Friday, November 30, 2018

Finding The Best Treasure From Energy Plantation Implementation Part 9

"And who grows grass. "(QS al-A'laa: 4)

"It is He Who has brought down the rain from the sky for you, some of it has become a drink and some of it has grown up, the plants which are in your place of grazing your cattle. "(Qur'an 16:10)

"Eat and graze your animals. Verily in this, there are signs of the power of Allah for those who understand. "(Qur'an, 20:54)

"Muslims are syirkah (sharia business cooperation) to three things, in terms of pasture (land), water and fire (energy)". (HR. Sunan Abu Daud).

Allah SWT grows grass (QS Al A'laa: 4) even though humans can just plant the grass but in essence Allah is the One who grows the grasses. That's because all related things to make grass grows has been created and prepared by Him. The grass is also very easy to grow and can be found in almost all places in Indonesia. In many ways this grass is even considered as a problem so a number of efforts are mobilized to overcome the problem of the grass. Even though the grasses are animal feed, especially sheep, goats, cattle and buffalo. This means that the grass is an important link for the meat production we need. In the UK even grass has contributed around 90% to their meat production, so grass cultivation for cattle grazing is professionally important in their food sector. Rotational grazing is the best technique for grazing livestock, especially sheep or sheep and cattle.
Grass Growth Cycle
The quality and quantity of grass is ultimately an important factor for the farm business with the grazing technique. Professional shepherds must be able to identify and strive for the best grasses for their livestock. Grasses that are anatomically mostly leaves are the same as the leaves of various plants that have a cycle of growing, mature, old, dead and dry. When should the sheep eat the grass? This needs to be considered for professional grazing. Farm animals do not like old grass but also those who are too young. The condition of the medium or adult age of the grass is the best condition for animal feed because the nutritional content is also maximal. What is the consequence if livestock are lacking in consuming grass or eating enough grass but low quality? Of course the results will not be optimal, especially for the growth of the weight of the livestock.
Grass for the farm with the grazing pattern is the main feed for the livestock, while the leaves that are considered as waste from the energy plantation are the additional feed. The more feed available, the more livestock can be cultivated. Calliandra leaves have a high protein content because the roots of the leguminoceae group have the ability to bind nitrogen to the root nodules. The ability to bind nitrogen to the root nodules in addition to the roots fertilize the soil will also increase the protein content of the calliandra leaves. The high levels of protein in the leaves become a highly nutritious supplement for the sheep. By using the leaves to feed sheep and sheep dung for energy plantation fertilizers, the integration of energy plantations and sheep farms is optimal.
Mixed grazing of sheep with cattle is also very possible because both of them can optimize feed in the pasture. The habit of grazing cows with sheep is different, so are the types of grass that are their favorite feed. The anatomical factors of the mouth of the two animals are different so that it affects the grazing habits and types of grass eaten, for more clarity to read in the table below. Another advantageous factor of sheep grazing with cattle is that cows tend to protect sheep when grazing from disturbances such as wild animals, so that they have more grazing effects and are so long that the increase in body weight increases rapidly. Although grazing mixed with sheep and cattle can give positive results, but grazing mixed sheep with horses does not match and gives a negative result.

Thursday, November 15, 2018

Finding The Best Treasure From Energy Plantation Implementation Part 8

"It is He Who has brought down the rain from the sky for you, some of it has become a drink and some of it has grown up, the plants which are in your place of grazing your livestock. "(Qur'an 16:10)

"Eat and graze your animals. Verily in this, there are signs of the power of Allah for those who understand. "(Qur'an, 20:54)

"Muslims are syirkah (sharia business cooperation) to three things, in terms of pasture (land), water and fire (energy)". (HR. Sunan Abu Daud).
After the energy plantation is made for the production of wood pellets, then make sheep (or sheep with cattle) farms to use the leaves from the energy plantation tree or both can be made in parallel. Making sheep farms (or sheep with cattle) can also be an entry point before integration with an energy plantation in time or even a wider bioeconomy model. Farming sheep (or sheep with cattle) by rotating grazing is the best way, because maximizing land use, managing pasture is easier and more planned, and the productivity and quality of meat from livestock are also higher. In rotation grazing, the livestock is rotated in the barren pasture area that has been partitioned. The pasture area used should have a height of about 25-30 cm of grass and left behind when the grass has a height of about 8-10 cm. If the grass is spent (overgrazed) then further growth becomes less optimal and can even die, because it is unable to grow again.
There are at least 4 physical things that need to be considered for making rotating grazing work well, namely: feed supply, fence systems, water supply and shade. Feed supply or grass availability are important factors for the sustainability of the grazing. In the rainy season the grass or certain months will be abundant while the dry season decreases. To adjust to the amount of feed, the livestock population can also be adjusted. When abundant feed the livestock population is more than when feed is reduced. To keep feed more available, pasture can be equipped with a good irrigation system so that the grass can continue to grow even in the dry season.

