Thursday, February 28, 2019

Utilization of Waste Wood of Land Clearing For Sawdust Charcoal Briquette

The area of ​​oil palm oil plantations in Indonesia continues to grow every year. CPO and PKO needs continue to increase throughout the year. This is in line with the increasing edible oil and also world energy, especially renewable energy. The expansion of palm oil plantations is mostly done by land clearing, which of course must be legal or obtain permission from the authorities. The opening of the forest produces a lot of waste wood which should not be wasted but can be profitable.

The prospective palm oil entrepreneurs are also thinking hard to use waste wood into a profitable product. In addition to the large amount of waste wood, there is also the entrepreneur's mindset to maximize profits if it can be obtained in a short time. For example, every 1 hectare produces 50 tons of wood waste, so 10,000 hectares will produce 500,000 tons of wood waste, a very large amount of course.
One of the uses of wood waste so as to provide economic benefits is the production of sawdust charcoal briquette. Sawdust charcoal briquette has a very open market for Turkey, the Middle East and Saudi Arabia, for more details to read here. To produce high quality sawdust charcoal briquette products, the factor of consistency of raw materials must be fulfilled. The wood waste from clearing the forest can be grouped into the types of softwood and hardwood. Furthermore, for the raw material of sawdust charcoal briquette the composition of softwood with hard wood must be maintained in such a way that it can be fixed or consistent.

The quality of sawdust charcoal briquette from forest waste wood should not be lower compared to sawdust charcoal briquette made from wood waste processing or from sawmills. With quality that competes with sawdust charcoal briquette products made from wood waste processing and sawmill waste, the selling price of sawdust charcoal briquette automatically from forest wood waste also competes. Well, the problem is how can the production of sawdust charcoal briquette from forest wood waste be done? Doesn't that need electricity? How to get electricity in the middle of the forest?
The electricity is vital for the production of the sawdust charcoal briquette. Electricity from PLN is impossible for this location, whereas if with diesel oil (diesel fuel) as a driving fuel the generator is expensive, which is around IDR 15,000 for each liter. The solution is to produce electricity with wood waste itself. This means that some wood waste is used for sawdust charcoal briquette production and partly for electricity production. Gasifier or gasification technology can be used for electricity production from processing forest wood waste. Forest wood waste is made chip and used to fuel the gasifier.

Then what about the long-term business for Sawdust Charcoal Briquette? Does it also mean that it is finished after the wood clearing the forest clears is used up? Of course there are a number of things that can be done to keep the sawdust charcoal business going. One of the things that can be done is by making energy plantations from fast-rotating plants as a source of sawdust charcoal briquette. Fast rotating plants that can be planted for example is calliandra, for more detailed explanation, please read here.

Tuesday, February 26, 2019

Eco-Tourism with Palm Oil Plantation

"The Muslims are syirkah (shariah business cooperation) in three ways, in terms of grasslands (land), water and fire (energy)". (Hadith narrated by Sunan Abu Daud)


Food, energy and water (FEW) is a matter of essential material for human life. The next generation and children must be introduced and understood about this. Among the many subjects taught in school, the topic of discussion about FEW must also receive an adequate portion. At the macro level, we witness that a country and nation will not be independent and sovereign if they are unable to be independent and sovereign in the affairs of the FEW. By introducing it from the beginning, the true understanding of FEW will be embedded both for human biological life and for its strategic role in the world arena.

