Finding The Best Treasure From Energy Plantation Implementation Part 3

"He created you from the one self then He made it out of his wife and He sent for you eight pairs of pets of cattle ...." (QS 39: 6)

In another verse (QS 6: 143-144), eight animals in pairs (4 pairs) are two (one pair) sheep, a pair of goats, a pair of camels and a pair of cows.

Of the series of livestock mentioned in the above verses, the sheep is called first, then goat, camel and cow. Rule in the Qur'an, the first thing has a primacy rather than after it. Well, this is where sheep have a virtue compared to the other levestock animals mentioned in the verse, although all the animals are halal meat eaten. Another indication of the primacy of the sheep can also be found in Eid al-Adha event, when the Prophet Ibrahim was ordered by Allah SWT to slaughter his son Ismail, then Allah SWT saved Ismail and replaced it with the big lamb (sheep). The event then we commemorate every year and become the shari'a of Qurban on Idhul Adha day every 10 Dzulhijah. 

On the practical side and scientific studies of sheep also demonstrate its superiority. Based on some researches those are said that sheep are much smarter than goats. The sheep only lose from chimpanzees, elephants and dolphins. If we have seen the action of chimpanzees, elephants and dolphins with intelligence. But how does sheep act with her intelligence? The meaning of intelligence for sheep certainly does not mean solving math problems, physics, chemistry, those complicated but just remember specific tasks or signs. It is said that sheep are the best animals of memory, he can remember the face of his shepherd, remember the path back to the stable, remember who leads his journey and even remember where the limits are permissible and not, the boundaries of the territory that may pass and not. With enough practice the sheep will be able to do these tasks well. This is especially useful for planned grazing, such as precision grazing, as in 5F projects for the world! 

Sheep grazing in energy plantations can be adapted to the rotation of the woody biomass harvest. When the trees are large enough or near the age of harvest, the sheep can be grazed in the area. The sheep will eat the grass under the trees, and do not eat the leaves of the trees because it is high enough. When the trees are harvested then new shoots will appear from the base of the trees. Under these conditions sheep groups can not be grazed in this area as it will damage the trees. The grazed will move around and adjust the rotation of the energy plantation harvest. The sheep's intelligence to remember specific signs will facilitate the grazing, so the boundaries can be marked with a particular symbol.

Learn From The Portraits Of The Cities On Earth At Night

Let's take a moment to look at satellite imagery of our country at night. There is only a glittering Javanese island, while the other islands are dark and only in the provincial capital alone show a bright spot. Why did it happen? Certainly due to the more developed or physical infrastructure and the much more populated population than other islands in Indonesia. It is estimated that more than half or about 60% of Indonesia's population is on the island of Java. The bright spots or glitter of these cities are indicators of physical progress in the area. Development can be highly developed in Java because the three pillars of the economy namely, capital, market and production can run quickly and efficiently. Inequality of development equalization must be immediately overcome, but how?

The solution is to do the distribution of development through the three pillars of the economy above. Capital, markets and production must enter in islands outside Java with the same level of speed and efficiency. Acceleration can occur when a lot of business activities are done there. To run many business activities will also require a lot of manpower, so a more equitable distribution of the population is also needed. So what areas or business can be done outside Java so that in time also no less glitter when taken by satellite at night?

With the vastness of overlaid areas, tropical climate and high rainfall, agroforestry-based industries are highly appropriate for these areas. Moreover, the era of bioeconomy has begun to appear in sight. Wood pellet production is one of the most suitable businesses for the current era, and it is important to draw the three pillars of the economy into those areas. The vast lands are used for energy plantations so that the production of wood pellets will sustainable. Especially with the condition of Indonesia now as a net importer of petroleum to meet domestic needs, the production of energy from renewable sources, especially biomass should get more attention. Even in Europe the energy from biomass gets a share of about 70% of total renewable energy.

But with agroforestry  still there is a less, the source of meat that is also very we need, as well as the source of fertilizer for trees (syajara) and plants (zar'a) them. So herein lies the beauty and completeness of His guidance, namely,  He inserts the cattle that are grazed among the trees and the plants (Qur’an Surah 16:10).

Cattle grazing is the most economical source of meat because it does not need human hard work to find or buy the feed. Livestock animals are also the most efficient source of fertilizer, because it does not require human labor to produce it, distribute it to fertilize it. So with agroforestry solutions plus grazing  is the solution to increase the economic growth of 'dark areas' in our country.

So with the integration with sheep farming, then food problems can also be gradually overcome. Consumption of meat low per capita of the Indonesian population, or according to the FAO, is only 1/4 of the world's population, namely,  10 kg /capita/year (average consumption of meat of the world population 40 kg /capita/ year) needs to be increased by boosting domestic production not even add  by boosting imports of meat, whose prices are also increasingly unaffordable. The sheep will also be the best treasure, as well as the chain of saving the earth.

An interesting reference, we will find two countries of the same people, conditions and natural resources relatively the same, but at the night satellite imagery difference is strikingly different. The two countries are North Korea and South Korea. Why did it happen? This is because three economic pillars in South Korea can flourish, while in North Korea led by the communist dictators' regime the three pillars are shut down, there is not even a market there because it is considered part of capitalism. What a fair leader's factor plays a role in the advancement of his people. South Korea seems not to be outdone by the glitter of Japan on its right and China to its left.