Fencing systems are also a factor in the success of rotation grazing. The fence system allows planned management of pasture fields. Setting the use of areas for grazing and areas that must be rested so that the grass grows back is the function of the fence system. Furthermore, with the supply of water, obviously this is an important factor because Allah SWT creates something that lives from water (Qur'an 21:30) and every one who lives must need water, especially livestock. Each grazing area (paddock) must be equipped with the water supply. The more food or grass consumed the more water is needed. The lack of water supply will also reduce feed consumption. Cool and non-hot water is preferred by livestock compared to hot water. When a hot day, a place of water in a pond or a certain container will become hot, resulting in reduced water consumption and reduced feed consumption, which in turn will decrease body weight growth. A number of studies have shown that the maximum distance of pasture livestock to a maximum water source is around 250 meters for optimal results.
Shady places are also important for grazing. Farm animals tend to look for shade so they can graze longer. When the weather is hot, farm animals do not last long. The best shade is trees so trees need to be planted in the pasture area. Fruit trees are one of the interesting choices for that. Each paddock area can be planted with one type of fruit tree, for example one paddock for durian trees, the other paddock for rambutan, the other for date palm trees, mango, guava, olive and so on. Temperatures in Indonesia with a tropical climate are also higher than in subtropical regions, namely daytime on average reaching 25 C while in subtropical regions only 10 C. This shows that the best location is grazing is grassland with shady trees among them. The amount of rainfall like in Indonesia makes large fast and fruiting trees so that they can be quickly used for shade.
One of the most frequently asked questions for farmers who want to start rotation grazing is how many paddocks must be made? Basically, the more paddocks, the better because the pasture can be utilized to source livestock feed maximally. In general, you can start with 5 to 10 paddock with each paddock for grazing 3 to 7 days later rest for 25-30 days. Of almost all rotational grazing practices, the number of 4 paddocks is the minimum amount when starting. The square shape is the best form for the paddock, so that it is as close as possible to the shape. The shape of the small paddock extends or circles is not good because it is more difficult to achieve the results of the utilization of grass that is evenly distributed by livestock. For determining the pasture area as well as the distribution it will be better at the initial stage to do it with aerial photography.

Friday, November 9, 2018

Carbon as Basic Element

Carbon material is basically obtained in all living things. Carbon usually binds to hydrogen to form hydrocarbon chains. Fossil fuels are very familiar referred to as hydrocarbon sources. The fossil fuels also come from animals and plants that are buried for millions of years. After going through a very long process, it finally became hydrocarbon compounds that are widely known today. At this time also if we decompose biomass, hydrocarbon compounds will be produced or specifically with carbonization or pyrolysis will produce charcoal material whose main element is carbon. If we see today most of our daily necessities come from plastic. The plastic is a derivative product of fossil material from both the oil compound and the gas. Coal also when processed with pyrolysis will produce coke, benzol and syngas. Coke is very similar to charcoal whose main ingredients are carbon, benzol as well as biooil which can be used for fuels and various materials and chemicals. Syngas as well as being used for energy can also be used for the production of various chemicals and materials.
Why should charcoal be made? By making charcoal because it will be a stable material, easily stored and easily converted. When stored in a biooil form, in addition to unstable material, storage is also more difficult. While the storage in gas form is technically even more difficult. Charcoal conversion can be physically used as briquettes, pellets and activated charcoal. While chemical conversion is a fuel that can produce heat for various energy sources, either directly or further modified through various thermochemical processes. Small-scale generators are now widely used such as ORC (organic rankine cycle), stirling engine and gasification can use the charcoal as fuel.
Municipal solid waste consisting of various types of garbage, most of which are organic waste, that is from living and inorganic creatures from fossil sources. When viewed from industrial chemical point of view, it means that city waste is a source of carbon material. In this case we do not distinguish whether the carbon material is from organic material or renewable sources or from fossils which are non-renewable sources. With continuous pyrolysis technology, the waste can be converted into the main product in the form of charcoal, and by-products such as biooil, pyroligneous acid (liquid smoke) and syngas. The syngas can also be used for power plants and heat sources. Charcoal is then a carbon source that is flexible in its use and the easiest to store.
General rules in the form of overcoming the problem are prioritized rather than the benefits that can be produced are also suitable to be applied in solving the city garbage problem. But if the benefits side can be optimized in such a way that is certainly what is more expected and becomes the main choice. Continuous pyrolysis problem solving provides the best solution for the city waste problem, because not only is the problem resolved effectively and efficiently, but the added value of the products produced provides attractive economic.