Indonesia is the largest palm oil producer in the world with the plantation area more than 12 million hectares, palm oil production (both CPO and PKO) reaching more than 40 million tons / year with more than 1,000 CPO mills. As an effort to inculcate FEW's understanding, palm oil plantations can be used as educational facilities which are packaged into eco-tourism for palm oil plantations. Palm oil producer regions can make eco-tourism. The location of palm oil plantations that are easy to access, high in productivity, well cared for, the scenery is beautiful maybe with the presence of lakes, water fall and so on and equipped with various facilities and infrastructure to support the excellent development of eco-tourism.
Students in non-palm oil production areas, such as in Java, Madura, Bali and Nusa Tenggara, are still many who do not know about palm oil trees, although every day they eat fried foods using palm oil. Whereas in most of these areas the majority of Indonesia's population is located or densely populated areas. If children and the next generation do not know the potential of their country, of course this is very unfortunate. It is hoped that by visiting the eco-tourism of palm oil plantations, students and future generations will become more open-minded and more concerned about maximizing it. With visits to these tourism objects, they can see how palm oil is planted, maintained until it continues to be able to produce and still pay attention to environmental aspects to industrialization and provide benefits so that it becomes a profession of choice for some people and contributes to the country.
The palm oil plantation eco-tourism is also a medium to fight against the palm oil black campaign which is currently mostly carried out by western countries. In addition, the promotion of palm oil can also be done in these tourism objects. In addition to domestic tourists, especially students, these attractions can also attract tourists from overseas. With good tourism management, the expected goals can be achieved. Currently halal tourism (Halal Tourism / Islamic Tourism) has also begun to be promoted, and environmentally friendly tourism of palm oil plantations can become part of halal tourism. Islamic-based tourism management is not only limited to material worldly goals, but also gives blessings and blessings from Allah SWT which has an afterlife (akhirat) dimension.

Sunday, February 24, 2019

Integration of Cattle Farms and PKO Mills

 
PKO mills or palm kernel oil mills have a greater opportunity to integrate livestock especially cattle in their business fields. This is because in the production of palm kernel oil (PKO) a by-product product in the form of palm kernel cake or palm kernel expeller (PKE) or palm kernel cake (PKC) which can be used to feed the cow. The palm kernel oil mills does not need to sell the PKE but uses it for internal purposes, namely for the cattle farm. The cows will also be better if grazed with additional food in the form of palm kernel cake. For palm oil companies it is certainly not a problem to provide grazing land for several tens or several hundred hectares, because many oil palm plantations reach thousands to tens of thousands of hectares. In addition to cattle farming, sheep farming can also be developed together, because a number of studies have shown that grazing cattle and sheep shows positive results.
PKO mills are far less in number than CPO mills. Many oil palm companies own CPO mills but do not have PKO mills. This is due to, among other things, the low yield of palm kernel oil compared to palm oil (CPO) and the handling of palm kernel oil products is also more difficult than CPO. The PKO mill produces side products in the form of palm oil cake while CPO products do not. The availability of palm oil cake for integration with cattle farming will be an advantage in itself, because feed factors are a vital factor for livestock business. Feed is the highest cost component which reaches around 70% in the livestock business. With the availability of more adequate feed and combined with grazing, cow production by fattening on these farms can be accelerated and optimized. The Indonesian government's plan to import buffalo meat from India as many as 100,000 tons / year must be canceled by provide its own livestock. Circulation of haram meat, namely wild boar meat, which causes public unrest can also be eradicated if sufficient halal meat is available.
Portion of Protein Consumption According to the Qur'an
The meat self-sufficiency program which is the vision of the Indonesian government in the food sector can only be achieved if the government encourages it to be achieved seriously. Promoting livestock and simplifying its marketing distribution channels with various supporting policies will make the program run smoothly. Of course, all people with sound sense will support this positive program if done in a good way, not just rhetoric and imagery. Protein is an essential food source for the human body so that if the needs are not met, it will cause problems. The Qur'an also indicates that the source of protein from large livestock (ruminansia) occupies the largest portion compared to poultry and fish. The source of animal protein from large livestock is revealed in at least 7 verses or 64%, from fish revealed in 3 verses or 27% and from poultry revealed in 1 verse or 9%. So to fulfill the needs of protein, the priority is from large livestock such as cattle.

Saturday, February 23, 2019

Owls, Cobra Snakes or Liquid Smoke to Repel Mice at Palm Oil Plantations?