In the Islamic government in Medina, the Prophet Muhammad even made the market so that the three pillars of the economy can run properly. With the market then the goods produced can be absorbed and by itself capital will flow in the activity. The Prophet’s market in Medina was even able to subvert the Jewish market in which many practices of cheating and underhand were practiced. Such a market should be created and run for both small markets and global markets so that economic justice can be realized. When the market becomes the locomotive of prosperity controlled by the ummah, then the subsequent prosperity wagons will be easily withdrawn ie the production of goods and services to meet the various needs of this ummah. When the market and production are controlled, then capital will come by itself. When economic justice can be realized then night satellite photos of countries in various corners of the globe will look sparkly. Insha Allah.

Ash Problem Up to Modification of Power Plant in the Framework of Coal Substitution to Wood Pellet on Pulverized System

The ash of various biomass in combustion causes a number of problems in the pulverized system. That's because the pulverized system is designed to burn coal. Does not the coal also produce ash after burning even more quantity? Yeah right, but the chemical content of coal ash is different from that of biomass. The difference is that coal ash contains a lot of heavy metals such as arsenic, cadmium, mercury, selenium, lead, and nickel which have high melting point so it does not cause problems to the pulverized, whereas biomass ash mainly contains alkali metals such as potassium and alkaline earths are calcium, which has a low melting point so it creates a problem on the pulverized. The content of coal ash is also much larger compare with biomass ash content.

Ash Slagging: Melt ash deposits on boilers or generally on radiant exposed surfaces in a furnace at temperatures above
1,000 C

High-temperature fouling (around 1000 ° C) while low-temperature fouling (300-600 ° C) usually occurs in boiler pipes

What is the problem with the biomass ash chemistry? There are several problems caused by the ash chemistry on the pulverized system, namely slagging and fouling. How to avoid it? There are several ways to avoid it, namely first, determine the exact percentage of biomass fuel in the pulverized system or co-firing. At the appropriate percentage of biomass fuel can be used simultaneously (co-firing) with coal. The type of biomass fuel also determines its percentage, eg wood pellets will have a larger portion than agro-waste pellets. Secondly, by modifying the coal-fired power plant so that it can even be 100% with biomass fuel such as wood pellets.

Burning biomass fuel in addition to environmentally friendly or carbon neutral, fewer CO2 emissions, SO2 emissions are also very small, very little fly ash even does not occur, and the ash is rich in potassium, and phospur so it becomes a good fertilizer for plants. While coal ash is otherwise and even categorized as dangerous waste due to the heavy metal content. Based on these things, it is natural that the use of biomass fuel continues to be improved even has become government policy in some countries.

The entry point for massive biomass fuel usage is co-firing with coal. The modification of the coal-fired power plant has become an opportunity, so a number of companies have emerged to capture such opportunities as Ramboll and Doosan Babcock. While in Indonesia it seems still long enough to make biomass fuel has a large portion as a source of energy, especially in power plants, because there is no policy that supports it.

History Repeated Back In The Field of Biomass Part 2

Post-industrial revolution human racing to exploit coal mines, oil and gas for the fuel of various production machines and factories. With the "scientific prejudice"  man assumes and argues that only with the fuel so the production machines in various industries can be operated and humans can feel the prosperity with various facilities of his life. Fuel consumption is encouraged, so the reserves depleted. In addition, currently within a range that is not too long, it turns out the impact of the "scientific prejudice" of human is already felt, the various environmental problems caused, which can even threaten human life itself.

It was for this reason that humans came to the conclusion that fossil fuel consumption should be limited and even discontinued, because it is not environmentally friendly and unsustainable. The phenomenon is similar to the use of chemical fertilizers for agriculture. Chemical fertilizers began to bloom in use around the world after World War II, because it also uses the materials of the rest of the war. Less than 70 years old, chemical fertilizers are now widely contested for various reasons such as health effects as well as the impact on the environment.

Another thing that is similar  is genetic engineering that produces genetically modified crops (Genetically Modified Crops). In its first appearance in 1994 it was seen as a food solution for the world - it is now still not two decades old now opposed everywhere, as new "prejudice" suggest that GM Crops brings huge potential risks to human health in the long run.

Various attempts were made to let go of the fossil fuel trap, which of course was also not easy and faced various problems, so it needs to make a systematic and realistic stages. No less than 24 climate conferences have been conducted and followed by almost all countries in the world. The practice of various countries has different strategies adapted to local conditions. Renewable energy or clean energy has also become a UN target to be realized along with 17 other targets in Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Whereas Allah has said in the Qur'an about 14 centuries ago, about the use of fuel from trees as a source of energy.QS Yaasiin: 80, QS Al Waqi'ah: 71-72, and QS An Nuur: 35 and for more explanation detailed can be read here. Only by returning to His instructions and believing in the Qur'an as the answer to all problems (QS 16: 89) then surely man will be safe and happy the this world and akhirat. Trees will be a source of energy for the future. Planataions or energy forests become one of the scenarios for the supply of biomass fuels, especially for the production of wood pellets. Fuel consumption from trees but ignoring the environmental aspect itself will also cause environmental catastrophe. Do not get because human greed with excessive exploitation beyond the carrying capacity of the environment itself then the natural damage even more severe. In addition to providing guidance on the use of trees as an energy source, Allah SWT also commands us as the prosperous of His earth (Qur'an 11:61). How complete and beautiful the guidance from Allah SWT.