Sunday, November 4, 2018

Finding The Best Treasure From Energy Plantation Implementation Part 7

"It is He Who has brought down the rain from the sky for you, some of it has become a drink and some of it has grown up, the plants which are in your place of grazing your cattle. "(Qur'an 16:10)

"Eat and graze your animals. Verily in this, there are signs of the power of Allah for those who understand "(Qur'an, 20:54)

"Muslims are syirkah (sharia business cooperation) to three things, in terms of pasture (land), water and fire (energy)". (HR. Sunan Abu Daud).

Farmers outside Java island generally have 5-10 hectares of land, but not a few that have tens of hectares to hundreds of hectares. Many of these lands have not been planted or optimized so as to provide benefits for their owners. These lands are very potential to be made efficient pasture by rotating grazing. Sheep grazing and mixed sheep and cattle can be cultivated in these areas. Rotation grazing is to divide the pasture into several units such as the horse training arena (paddock), and then the cattle take turns grazing in the boundary grazing area. In rotation grazing there is always a pasture field that is rested to restore the growth of the grass. The landowners can also be syirkah (sharia business cooperation) to reach a certain area of ​​land to be used as an energy plantation. Energy plantation will produce wood for energy, namely wood pellets or wood briquettes or derivatives of other products. The leaves are used for animal feed namely sheep and sheep with cow. Farm animals can even be grazed in an energy plantation area with certain techniques or sacrifice some land for grazing areas.
Rotation grazing will provide efficient results in both meat productivity and the sustainability of the pasture. Grass growth can be maintained in such a way by rotating grazing, which is maintained at height of 8-10 cm. If the grass is eaten out (overgrazed) to the base of the stem it will be difficult to grow properly again. The technique regulates that the grass continues to grow well by regulating the duration of grazing on the grazing block, this will also be affected by the season factor. Grass will grow faster in the rainy season and oppositely in the dry season. With good irrigation, the growth of grass in the dry season can be maintained. Pasture is essentially farming of grass itself. In addition, by rotation grazing of sheep or livestock, they will graze more evenly because the grazing area is limited by the barriers. As a comparison, continuous grazing is used, where animals tend to only eat grass that is preferred and even overgrazed so that the sustainability of grass pasture is less optimal.

Then how can the sustainability of pasture be optimal? Fertilization is an important thing to achieve this, in addition to the things above. Distribution of livestock manure must be made as well as possible in the pasture field. With a ratio of land area compared to the number of animals small or the number of livestock made more so that the larger population makes the distribution of fertilizer evenly distributed. The distance of livestock mobility in this way is short and limited. Of course the availability of feed in the form of grass is an important consideration for the technique. Dense grass, although not so broad, may provide more food than large land with rare grass populations. If the area of ​​1 m2 with the condition of dense grass produced 1 kg of grass, then for every hectare there is 10 tons of grass for feed.
The Qur'an shows that pasture animals like the shade under the trees and also near the source of water (QS 16:10). This has also been proven from professional grazing in various countries over the globe. For this reason the pasture should also be overgrown with trees like the Qur'an's instructions. Among these trees can also grow a lot of grass. Farm animals will spend a lot of time in the shade under the trees. Water sources also need to be provided at that location for the place to drink the grazing animals. As a result, livestock manure will also accumulate in these locations so that it also fertilizes the soil. Fruit trees and woody trees can be used in the pasture. Leaves from the energy plantation can be used as additional feed for the sheep. Sheep farming can also include supporting the Shari'a qurban ie Islamic Shari'a slaughtering sacrificial animals on every 10 Dzulhijah or Idhu Adha feasts. In addition to these lands being used for energy plantations, plantation lands in Indonesia is very broad, for example palm oil which reaches 12 million hectares, coconut 3.7 million hectares, rubber 3.5 million hectares, various fruit plantations also very broad can be modified by sheep grazing to optimize land and increase soil fertility.

Coal Companies and New Business Development in Renewable Energy (Wood Pellets and PKS)

Coal is a fossil fuel which is one of the main causes of greenhouse gases, especially CO2, which causes global warming and climate change. E...