Scenarios of Forest Waste Utilization

Forestry wastes in Indonesia is very large amount and need to be utilized optimally. There are currently largely untapped. Multiple scenarios are proposed according to the characteristics of the forestry wastes, market needs and technological processing.

Biomass densification technology such as pelleting and briquetting is one interesting scenario to be implemented. Pellets and briquettes visually distinct because of its dimensions. The dimensions of wood pellets with a diameter varying between 6 and 25 mm and an average length is around 40 mm, while the diameter of its products if more than 25 mm is referred to as briquettes. By utilization of forest waste into briquettes is more advisable, because the size of the particle from size reduction, moisture content, and ash content of less restrictive requirements in briquette making. As for pellets particular A1 class  pellets (premium pellets) must use stem wood and do debarking. A1 class pellet or premium pellet are pellets with the lowest ash content and high calorific value. But if only for the production of quality standard pellet is not a problem. Pellets as well as briquettes can be for almost any industrial consumption as an environmentally friendly fuel substitution of coal.

 

However if the source location of the forestry waste is close to industries that require a lot of fuel such as cement plants, power plants and so on, then the forest waste can be directly chipping (reduced in size to the size of a few centimeters) to be directly used to fuel the industry.

Whereas if forestry waste sites are also still lack electricity or need other sources of energy or heat, then another better way is to use continuous pyrolysis technology. With this technology will produce products such as charcoal, biooil and syngas, which three can be used as an energy source. Charcoal can be sold to cement plants or power plants as fuel or increase soil fertility with enriched various nutrients to soil. Then charcoal for this application commonly called biochar. Biooil can also directly as fuel although only about half the calorific value of diesel oil and methane-rich syngas which is the excess of the portion used for the pyrolysis process itself, so that one can be used for power generation more easily with Internal Combustion (IC) engine as a gas engine generator.