Mice are animals that disrupt various human activities so they must be expelled or killed. Many stories from farmers who experienced crop failure due to rampant rat pests. Likewise in palm oil plantations, rats will damage the palm fruit. Biological countermeasures are mostly carried out, namely with owls and cobra snakes. While other efforts that can be done is by liquid smoke. Aside from being used for fertilizer, liquid smoke can also be used to repel these mice. A strong aroma and an acidic nature will make the mice away from the palm oil trees that have been given liquid smoke. The longer the effect of liquid smoke on the palm oil tree the longer the mice away from the palm tree.
Liquid smoke does not harm humans and can be produced in large quantities. Besides that liquid smoke also comes from biomass (pyrolysis) so that it is an environmentally friendly chemical and from renewable sources. Empty bunches or EFB which have generally not been utilized by palm oil mills can be used for the production of liquid smoke. In addition to liquid smoke, biochar is also produced which is also very useful in the palm oil plantations, for more details, please read here. Production of liquid smoke and biochar from EFB will also be a solution to handling solid waste in the form of empty bunches. The production of biochar and liquid smoke for large scale can be done only with continuous pyrolysis units, for more details, please read here.
While when biochar and liquid smoke are used in oil palm plantations, the pyrolysis product in the form of syngas and biooil can be used for boiler fuel. When syngas and biooil are used as fuel, palm kernel shells and a number of mesocarp fibers can be sold or exported like CPO. PKS (palm kernel shell) or shell can be exported directly to Japan or Korea. Whereas mesocarp fiber can be made pellets or briquettes before being exported. Production of pellets or briquettes from mesocarp fiber is almost the same as the production of wood pellets or sawdust briquettes, for reference can be read here and here.
Back to the laptop. So the production of liquid smoke from pyrolysis of empty palm bunches is more likely to be a solution to overcome rat pests in addition to various other advantages for palm oil plantations and mills. In addition, liquid smoke can also be used for fertilizers and is not harmful. Even to optimize the control of rodent pests is very possible with a combination of liquid smoke with owls and cobra snakes.

Friday, February 22, 2019

EFB Biochar and Fertilizer Savings in Palm Oil Plantations

High palm oil plantation productivity and high oil yield has always been a goal in the palm oil business. The nutrient estimates needed to produce 25 tons of FFB / ha / year were 192 N, 11 P, 209 K, 36 Mg, and 71 Ca in kg / ha / year. With the production of 25 tons of FFB / ha / year palm oil or CPO crude will produce around 6.5 tons (25% of FFB). Analogy in the field of animal husbandry where the feed component holds 75% of production costs or is the highest cost component, as well as fertilizer, especially in palm oil plantations. Fertilizer is the most expensive cost or 60% of total maintenance costs. To achieve this productivity, the calculation practically of the need is more or less as follows: an afdeling with an area of ​​1,000 hectares with 1 hectare consisting of 143 trees, so there are 143,000 trees of palm oil. If the dose per tree is 2.5 kg, then the fertilizer needs are 357,500 kg (357.5 tons), with the price of non-subsidized chemical fertilizers for example Rp 10,000 / kg, the cost incurred is 3,575,000,000 (Rp. 3,575 billion or US$ 238,333). If an area of ​​10,000 hectares means fertilizer needs of Rp. 35.75 billion (US$ 2,383,33), whereas if the oil palm plantation is 20,000 hectares, it will reach Rp. 71.50 billion (US$ 4,766,667). Of course an amount that is not small.
The question is what efforts can be made to reduce fertilizer costs but increase palm productivity. One contradictory thing seems to be because it reduces the supply of fertilizer but expects high productivity. This is where we need to examine and explore the facts that occur in the field. With a tropical climate and high rainfall, it makes large leached fertilizers. A condition, for example in hilly and bumpy areas, when the rain falls, the fertilizer that is washed is very large, even in vain fertilization is done because it is not absorbed by the palm trees as the target. The high level of leaching from the use of fertilizers by rainwater makes only available a small amount of available fertilizer in real terms or a number of analyzes said averaging only 50%. With the available fertilizers there are only a few that are also automatically absorbed by the palm trees. When for example washing (leaching) can be reduced by only 30%, it means that the fertilizer that is still available becomes 70%, so that the fertilizer is absorbed more and more and the productivity of the palm oil fruit also increases.
The initial stage that can be done is the cost of the same fertilizer but the productivity of the palm oil fruit can increase up to for example 30%. Furthermore, if this can be achieved, fertilizer consumption will be reduced for example up to 30% but palm oil productivity can be maintained at that level. This is possible when biochar has become a microbial colony and the quality of the soil increases so that uptake of fertilizer is maximal. Biochar is one of the media that can be used for this. An empty fruit bunch that is widely available in palm oil mills and is generally not utilized as a raw material for biochar production. A palm oil mill with a production capacity of 60 tons / hour FFB will produce EFB 13.2 tons / hour so that if the palm oil mill operates 20 hours / day the EFB produced 264 tons / day. The production of biochar with pyrolysis can also produce liquid smoke which can also be used as fertilizer.
Why can biochar be used to increase palm oil productivity and even reduce fertilizer consumption? This is because biochar with its pores with a surface area of ​​about 200 m2 / gram can hold the fertilizer from washing, maintain moisture and many soil microbes that can live in these pores thus improving the physical and chemical properties of the soil. Biochar can last up to hundreds of years in the soil so it does not need to be added every year when the amount is sufficient. Biochar implementation can be started from small scale to massive scale. To process empty fruit bunches (EFB)  in the palm oil mill into biochar, a continuous pyrolysis equiment is needed, to be more clearly read here. To monitor the effectiveness of biochar on oil palm plantations today can use internet technology or IoT (Internet of Things) and for more details can be read here and here.