Finding The Best Treasure From Energy Plantation Implementation Part 2

Cattle grazing proved to be important activity and work that will continue to exist until doomsday. Most human beings regard it as a lowly and ancient work so much abandoned. Though of course in the current era technology devices can be used to facilitate grazing, one of which is with IoT (Internet of Things) which is also widely applied in some areas of life. With cattle grazing turns out one of the important things for human that the cycle of food can run and continue (sustain). Soil fertility will be preserved, then grasses can continue to grow as well as various other trees. It is Allan Savory, a biologist from Zimbabwe who formulated the phenomenal concept of saving life on earth through Holistic Planned Grazing, a simple concept of planned grazing. The concept has even been applied in various parts of the world, ranging from Africa, Australia, Latin America and even North America with a total area of ​​more than 16 million hectares (about 40 million acres). How the grazing system so that it can save life on earth, watch the video of Allan Savory is in this link. The principle is to plan the rotation of the cattle grazing periodically so that the distribution of livestock manure to a large area and the grass in the pasture area has not been exhausted has been abandoned by cattle grazing, and then each area is visited again when the grass has been restored.

Masha Allah. It proves and convinces us that what all the Prophets and Messengers of Allah do, we are worth imitating until the end of time. But there is a difference of cattle that Allan Savory used with Allah's prophets, Allan Savory used cows while the whole Prophet was grazed sheep or goats. Why did all the Prophets graze the sheep and not the cows? Allah Almighty who sent the Prophets certainly has a purpose with it and certainly contains a lot of wisdom in it. Some of these wisdom, among others, first, the mathematical proliferation of sheep much faster than cow. A single female sheep or goat can give birth to six lambs in two years, while a cow gives only one or a maximum of two at the same time. Second, sheep or goats with smaller sizes are also more mobile in spreading dirt so that fertilizing effects on the soil are also more evenly distributed. Third, the quality of sheep dung as fertilizer is also better than cow dung, especially on the macro content of nitrogen (N), phospur (P), and potassium (K). Because the result of ordinary human works, Savory approach is certainly still contain many weaknesses, but it also can save the area of tens of millions of hectares in the whole world mentioned above. What if the example of the Prophets with the sheep grazing is applied all over the world? Of course the result will be much better in all aspects.

The harvesting rotation in energy plantations can also be adjusted with rotation of sheep groups in the grass area. The location of trees in the energy plantaion that is ready to harvest with the grass below can be used for sheep grazing. Trees that are high so that the leaves are not reached by the sheep, so as not to damage the trees. After the wood is harvested and leaves separated, then the leaves are also feed the sheep. The grass and the plantations will be pleasing to the sheep and sheep owners.

The low production of our meat, the low consumption of meat per capita and the high import of meat is our problem today. Indonesia's meat production currently stands at 2.5 million tons and that is to keep the 10 kg / year per capita fulfillment for 250 million people. The consumption of Indonesian meat is low, only about 1/4 of the world's consumption average, which is around 40 kg / year per capita. These protein pads are essential for cell growth and intelligence. FAO recently released its statistics that Indonesia only consumes 10 kg / year of per capita meat while our neighbors such as Timor Leste are 36.51 kg, Malaysia 48.93 kg, Brunei 63.87 kg and Australia 111.72 kg.

Why did it happen? Are our vast and fertile lands insufficient to reach conditions equal to the world average? There are at least three causes: we leave the sunnah of the Prophets to graze, wrong in choosing a grazing animal and mindset in grazing locations. Sheep or goats are supposed to be the best grazing animals. For the third error is the mindset about grazing sites. "He Who has sent down rain from the sky for you, part of it to drink and partly (fertilize) the plants, which on which you are grazing your cattle "(Surah 16: 10). Again we get a hint from the Qur'an that the best grazing sites are not in the vast pastures of Australia and New Zealand, but among the shade of other plants that form dense plantations such as energy plantationns. Which country is best suited for it? Tropical country like Indonesia is the right and best for grazing. Besides Allah also commands us to pay attention to our food (QS 80: 24-32), both the substance (quality and quantity) is also how to get until to process it. By eating food that halal thayyiban then our prayers are also easily granted Allah SWT.

When Blessings Become More Important!

Allah (Giver) light (to) the heavens and the earth. The parable of His light is like an unbroken hole, in which there is a great lamp. The lamp is in the glass (and) the glass is as if the star (which is luminous) is like a pearl, which is lit with oil from a blessed tree, (ie) an olive tree that grows not in the east (something) nor west (its), whose oil (just) almost illuminates, though not touched by fire. Light above light (layered), God guides to His light whom He wills, and Allah makes parables for man, and Allah is All-Knowing all things. (Surah 24:35)

What if there is a Qur'anic verse that informs the blessed tree so that by planting it also becomes its own blessing? What if the blessed tree has also been proven or tested empirically, giving man many benefits on one side of the economy? The tree is an olive tree, ie in the Qur'an An-Nur: 35. And the olive tree is one of a number of plants whose names are mentioned in the Qur'an. In addition, the most important thing for believers will believe in the Qur'an as the word of Allah SWT which must be true, True God over all His words, so that the existence of proof or empirical test will further increase or strengthen the faith and piety to Allah SWT.

