farmers to produce sufficient sorghum on an efficient and sustainable basis. The distillery would be located in the central province of Sofala, where there is land available for mass production of sorghum. The memorandum was signed after a lecture given by the institute’s Director General William Dar on the viability of using sorghum to produce ethanol. (September 28, 2007)