EFB Pellets Great Potential in Indonesia and Malaysia Has Not Been Taken

Wood pellets are still occupying the highest grade biomass fuel than biomass pellets fuel from other than wood. This is because its combustion properties are better than others. But as the magnitude of the biomass energy needs,  it is necessary to look for some other alternatives. Palm oil empty fruit bunch (EFB) is a potential raw material for pellets. Currently, Indonesia is the biggest palm oil producing country, especially crude palm oil (CPO) in the world with an area of palm oil plantations of more than 7 million hectares and hundreds of palm oil milss to process the palm oil fruits. Palm trees require warm temperatures, sunshine and high rainfall, so that only some parts of the world can do that, those are Asia, Africa and South America. Palm oil production is dominated by Indonesia and Malaysia with an amount between 85-90% of world palm oil production. Empty fruit bunches itself is a waste of CPO production which are numerous and today generally untapped.

Another factor driving this is when the supply of raw materials by planting some sort of energy plantation perceived longer and require more capital, or when the availability of raw materials such as woody biomass derived from wastes of the wood processing industries has been limited, the empty fruit bunches of palm oil can be a strong candidate. While the other factor come from the palm oil mill itself that many industries were overwhelmed to handle empty fruit bunch waste itself. Those things are more encouraging empty fruit bunch (EFB) processing into EFB pellets.

In terms of combustion properties as EFB pellet is lower quality from wood pellets, so it should also be used technologies that are more appropriate (suitable) in accordance with the character of the EFB pellets product. Type of fluidized bed combustion technology is the best choice because it is able to optimally handle EFB pellets at once able to reduce the content of a number of negative traits. Chlorine is the most avoidable component of mainly pellets made from agricultural wastes such as EFB. The fluidized bed combustion technology has also been developed from along ago so that is supposed to achieve optimum combustion conditions of EFB pellets become easy thing to do.