Friday, February 15, 2019

Cattle Farms With Palm Oil Plantations Already, Sheep Farms With Palm Oil Plantations?

"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).
The lack of meat production in Indonesia, which is indicated by the high planned import of meat that reaches 100,000 tons of buffalo meat from India, is a pity. Moreover, there is often news about smuggling haram meat such as wild boar meat in a number of regions. This is considering the enormous potential of livestock that can be developed in Indonesia. The large number of large plantations in Indonesia has the potential to be integrated with livestock, for example palm oil plantations which reach an area of ​​12 million hectares with palm oil (CPO and PKO) production reaching more than 40 million tons / year. With this area, of course, very much livestock can be developed as the main producer of meat. While other plantations are also potential such as coconut plantations with an area of ​​3.7 million hectares, rubber 2.5 million hectares, albasia more than 1 million hectares and so on.

Cattle farms integrated with palm oil plantations have been carried out in a number of places in Indonesia. This is a good thing and needs to be supported. Optimizing cattle farms on palm oil plantations can be done by using good grazing techniques. If at present almost all of them are still using continuous grazing techniques that do not pay attention to the quality, quantity and sustainability of pastures as a grazing area for cattle, then efforts to optimize them can be done by rotation grazing. By rotation grazing, the quality, quantity and sustainability of grasslands as sources of animal feed can be optimized especially in conversion to meat.
Sheep actually has many advantages over cows, among others, can eat almost all types of grass, fattening and breeding fast, high mobility so that the distribution of manure for pasture fertilizer is more evenly distributed, and fur can be used for wool production. In Islam sheep also has many virtues compared to cattle, more in detail can be read here, even all the Prophets must have pastored sheep whose wisdom can be read here. For this reason sheep farms should also be encouraged, especially in large plantations such as palm oil plantations. In addition to fulfilling domestic needs, sheep are also needed in Middle Eastern countries, especially Saudi Arabia, which every year requires approximately 2 million heads with a quarter of it in the Hajj season. For Muslims by raising sheep it can also be intended to continue to support the Shari'a of Qurban which is carried out every 10 Dhulhijah. If an average of 1 sheep is 80 kg, then to eliminate imports of 100,000 tons of buffalo meat, 1.25 million sheep are needed per year. And if the average weight of a 300 kg cow with a 50% portion is fulfilled from beef, then the needs of 166,667 cattle and 50% of the sheep will be 625,000 sheep.
Integration of sheep farms with palm oil plantations is also very possible, even with mixed grazing with cattle, it will also be better. A number of studies stated mixed grazing sheep and cattle have resulted in higher meat conversion compared to grazing only sheep and cattle. For palm oil plantations with the integration of livestock, it will also reduce the need for non-subsidized chemical fertilizers which have become the main fertilizer and high cost. In conclusion, by using good grazing techniques and also the selection of suitable livestock, the palm oil plantation business becomes optimal, more profitable and no less important, which is increasingly environmentally friendly.

