Nowadays, the rising of oil prices has encourage a research team from Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman’s (Utar) Faculty of Engineering and Science is studying the use of cassava, better known as tapioca, and sweet potato in the production of biofuels.

All around the world scientist work hard to find an alternative energy sources to reduce the reliance on crude oil, and this has opened up a lot of opportunities worldwide. Biofuels are renewable energy sources, which can not only reduce air pollution and greenhouse effects caused by burning of fossil fuels, but also enable sustainable development that provides employment and improves economy.

According to experts, tapioca and sweet potato are rich in starch and can produce ethanol through fermentation. Ethanol as a biofuel is widely used in gasohol – a mixture of gasoline (petrol) and alcohol – in Brazil, the United States and Thailand. Ethanol can replace petrol and as it produces less carbon dioxide, it reduces the greenhouse effects. Malaysia as a tropical climate is conducive for planting these two crops, which grow quickly and have no special cultivation requirements.