Food Energy Water: A Perspective

The high environmental damage is mainly due to industrial activities that produce wastes that pollute the environment both solid, liquid and gas waste. In addition to damaging the environment, these wastes also pollute water, a substance that is needed by humans. While environmental damage leads to reduce the supply of clean water, industrial wastes cause a decrease in water quality. At the global level environmental damage, the high concentration of CO2 or greenhouse gases in the atmosphere has caused climate change and global warming that could threaten human life itself. The high concentration of CO2 is mainly due to the activities of the coal power plant industries. In addition to the exhaust emissions of coal power plants also contain mercury, heavy metals that are very dangerous for health. At least the impact due to low water and air quality has reduced the quality of human life. And now these conditions are common in various major cities in the world.

Here again biomass is the solution. When improving water and air quality is an important concern, activated carbon is the choice. Although currently most or about 80% activated carbon still comes from coal, but with increasing environmental awareness, renewable raw materials are increasingly increasing. Coconut shell is a very popular raw material for the production of activated carbon and Indonesia is also the owner of the largest coconut plantation in the world. Palm kernel shells and various other biomass are also potential for activated carbon. To reduce mercury emissions and polluted air from coal power plants, for example the US EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) has made regulations for mercury and polluted air thresholds for these plants. In vehicles, canister (catalytic converter) it will also increase the quality of exhaust emissions. As for the quality of drinking water for example Disinfectants and Disinfection Byproducts in America have also regulated the concentration of a number of chemicals that are allowed in drinking water. The things above encourage the use of activated carbon as a solution.

Meanwhile, to reduce the concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere and to absorb CO2 from the atmosphere back to biomass as a solution. Biomass is a carbon neutral fuel so it will not increase the concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere because of the production of biomass through photosynthesis. Wood pellet and PKS are biomass fuels which are very popular nowadays because they can reduce and even replace the use of coal in power plants and boilers in the industry. CO2 absorption from the atmosphere is carried out by plants which are also a source of biomass. Biochar or charcoal from plants used for agriculture can also absorb CO2 from the atmosphere. Production of wood pellets from energy plantations will also improve soil quality. Even arid and barren lands will flourish and can store water and avoid erosion due to the management of the energy plantation. Integration with sheep, goat and cattle farms with the energy plantation will optimize the results of the energy plantation. Large plantations for large farms should be integrated, for more details to read here. With this integration the food sector and land conservation are also an integral part.

World wood pellet needs are predicted to reach 50 million tons in 2024 while PKS also reaches 10 million tons in 2022. The largest market for biomass fuels, especially Europe, refers to the Renewable Energy Directive (RED) program with a composition of 30 percent renewable energy use by 2030 and biomass gets the majority portion of 80% of renewable energy. Two countries namely Japan and Korea are the largest users of biomass fuels in Asia. PKS which has many similarities to wood pellets and is only produced in palm oil producing regions, especially Indonesia and Malaysia are the main competitors of wood pellets and are widely used in Japan and Korea. Some time ago a number of countries in Europe have also used PKS from Indonesia and the potential is also very large for Indonesia in the tropics for the production of wood pellets from energy plantations. As for the market activated carbon or the largest user is the Asia Pacific region with China as its biggest exporter. The projection of activated carbon production reaches almost 3 million tons in 2020 with a value of 4.46 million US dollars. Japan and Korea are also the biggest users of activated carbon. The second order of the market or the use of activated carbon is the North American region, mainly driven by regulations to reduce mercury and increase the quality of drinking water. The growth of industrialization in Indonesia and the abundance of biomass raw materials should also increase the production of activated carbon even with the target of meeting the export market, especially in the Asia Pacific region.