Thursday, February 14, 2019

EFB Charcoal Briquette for Substitution of Sawdust Charcoal Briquette


Continuity of raw material supply is the main thing for the sustainability of a production, as well as the sawdust charcoal briquette industry. The lack or even stop of supply the sawdust or wood waste as raw material for sawdust charcoal briquette makes production disrupted and even stops. And such conditions have now been experienced by some the sawdust charcoal briquette factories. In fact, from the market side the demand for sawdust charcoal briquette is very large, especially in Turkey, Saudi Arabia and the Middle East. Continuous alternatives to raw materials and availability in large quantities are the choices. An empty fruit bunch (EFB) can be an option. Why? EFB is a solid waste of oil palm mills which are large in number and are generally not utilized. Palm oil mills with a capacity of 60 tons / hour FFB produce EFB waste of 13.2 tons / hour or 264 tons / day. And currently there are approximately 1,000 oil mills throughout Indonesia.
The next question is, can the quality of charcoal briquette made from EFB compete with sawdust or wood waste? Judging from its use for fuel or energy, the quality of EFB is lower than sawdust or woody waste belonging to woody biomass while EFB is a biomass of agricultural waste (agro waste). The measure of quality can be shown mainly from the calorific value and ash content. The calorific value of the EFB charcoal briquette is lower and the ash content is greater than the sawdust charcoal briquette. Based on these conditions, the price of sawdust charcoal briquette should be slightly lower than sawdust charcoal briquette. But in an effort to overcome the problem of waste and be able to increase income, the profits from the production of the EFB charcoal briquette should still be very attractive.
The implementation of EFB charcoal production can work with palm oil mills, namely as a provider of raw materials as well as electricity providers for their operations. A number of palm oil mills with excess biomass waste such as palm kernel shells and mesocarp fiber can be used for electricity production. If it is still lacking, waste in the plantation such as fronds and leaves can also be used to fuel the power plant. The location of many palm oil mills is in the remote areas and there is no other electricity source that is sufficient so that's make the palm oil mill automatic as a power plant also which is generally used internally but can also be upgraded for external use. As for management and business, it is possible to produce EFB charcoal briquette that are integrated palm oil mill or separatd and managed by ownself. Of course the choice is very dependent on the management pattern of the company, especially in its business development division.