Olive Plantation in Spain

Book of Al Filaha, The Phenomenal Agricultural Manuscripts of the Abassiyah Caliphate in Andalusia the Reference of Europe and the World for Centuries

The olive tree is in third place, the most planted trees of humans, after oil palm and coconut. Even for oil palm Indonesia ranks first in the area of ​​plantation and oil production, while for Indonesian coconut ranks second in terms of fruit productivity after the Philippines. Then where can we find the olive tree? Spain is the largest producer of olive oil with an area of ​​2.3 million hectares of plantations with an oil production of 7 million tons/year. Spain began planting olives since the Abassiyah caliphate in Andalusia, and became the center of the medieval agricultural revolution. The tree is also not native to Spain but is from Sham, the Syrian border with Turkey. Andalusian agriculture and plantation were very advanced in the medieval agricultural revolution that became the reference of Europe and even the world at that time. This tree can also be aged up to thousands of years. In addition, from scientific reviews the quality of olive oil is also better than palm oil. The yield of olive oil is also about the same as that of palm oil about 20%.

Palm oil trees are also not native to Indonesia. The palm oil tree is from West Africa and brought by the Dutch colonizers. Initially only 4 seeds and planted in Bogor botanical gardens, even today made a monument in the form of palm oil monument there. Currently the area of  palm oil plantations in Indonesia is about 9 million hectares and the largest in the world. It is common in the world of agriculture and plantations that the place of origin of the tree or plant does not become its largest producer, such as olive and palm oil.

Palm Oil Monument at Bogor Botanical Garden

Can the olive tree replace this palm oil plantation? InshaAllah can. Even olive seedlings can be done by cuttings so it can be done quickly. Unlike palms oil that require large factories to extract the oil, olive trees need only simple means to extract the oil, so it can be done by anyone and start small capacity, such as household scale. It is like coconut, which is widely grown by the people of Indonesia and to get the oil is also easy and simple. Olive planting will also be better like coconut that is managed by the community and planted in all corners of Indonesia.

Olive oil is the same as palm oil and coconut oil that can be used as cooking oil such as frying cooking oil, but also can be used as fuel either directly, or processed into biodiesel. Foods are certainly more prioritized than energy matters, to further examine this issue can be read here. Based on that rule, palm oil may also be directed to fuel, while olive oil and coconut oil are directed to edible oil in human consumption.

But why do we consider this olive important? First of all because of its blessings mentioned in the Qur'an mentioned above. Secondly because the blessing is also scientifically proven. If palm oil is heavily debated for health effects, for example, olive oil is much more widely reported of the benefits, for food, pharmaceuticals and fuel.

While liquid fuels under bioeconomy can be obtained from the above exposure, solid fuels can be obtained from the wood. The woody biomass can be specially cultivated to meet the great need that is by making energy plantations. The Qur'an again gives guidance that is QS 36:33; QS 6:99. The energy plantations are from leguminoceae trees that are not only edible of the seeds, but also fast harvest, very easy to grow, restore ecosystems and even repair and revive dead land, ie, barren and arid land. The woody biomass can then be processed into wood pellets for ease of distribution, use and storage. So by making the energy plantations will be obtained sustainability of supply of woody biomass for the energy source, not by deforesting the forest. How to design wood pellet production from the energy plantations? Please read here for more details. When the production of wood pellets from energy plantations has been done in many places, the small biomass power plants can run with the supply of wood pellets, even the power plant is only the size of a refrigerator.

Leguminoceae leaves are rich in protein, can then be used for sheep or goat feed. Dirt can be collected to be processed into biogas and organic fertilizer. Leguminoceae tree trees will nourish the soil with their nitrogen-binding (N) root capability, so organic fertilizer from sheep rich in phosphorus (P) and potassium (K), will further enrich the soil, enhancing the timber productivity of the energy plantations.

Then what is the blessing? In the Qur'an Surah Al-Qadr (97): 1, the Qur'an is revealed on the blessed night of the Lailatu Qodar night, who worships on that night the reward is the same as a thousand months or 30 days x 1000 months or very much. So that blessing can be interpreted as a lot of good. Then how to get the blessing? Allah says in the Qur'an Surah Al A'raf: 96

"If it be for the people of the lands of faith and piety (takwa), surely We will bestow upon them blessings from heaven and earth, but they deny (Our Signs), We will punish them for their deeds" (Surah 7:96)
 So the answer so that blessings continue to exist and not lost is to believe and piety to Allah SWT.

InsyaAllah No Longer Again, Our Power Generator Only Size of a Refrigerator

Around the mid 1980s, electricity entered into my residence in Bantul, Yogyakarta. While in my grandmother's place in Kulon Progo, Yogyakarta even much longer, ie the late 1980s or early 1990s. For almost 30 years electricity has become an integral part of our lives. Various human activities become easier with the electricity. Even some activities and professions are very dependent on the use of electricity, for example in modern manufacturing industries. Some of us may have asked in general, how the electricity is generated, where the power plant is, why not all regions in Indonesia get electricity, with what electricity can be produced, why tariffs or electricity costs continue to rise every time and so on. Even fewer may ask as to whether it is possible to generate and meet their own electricity needs, is there any connection to the electricity production we have been using with increasing carbon (CO2) in the atmosphere, and can be part of the solution to decrease the CO2 in the atmosphere by generating electricity itself. Of course a series of questions above require a long answer that explains one of the important issues about the energy sector, especially electricity.

About 20 years ago, if you have a big interest in go green or renewable energy, energy efficiency and sustainable environment then it is a strange thing and make the enthusiasts "isolated". But after 20 years passed that interest is now even a part of the way of thinking and living in everyday life, and not impossible will soon become mainstream. The market indication for energy and environmentally friendly technology is growing. Electricity is also a form of energy that is very flexible in its use so it can be converted to other forms, such as mechanics, heat, light and so on.

