ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the study of Kenya's programme for the production of alcohol, or ethanol, as a fuel. A small developing country needed to consider its options in a careful and informed manner. Kenya's National Power Alcohol Programme was built on the sugar industry. Power alcohol was intended to reduce the extent of dependence on imported petroleum, which accounted for over 85 per cent of Kenya's commercial energy needs. Ethanol processing technology developed in the beverage, rather than the energy, sector. Kenya's choice of molasses as feedstock prevented examination of existing alternatives. This was occasioned by project proposals which came from organizations with an interest in the sugar industry. This chapter shows molasses availability and projected consumption over the years 1979–1985. The ethanol technology market that Kenya faced therefore consisted of a number of organizations whose design control was distributed over several sectors, including the food, engineering, pharmaceutical, chemical, beverage and oil sectors.