Wednesday, February 13, 2019

CPO for Petroleum Fuel Subtitution

The production of biodiesel or fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) is commonly heard by us and now the product has been used as a mixture of diesel fuel such as B20 and called biosolar. Recorded biodiesel production made from CPO in Indonesia has reached more than 2.5 million tons / year which also means the largest in Asia. For the biodiesel production to be economical, it should use cheap materials such as low grade CPO or high FFA CPO or PAO (Palm Acid Oil). With a high level of acidity on CPO, it cannot be directly used in diesel engines (internal combustion engines), especially diesel vehicles. But diesel engines for power plants can operate directly with CPO even to certain acidity levels. But if the acidity level is too high as in PAO, it also cannot be directly used so it needs to be converted into biodiesel or reduced its acidity to be used by the diesel engine. Standard quality CPO has a FFA of less than 5%, while low grade CPO or high FFA CPO is more than 5%. Standard CPO is for edible oil, while high FFA CPO is not for non-edible oil, but there is no clear grouping in Indonesia about it.
While CPO production for gasoline production (bio-gasoline) is something new, as well as the production of liquid bio-petroleum gas (LBG) or LPG versions of this CPO (green LPG). Although both through chemical processes but the chemical process for the production of biodiesel with bio-gasoline and LBG is different. Biodiesel production uses a transesterification or estrans (esterification and transesterification) process while bio-gasoline and LBG are processed with co-processing technology which is currently produced at the Residue Fluid Catalytic Cracking Unit (RFCCU) facility at the Pertamina Plaju refinery in Palembang, South Sumatra. Not 100% of the gasoline produced comes from CPO but there is a fossil fuel content in it.
The CPO produced from palm oil mills also cannot be directly used for the production of bio-gasoline but must be processed first in the purification unit so that it becomes Refined Bleached Deodorized Palm Oil (RBDPO) or CPO which has been cleaned from sap and odor. The production of bio-gasoline and LBG with CPO raw materials and will be commercially developed at other Pertamina refineries if it turns out the process is economical. Pertamina said that with the process, the country would save 160 million dollars from importing crude oil. In the production of bio-gasoline in addition to the above process, there are actually already popular methods of fermentation from raw materials of sugar, starch and lignocellulose biomass. The lignocellulose biomass with gasification route followed by Fischer-Tropsch can also be used for bio-gasoline production without even the need to mix with fossil fuels. The bio-gasoline production process in the last ways will be discussed later. Insha Allah.
Residue Fluid Catalytic Cracking Unit
In the energy sector, especially Indonesia's petroleum fuel oil, it is predicted that in the next 10 years it will run out. So with this matter that CPO as a fuel or a substitute energy source for petroleum fuel is very important and is of concern to all parties. Moreover, Indonesia is also the largest CPO producer in the world, which is 38.17 million tons or 41.98 tons in total with palm kernel oil (PKO) in 2017. Brazil is the largest producer of bio-gasoline (bioethanol) in the world because it is also the largest sugar producer with sugar cane plantations reaching 9 million hectares, the question is Indonesia with the largest CPO producing country and its 12 million hectare plantation area is also able to become the biggest producer of biofuels (biodiesel and bio-gasoline)? The use of CPO for the production of fuel (energy) is very likely to be prone to conflict with the use of human food. In these conditions, of course, the food problem is prioritized over energy, for more details can be read here. America has been in conflict with Mexico because corn production has been prioritized for the production of bioethanol (bio-gasoline) while Mexico, which normally imports from America for food, has a shortage of corn supply and has resulted in Tortilla riots. This becomes an expensive lesson so we do not want repeat.

With 38.17 million tons of CPO production, the use of the food sector, especially cooking oil by 3-5% (equivalent to approximately 2 million tons), other sectors namely CPO derivative products such as oleochemical 3.8 million tons / year then the energy sector namely biodiesel 2,5 million tons, export 70% (equivalent to approximately 27 million tons) so there are still 2.87 million tons which can be processed into bio-gasoline (green gasoline). Another thing that needs to be addressed is that Indonesia should not export raw materials to other countries such as CPO so that its exports should be at least semi-finished goods and even better in the form of finished goods. The structure or pattern of Indonesia which still exports a lot of raw materials for other countries indicates that it is a developing country. Export CPO should be minimized but export of CPO derivative products such as biofuel and oleochemicals that still need to be improved. As a comparison, of the export percentage of biofuels, especially biodiesel and oleochemicals in Malaysia, it is greater than its CPO, while Indonesia's exports are mostly in the form of CPO. This is also because processing CPO into derivative products is still not widely done in Indonesia.
If we think more deeply that the above matters further prove the truth of the words of Allah SWT, namely in the Qur'an Surat Yaasiin (36): 80 and Surat Waqi'ah (56): 71-72 about fire (energy) from a green tree. The facts above show that from tree species as a producer of various energy sources. Even as an oil-producing tree, palm oil production is the highest of various other plants. If palm oil is produced of oil products for biofuels, namely liquid and gas fuels, while from woody trees such as calliandra, wood pellets can be produced which are solid fuels. The things above have proven that really the energy source comes from trees in the form of liquid fuels, solid fuels and gas fuels, even with the electrochemical mechanism of the trees can also produce electricity, read more here. Additional information on the development of Al-Qur'an-based energy can be read here. Lamb farming is also very well integrated with palm oil plantations because it reduces and even eliminates dependence on chemical fertilizers for more details here. The clue from Allah SWT which accompanies of planting the tree is grazing among the trees, namely in the Qur'an Surat An-Nahl (16): 10-11, A'basa (80): 24-32 and QS Thaahaa (20) : 54).