As Muslims when we read and implement the Qur'an, the biomass, especially woody biomass, is the answer to that source of energy. The Qur'anic guidance in QS Yaasiin: 80, QS Al Waqi'ah: 71-72, and QS An Nuur: 35 and for a more detailed explanation can be read here. Another factor is the awareness of the global community to lower the earth's temperature by not adding CO2 in the atmosphere, so biomass as a precise solution. Wood pellets as woody biomass products for the energy sector are very popular and pay the attention of today's world. Including also for power generation, even the use for this power plant is getting serious attention. By becoming a wood pellet product then the side of transportation, packaging until its use becomes easier. Wood pellet price is very competitive and become the most inexpensive energy products in terms of caloric content or heat value.

Woody biomass comes from trees or plants that can grow almost everywhere in Indonesia. Based on the fact that the power plant should also be deployed in all locations adjacent to the biomass source, even a small power plant for households can also be made. A power plant only the size of a refrigerator as shown below has been used in a number of countries in Europe with wood pellet as fuel. Little modification can be done in Indonesia, because the tropical climate that never experienced winter up to under 0 C, so in addition to power plants can also for cooking, while in Europe in addition to electricity also provides heat for room heating or commonly called CHP (Combine Heat and Power). Stirling engines are widely used in CHP engines because of their small size and effective capacity of up to 100 KW. Gasification and ORC (Organic Rankine Cycle) are also widely used for medium capacity. Both Stirling engines and ORCs get heat from biomass burning, whereas in gasification there are air / oxygen restrictions inserted and aims to maximize the gas product. In addition to combustion and gasification, there is another biomass thermal route that is also widely applied ie pyrolysis. The difference pyrolysis more widely used for fuel production, both solid fuel in the form of charcoal, especially with carbonization or slow pyrolysis, as well as liquid fuel or biooil, especially with fast pyrolysis. There is another variant of the pyrolysis process which is mainly to produce biomass fuel which has hydrophobic character such as coal, namely torrefaction or mild pyrolysis. Even before, power plants with smaller capacity could only for small power electronics such as gadgets have been made and installed on cooking stoves.

Then how to continue to produce wood pellets on sustainable basis? The answer is with the energy plantations. Energy plantations have also become a solution in Europe when the oil crisis of the 1970s, because Europe does not have adequate fossil energy sources so that biomass energy becomes the main choice. Including biomass densification technologies such as briquetting and pelleting also flourished during the crisis. And to this day a number of European countries with thousands of hectares of energy plantations to supply their power plants. Some countries in Europe that has a vast energy plantations those are Sweden, England, Germany and Spain. Then how about Indonesia? The concept of energy plantation sounds still strange in our ears, although its potential is also great in Indonesia. After a long time to become a petroleum producer so that the OPEC member at that time, now the condition is different that is to import the petroleum. The current actual condition should encourage biomass energy, especially in the form of wood pellets with raw materials from energy plantations.

Do not get too late when the energy crisis has occurred and then panically take what can be used as energy and bad for the environment. But does not Indonesia still have an abundant source of energy such as gas and coal? According to estimates of gas will runs out in the next 30 years and coal 80 in next years. Yes but the fuel above is carbon positive and not sustainable. Though currently gradually being to be reduced by many countries to lower the temperature of the earth. Certainly it would be better to participate as part of the solution to lower the earth's temperature with energy from the biomass. Another great motivation we can from the hadith of Prophet Muhammad SAW:

"There shall not be the doomsday, until the treasures have been piled up and overflowing, until a man goes everywhere carrying his treasures of zakat, but he has not found one who is willing to receive his zakat, and that the land of Arabs is prosperous again with grasslands and rivers "(HR.Muslim).

The earth will once again prosper before the doomsday. In general such plantations and forests are also the cause of springs (QS 36: 34) which in time will flow into the rivers (QS 19: 24-25) and also be your pleasure and your cattle ( QS 79: 31). Energy plantation and sheep / goat grazing solutions are also like oars, 2-3 islands exceeded, namely energy and food. Indonesia currently only boost one of the elements of food, namely carbohydrates, especially rice because it is also a staple food and the sector is currently not self-sufficient with rice imports reach millions of tons. Whereas in addition to carbohydrates our food composition includes protein, fat, vitamins and minerals. The logic when in the main sector is still not good, then for the other supporting elements will be worse. Sheep / goat farming as a provider of supporting element but very important role of protein. On another occasion, Insha Allah we can discuss energy and food linkage through this energy plantation and sheep/goat farm in more detail.

When are our power plants only about the size of a refrigerator? Soon, when the earth is go green, energy plantations and wood pellet production are scattered everywhere. Insha Allah

Improving Dryer Efficiency At Wood Pellet And Wood Briquette Factories

Rotary dryer or drum dryer is a common type of dryer used in the biomass industry namely wood pellet and woodbriquette factories. The advantages of rotary dryer due to the construction is simple, easy in operation and the drying capacity is quite large. There are two important points to consider in the use of a rotary dryer dryer: 1. Heat flow pattern, single pass or triple pass drum; 2. Type of equipment for emission control, such as multiple cyclone systems or other types. Both of these will affect the dryer efficiency as well as the environmental aspects. In practice in Indonesia almost all rotary dryers use single pass with a co-current with material to be dried. Multi-cyclone with cyclone also serves as a temporary storage is also widely encountered.

Side of other efficiencies that can be improved that is on the heating media. This is because the fuel consumption for drying is costly. Currently the rotary or drum dryer drying process that operates by direct-contact between the flue gas heat with the dried material such as sawdust. The flue gas usually comes from burning wood waste as well. If the plant site contains bulk materials such as rice husks, peanut shells, palm shells, cashew shells and so on, improve efficiency with gasification technology can be done. The trick is to replace the flue gas burning furnace with gasifier or from the beginning has designed a rotary dryer with a gasifier as a heat generator. An increase of efficiency by 20% can be achieved by using the gasifier.

Heat gasifier type downdraft and work continuously will be suitable for the heat source. This is because the heat gasifier does not require a complicated syngas cleaning unit and with the downdraft type syngas will be cleaner because the resulting tar is much less than the updraft type.

Wood Pellet Market Projection Until 2025 And Indonesia Opportunities

Making of market projection will be needed for all parties involved in the wood pellet business, especially the producers of wood pellets itself. Increasing or reducing production even stopping production could be done if the situation and conditions support it. A projection capable of presenting accurate data will facilitate the decision making. The level of accuracy of precise data and sharp analysis and presented in an informative and attractive make a projection so valuable and made a major reference for all parties involved in this business. Below we try to present the projection of wood pellet market until 2025 which is collected from various sources and personal experience. May be a useful projection for the reader.

Wood pellet market is generally grouped into two, namely industry and heating. The industrial sector is electricity generation, while the heating sector is heating and boiler. The quality of industrial wood pellets is lower than the premium wood pellet. The need for wood pellets for industries is usually very large even the delivery or transportation using bulk shipment while for heating needs smaller amount usually packed in jumbo bag and then arranged in containers. Another difference is that the wood pellets of the marketing industry are heavily influenced by the policy of the country concerned (policy driven) while the wood pellet for heating is strongly influenced by the price of other fuels, such as petroleum and gas. The above things underlying the characteristics of the wood pellet market.

The last few years the global wood pellet market (both industrial and heating sectors) does not seem to be exhilarating and there are even excesses in some places. Why does this happen? Firstly, because a number of policies for the use of wood pellets have not been effectively implemented because the power plants have not yet been completed or in the development stage, and some power plants are still in the co-firing test phase with wood pellets. Second, the price of cheap competitor fuel, especially petroleum which even reached its price of 30 dollars per barrel that is in early 2016. This condition even to shift the position of wood pellet as the cheapest fuel for the heating sector. When oil prices more than 63 dollars per barrel it is predicted the wood pellet market will improve. And thirdly, due to climate change, the winters in Europe are not in recent years warmer or less cold than before. Of course this condition also reduces the consumption of wood pellets. Logically when the above conditions can turn out otherwise the wood pellet market will improve.

Different regions and countries have their own market characteristics. Europeans generally use wood pellets for both industry and heating, and in particular Italy uses wood pellets mostly forheating. The wood pellet stove there can even be operated with applications on smartphones or gadgets. While the market in Asia the use of wood pellets a lot for heating especially for boilers, drying and cooking but very rarely for the use of space heaters. In the future, the use of wood pellets in Asia will be dominated for the industrial sector, ie power plants when power plants in Japan and Korea and even China use wood pellets for fuel. As for the American market, especially the United States and Canada the use of wood pellets mostly for the industrial sector even in the next few years there is a tendency to be improved. What about the conditions in Australia and Africa? So far there has been no clear policy related to biomass fuel especially wood pellet in both continents. Its use is limited to heating and the portion is still small and smaller for the industrial sector at power plants.

The year 2020 is an important year for the wood pellet market because that year most of the power plants built are already in operation including a number of policies can be effective as they are supported by these generating facilities. The year 2020 also means when massive wood pellets start, because the need for wood pellets has increased significantly. FutureMetrics estimates for wood pellet demand in 2025 will be 30 million tons, while RISI writes its 50 million ton estimated by 2024 and Viridis Energy says the value of this business will reach 9 billion US dollarsby 2020. Futuremetrics in more detail also provides market analysis in Canada and Japan. Several other indications add to the accuracy of the analysis that Korea invested $ 11.6 billion in 2016 for alternative energy and according to the Korea Forest Biomass Association it will increase its import wood pellet from 1.5 million tons in 2015 to 8.5 million tons in 2022. To be able to capture these opportunities certainly need preparation from this moment, especially for the producers of wood pellets.

Where and who is the largest wood pellet user today? Britain is currently the largest wood pellet user with three power plants, Lynemouth, MGT and Drax. The policies of each country are more unique and specific to the conditions of the country , although it usually refers to more macro policies, such as occurs in EU countries. In European bioeconomy policy they have a target for 21% of electricity and 20% of heating comes from renewable energy, then each country has its own policy that refers to the collective agreement. The Netherlands with its co-firing program will also increase the demand for wood pellets, although it remains unclear, but if it does this will increase demand for wood pellets by 3.5 million tonnes / year. Likewise co-firing at Langerlo in Belgium will also increase the demand for wood pellets as well. Japan and South Korea that declared the decrease of CO2 emission have regulation related to usage of biomass fuel especially wood pellet.