Tuesday, February 12, 2019

When Palm Oil Plantations Are Integrated With Sheep Farms

When fertilizer consumption for palm oil plantations can be reduced and even eliminated and replaced with cheap organic fertilizer, the cost of producing palm oil can automatically be reduced. This is because the cost of fertilizer is one of the highest cost components of palm oil production. In addition to fertilizer for palm oil plantations not subsidized, and almost all use chemical fertilizers. This is the high cost factor, besides chemical fertilizers also damage the environment, especially for the long term.
When the cost of producing palm oil is high while the selling price of crude oil products or crude palm oil (CPO) low certainly makes the business of palm oil less attractive or less profitable. It has been recorded that in the past 10 years there have been high fluctuations in the selling price of palm oil fruit. The CPO selling price factor as a final product for most of Indonesia's palm oil mills also will to reduce the selling price of palm oil fruits from farmers. The latest info such as the European Union which rejects Indonesian CPO is a condition that complicates the sale or export of CPO.


In terms of production to reduce production costs is an increase in efficiency, especially reducing the high cost component, especially the non-subsidized chemical fertilizer. The integration of palm oil plantations and sheep farming is the solution. Lamb manure is used to fertilize palm oil plantations. With an area of ​​thousands of hectares of oil palm plantations, it can allocate 5-10% of the land area to the sheep farm. The more non-subsidized chemical fertilizers can be reduced, the lower the cost of production, but besides that sheep farming itself can bring more attractive benefits. Indonesia, which still has a meat deficit and low consumption of per capita to meat, can also be overcome by this farm. Some time ago there was a government plan to import 100 thousand tons of buffalo meat from India to cover the deficit, so that this should be overcome also with the farm. The sheep export market is also promising, such as Saudi Arabia, which requires around 2 million heads each year and a quarter (500 thousand) in the Hajj season. This sheep can also be the best Muslim property, more details read here.

With the vast Indonesian palm oil plantation reaching 12 million hectares, it is certainly possible to achieve meat self-sufficiency by integrating it with sheep farming. In addition, of course the government should strive for the progress of the oil palm industry as part of the welfare of its people. Of course with an accurate solution that can be done like trade attaches abroad can be instructed to promote Indonesian palm oil. And in the end the more efficient the production and the greater the demand for palm products, the higher the price of palm oil and palm oil products and the more attractive benefits for farmers and entrepreneurs.

Monday, February 11, 2019

Finding The Best Treasure From Energy Plantation Implementation Part 10

"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).

Sheep farming with the integration of energy plantation for the production of charcoal briquette is an attractive and ideal combination. This is because the sheep farm will produce dung that can fertilize the energy plantation, while the leaves waste from the energy plantation can be an additional feed for the sheep farm. In addition charcoal briquette produced also to cook or roast the lamb meat. This happens if the sheep are exported to the markets of Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the Middle East, as well as the charcoal briquette. Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the Middle East really like lamb and become their favorite food and charcoal briquette as fuel for processing it by burning or baking like satay, more details can be read here.
Calliandra energy plantations and sheep farms can be made in one location, namely sheep farms in the energy plantation, for example 500 hectares of available land, 450 hectares of energy plantation and 50 hectares of sheep farm. The sheep farm is in the form of pasture, which is managed by grasslands for sheep farming. Rotational grazing is an effective grazing technique that can be applied to the sheep farm. With rotational grazing techniques, one of the rooms (paddock) is used for grazing and the other rooms are rested so the grass can recover. With this technique the condition of the grass is always maintained and the sheep can maximize eating the grass in the room (paddock).
Calliandra is a type of fast-rotating plant, so it only takes 1 year and can be harvested from wood and can be harvested every year without having to replant it every year. This is because the calliandra is a coppice plant that can grow again from the rest of the stem. The wood from the calliandra plantation is for the production of charcoal briquette. Honey bee farms can also be made in the energy plantation. Calliandra flowers are a source of high quality honey, so the price is also expensive. This honey bee farm is an additional attractive business unit for sheep farming and the production of charcoal briquette.
Technically there are two routes for the production of charcoal briquette, namely route 1 by making briquettes first and then making them (carbonization). With route 1 briquetting does not use adhesive and higher density, for more detail read here. Whereas route 2, namely by the way the wood is made into charcoal and then briquetted. In route 2, adhesive is needed, namely starch to glue the charcoal into briquettes. The density of charcoal briquette with route 2 is also still less than the route 1. The quality of charcoal briquette route 1 is better than that of route 2. It is this product of charcoal briquette route 1 that is in high demand from Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the Middle East.