European pellets production in 2015 is 14.1 million tons, while consumption reaches 20.3 million tons meaning less 6.2 million tons. Use for the heating sector reached 10.3 million tonnes, or 51% of total consumption or beat the use of pellets for industries such as power plants such as Drax. If every home in Europe consumes 2.5 tons of pellets per year, then there are about 4 million consumers. While the six largest pellet producers in Europe namely, Germany (2 million tons), Sweden (1.7 million tons), Latvia (1.6 million tons), Estonia (1.3 million tons), Austria (1 million tons) and France (1 million tons). And for more details the major pellet consumer countries for the European heating sector are Italy (3.1 million tons), Germany (2.3 million tons), Denmark (1.8 million tons), Sweden (1.6 million tons ), France (1 million tons), and Austria (0.9 million tons). Heating stove (pellet stove) also beat the boiler. Italy with 95% pellet consumption for stove, and boiler only 5%, while Germany 60% wood pellet with stove and boiler reach 40%.

China has so far been unclear about its biomass fuel-related policies, both the production potential and the use of wood pellets. But the data that the forest area in China is so limited that it will be difficult to produce wood pellets in large quantities, but agricultural waste is very abundant. This pellet from agricultural waste has limitations on its quality, ie high chlorine which is corrosive to the metal pipe boiler and silica is abrasive. The agro-waste pellet or pellet fuel from these agricultural wastes becomes unusable in the pulverized system, since it is mainly a chlorine problem, or if it can be used the portion is so small that the problems can be minimized. Another problem with low melting ash temperature will cause slag or clinker which may damage the combustion equipment at the plant. So that agro-waste pellets can be used on non-pulverized systems such as combustion with moving grate (chain grate) and gasification. Although there is always amarket for every pellet fuel, but because the majority of existing power plants use pulverized systems so it is necessary to replace the system to use agro-waste pellets and this is of course not easy, fast and cheap. It also makes the target of reducing CO2 (Carbon Reduction) is also difficult to meet. Another thing that can be done is to use wood pellets and it means that import is very much needed. High silica content in agricultural waste becomes a problem especially during production or shoveling and its use. Examples of high agricultural waste silica content is rice husk. Still according to FutureMetrics calculations if the portion of co-firing wood pellet is only 5% only and that too is done only by 16% of coal power plant in China, hence it can cause wood pellet demand almost 40 million ton / year.

 

Indonesia's potential is good enough to become one of the world's major player of wood pellets. With a tropical climate, high rainfall, fertile soil, geographical location is quite close to Japan, South Korea and China and the area of ​​good plantation industry (HTI) which covers about 80 million hectares, polyculture with oil palm plantations, marginal that can be used for energy plantations. Why use energy plantations to supply woody raw materials for wood pellet production? This is because with the energy plantation the supply of raw materials for wood pellets can be large and stable for a long period of time, more detail for energy plantation can be read here. Indonesia is also known as the largest producer of CPO or crude palm oil with production of 23 million tons / year, but with monoculture in large plantations the plantation will be susceptible to disease and its production is not optimal, for that polyculture with energy plantation is the best solution for more detail can be read here. Forests of industrial crops that also millions of hectares can also be optimized with energy plantations, for more detail can be read here. Meanwhile, to design wood pellet production from energy plantation can be read here.

Likewise the unused fields, marginal land to critical land will also provide great benefits with the energy plantation. One more thing is the consumption of protein, especially meat for the people of Indonesia also still needs to be improved because it is below the average world consumption, which is 16 grams / day, while the world average of 31 grams / day. Big sheep farms can be made by feeding the leaves of energy-rich leguminoceae plantation crops, also low in tannins and grasses with grazing in the plantations. The leaves are rich in protein has a high conversion into lamb meat, which later on the meat is eated by humans. This protein is very important for the body because it works for the growth of cells and the sheep will also be our best treasure. Do not let Indonesia want to boost meat production with the farm, but on the one hand also boost imports of animal feed such as corn and soybeans due to less availability of domestic animal feed. In addition, sheep feed with grass and foliage will make the meat has a ratio of omega 6 to omega 3 close to 1, so it will be the world healthiest food. Unlike if the cattle are fed grains then the ratio of omega 6 to omega 3 large, can be more than 10 and this is also less good. 

Will Indonesia also be barrier-free to become one of the world's largest producers of wood pellets? The answer, of course not. Major countries such as Canadian wood pellet producers who are rich in woody biomass from forestry also do not remain silent and try to seize and lead the world wood pellet market. Even Canada has targeted Europe and Asia as its wood pellet market, namely wood pellet production from western Canada for Japanese and Korean markets and from the eastern part for the European market. Meanwhile, domestic policy also requires wood pellets because pan-Canadian climate deal is targeting coal-free power plants by 2030. Europe is still the most important market destination for export wood pellets from Canada, accounting for 80% of its export volume. And almost all is for the electricity industry sector, namely in England, Belgium and the Netherlands and only slightly for the heating sector in Italy. Seeing opportunities for the shortage of wood pellet supply in Europe, some European countries have also started emerging as wood pellet producers by 2016, such as Ukraine 360 ​​thousand tons (plus 1 million tons of pellet fuel made from agricultural waste such as straw from wheat, sunflower husk), Serbia (250 thousand tons), Croatia (232 thousand tons), and Slovenia (110 thousand tons). Estonia and Latvia, two small countries in Europe also began to become rivals for Canada. While other countries in Europe have also started to increase production. What is the current production of wood pellets in Indonesia? Wood pellet production in Indonesia is relatively small approximately 80,000 tons per year while Malaysia has more than 180 thousand tons per year and mostly for the Korean market which is more than 70% both from Indonesian and Malaysian producers. While the export to Japan is still very small. Finally there are some things to note for the producers: first, evidence of sustainability, the two qualities, the three strengths and financial reliability, and the fourth that is the competitive price.