Sunday, February 10, 2019

Potassium and Chlorine, 2 Elements Need More Attention at Wood Pellet

Most of the current power plants use pulverized combustion technology which operates at temperatures greater than 1400 C. The high operating temperature makes the requirements for the fuel used quite tight, meaning that not all fuels can be received immediately. The standard power plant fuel is designed using coal, so that when using biomass fuels it might be necessary to modify it. In the ratio of small cofiring, for example, 5% of the power plant is likely to operate on a standard basis without modification. The big question is why the pulverized combustion technology power plant whose capacity can be hundreds or even thousands of MW can not directly use biomass up to 100% without obstacles? That's what we will try to review in the article below.

The main difference between biomass fuel and coal in terms of the power plant is the chemical ashes. The chemistry of coal ash is composed of inorganic materials which have very high melting points and tend not to be corrosive to metals at high temperatures. This makes technically coal fuel more friendly to pulverized combustion technology. Although reviewed environmentally, coal fuel is not friendly because there are many fly ash, ash waste is classified as hazard material / B3 and SOx emissions cause acid rain. While a review of climate change and global warming, it is clear that coal is a fossil fuel and is a carbon positive that increases the concentration of CO2 which is a greenhouse gas in the atmosphere. Many countries now reduce their use of coal in their policies.
While biomass fuels have a chemical content of ash consisting of inorganic materials that have low melting points and tend to be corrosive so that it becomes an obstacle to the pulverized combustion technology. Potassium is one of the chemical elements of ash in biomass which is in the spotlight, this is because potassium has a low melting point and in a large amount of biomass. The melted potassium ash will cover and be deposited on the heat exchanger pipes in the generator boiler. These deposits make heat transfer efficiency decrease so that fuel consumption will increase. This is indicated by the increased chimney temperature which means that there is a large heat loss.
Another element that is the main highlight besides potassium is chlorine. This chlorine is corrosive and is like a ghost for the pulverized combustion power plant. Corrosive properties will shorten the life span or operating life of the power plant, for example with high chlorine content in the fuel, making the operating life of the power plant to be half or a quarter of what it should be. Of course this is very detrimental, for more details can be read here. In addition to the two things above which are considered unfavorable from the use of biomass fuels, but along with the problem of environmental damage in the form of climate change and global warming, biomass fuels are the solution to the problem. This is because biomass fuels are renewable, sustainable, carbon neutral and various other environmental benefits.
The most popular biomass fuel today is wood pellets. When it turned out that wood pellet which is a biomass fuel containing potassium and high chlorine, it became less desirable and was even rejected by the pulverized combustion power plant. Wood pellet producers must pay attention to this issue if the market segment is electricity generation. Ensuring wood pellet products with chlorine and potassium content according to technical requirements are mandatory for these producers. When wood pellets have been produced but the specifications cannot meet the requirements, it is necessary to change the market or improve the quality of the wood pellets.
Basically to overcome the content of chlorine and potassium it can be in two ways, namely from the production side of wood pellets and from the user side. Wood pellet producers can choose raw materials that can meet the specifications requested or even do a number of treatments so that the specifications can be achieved. Whereas from the user side, that is by using electricity generation technology with lower operating temperatures so that the problem of potassium and chlorine can be reduced and even eliminated. The technology of electricity generation with fluidized beds and gasification can be a solution to this.

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