In addition to Canada, the United States and Europe are the largest producers today, as well as users of wood pellets in large quantities. But there is a difference between the three, which Canada exports most of its wood pellets, many Americans use wood pellets domestically, while Europe still needs very much wood pellets from other countries. There are also a number of wood pellet producers in Asia, more specifically in Southeast Asia such as Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam. The land area in Indonesia and the various conditions that support it make the potential to become a leader for the production of wood pellets in Southeast Asia is very large. Another factor is the low target of the Indonesian government for biomass energy in the national energy mix which according to Indonesian PresidentialRegulation no 5 of 2006 only 5% and even then in 2025, so the majority of wood pellet production can be directed to big wood pellet market like Japan and South Korea. Meanwhile, if the heating market is more influenced by the price of energy or fuel of competitors, not because of policy or regulation, the price of competitor's fuel such as coal, petroleum, gas and even wood will determine the amount of wood pellet consumption in the country. Conditions in Indonesia basically also support for the wood pellet market for heating both for industry and household that use LPG (propane), because the price of wood pellet is much cheaper in terms of energy content. Unfortunately not many are working on this market, this is because there are several barrier factors that are limited supply of wood pellets and cook stoves are practical for the sector.

Conclusion: Indonesia has a great chance to become a major player of wood pellet both as producer and user as well. It is supported by a number of natural conditions, land area and geographic position. But since there is no clear policy for the use of fuel or wood pellet energy sources for power generation and national energy policy under Presidential Regulation no 5 of 2006 only targets 5% for biomass energy in renewable energy mix so that the role of wood pellet producers with the majority of their products for export market is more a priority. Energy plantations as a way to produce the raw material of wood pellet industry with large quantities, continuous and stable and the potential to produce food in the form of protein from sheep meat is the best choice. Improvement of generations to a glorious civilization to light the world, one of them with food in the form of meat that halalan thoyyiban, namely healthy, delicious and quality with sufficient nutritional content of the protein.Energy development with wood pellet production derived from wood in the trees in the energy plantations  are  also in line with the instructions of theQur'an.

Rice Husk Briquette Easy, Quick And Abundant Raw Materials

In fact, Indonesia is currently a net importer of petroleum because the production capacity is not sufficient to the existing needs. In the 1980s our oil production was around 1,700 barrels per day (BPD), while the need for consumption was only about 400 BPD. While the current level of production range of 800s BPH while consumption needs can reach 1400an BPD. This should encourage the use of various renewable energies. Moreover, the problem of energy sovereignty is also an important thing for the existence of a country. If the energy source is easy and cheap is available and easy also in its utilization would be a choice. The rice husk briquette (although the type of solid fuel but also one of the solutions, because our staple food from rice that produces waste rice husk. Rice husks that initially have a density of about 125 kg / m3 can be 1200 kg / m3 or nearly twice as dense than hardwood stems and also much denser than wood pellets ranging from 650 kg / m3 when briquetted. By being briquetted into cost-effective transportation is also easy to use.

Indonesia's paddy production in 2008 was 59.9 million tons of dried unhulled rice (GKG= Gabah Kering Giling), with an average rice husk percentage of 25% / ton of rice, 15 million tons / year. Indonesia is also the largest importer of three largest rice importers in the world according to IndexMundi in 2014 which reached 1.5 million tons. While China ranks first with 3 million tons, and Nigeria 2.4 million tons. Food self-sufficiency that is rice or rice is also no less important thing. If rice self-sufficiency by increasing production of 1.5 million tons of rice husk waste generated also a lot of rice husk briquette production can also be increased.

The process of production of rice husk briquettes is also easy especially compared to sawdust briquette briquettes. This is because the rice husks do not need to dry and the raw materials are homogeneous, so that after being accommodated temporarily in the silo or bin can be directly distributed to the screw extruder to be briquetted. With 17-19% lignin content of rice husks no additional adhesive (binder) is required on rice husk briquetting. The briquettes are subsequently cooled and subsequently packaged to be shipped or marketed to the user. Drying process in addition to increasing production costs also need investment in the form of drying equipment itself which generally use rotary dryer (drum dryer).

The use of rice husk briquette is also the same as sawdust briquette briquette for fuel. Industries can use the briquettes as heat sources such as cooking and steam production with boilers. Compared to sawdust briquettes, rice husk briquettes have lower calorific value of around 3500 kcal / kg and also high ash content of about 20%, so the type of static grate combustor  does not match, because the amount of ash that makes pores grate becomes clogged. While the grill moving grate (chain grate) suitable for briquettes husk rice. Rice husk ash contains a lot of potassium or K is very well returned to the soil as a fertilizer. Silica can also extract ash rice husk briquettes because it is also quite high content.

Another application is to coat the molten steel at the steel plant to increase the carbon content in the steel, but in the form of rice husk charcoal. For that the rice husk briquettes then carbonized for making rice husk briquette charcoal. The carbonization of rice husk briquettes can be done in specially designed furnace with each furnace typically able to accommodate about 2.5 tonnes of rice husk briquettes and a 20% conversion rate to charcoal with a time span of 10-14 days. If at present charcoal is not briquetted and shipped or sent it to steel mills, the transportation becomes problem because inefficient, so the briquetting is the solution. In addition, of course, rice husk briquette charcoal  is also able to roast meat, and fish as well as sawdust charcoal briquette.

InshaAllah we can supply rice husk briquettes machineries including its carbonization furnace (if needed). For those interested please please send an email to eko.sbs@gmail.com