Pyrolysis Process Analysis in Wood Pellet Silo Fire

Wood pellet silo fires accommodating in addition to endangering also have the potential to cause millions of dollars in losses. The wood pellet container silo is used to temporarily store the wood pellet before it is shipped to the destination country of the buyers or to temporarily accommodate the wood pellet from the seller or producer before being distributed to the users. The typical silo capacity is 15,000 tons and a number of silos are also located close to a wood pellet mill. This makes the wood pellet mill can also burned if there is an uncontrolled fire in the silo that accommodates the wood pellet. At present it seems that there is no silo that accommodates wood pellets in Indonesia because Indonesia is not yet a large producer of wood pellets or users of wood pellets. These silos are usually found in a number of countries that have become large producers of wood pellets such as America, Canada and a number of countries in Europe. The biggest wood producers can be read here.

Charcoal production

The characteristics of wood pellet silo fires in general are unique and unlike the case of fires in general so the handling is also somewhat different. Almost all of these wood pellet silo fires occur due to microbial activity (anaerobic fermentation) which produces heat, thus reaching the ignition point of the wood pellet. And because of the lack of oxygen the thermal process in the wood pellet is a pyrolysis process. So there are two sequential processes in the wood pellet silo fire, namely fermentation and pyrolysis or biological and chemical processes. To overcome the occurrence of anaerobic fermentation and pyrolysis as the cause of the silo fire, the chain of causes must be severed, which is to supply sufficient air to the entire pile of wood pellets in the silo. This can be done by providing adequate air ventilation to the pile of wood pellets in the silo. Besides that, the wood pellet is not stored too long in the silo.

Then what if there is a fire in the silo? In general, silo fire needs to be known for several days because the location of pyrolysis in the middle of the wood pellet pile inside the silo and with a slow processing rate. Indications that can be reflected between the concentration of CO (carbon monoxide) and other O2 (oxygen). The greater the concentration of CO, pyrolysis proves to be a long time. CO gas is also very dangerous because it can eliminate the awareness to death, if exposed to certain concentrations. Exposure to carbon monoxide (CO) can restore the central nervous system and heart. Conclusions from mild poisoning contain headaches and nausea at contributions of less than 100 ppm. Concentrations as low as 667 ppm can cause 50% of the body's hemoglobin to turn into carboxyhemoglobin (HbCO). This causes hemoglobin can no longer bind oxygen so that death can occur. In the United States, the Occupational Health and Safety Administration organization reports at work at 50 ppm. The smaller the concentration of O2 and the greater the concentration of CO means that most of the oxygen in the contribution is used for the pyrolysis process. If the CO concentration is high, but also the O2 concentration also increases, it is feared that there will be a great danger, because an adequate supply of oxygen will change the chemical process from pyrolysis to combustion. Ventilation and all air holes must be closed.

Pyrolysis process in stove

Slow pyrolysis process or carbonization itself is generally used for charcoal production or maximizing the yield of solid. In this process there are three main variables to be controlled namely residence time, temperature and heating rate. Slow pyrolysis process or carbonization with the main product in the form of charcoal operates with a small heating rate. This makes the fire on the silo takes a long time to find out. And if all the pyrolysis process variables in the wood pellet silo can be controlled, a charcoal product with a conversion of around 30% or 5,000 tons will be produced. Under these conditions, the wood pellet silo functions as a carbonization furnace that operates batch direct heating and is expected to take weeks to complete one cycle of the pyrolysis or carbonization so that all wood pellets are converted to charcoal.

The importance of safety instrumentations in wood pellet silos

Control room

The use of gas and heat sensors is important to use in the wood pellet silo. In addition to monitoring the conditions in the silo, information from these sensors should also be connected to safety devices, for example when there is a CO gas concentration of up to 2%, then an alarm sounds, closing all ventilation holes (except the top ) and nitrogen gas is injected from the bottom into the silo so that the conditions become inert. But if the CO gas concentration is above 2% and O2 is above 5% then the nitrogen injection is carried out from above. Wood pellets from the silo can be discharged when the O2 concentration is less than 5% and CO is very low and released in a safe open location. The more complete the sensor is used, the operating conditions in the silo are more comprehensively monitored. But when the entire airway ventilation has been closed but it turns out there is a high concentration of O2 and CO, it is possible that there are leakages in the silo or acceleration of the pyrolysis reaction. A number of safety procedures can also be easily carried out if complete information can be obtained so that the losses incurred can be minimized including the most important safety of human life.

Anticipation and prevention of these accidents is important, so these efforts must be carried out optimally. When there has been a fire at the top of the silo, the use of nitrogen gas is no longer effective. Flames at the top of a silo can occur because pyrolysis gas products (combustible gases) burn. If the conditions are like that then blackouts can only be done with water and with the risk of the silo collapsing. Other things such as the operator's life safety are threatened and tens of thousands of tons of wood pellets are damaged. Each operator is also required to use breathing aids if they are in such a risky location. This further confirms that anticipation and prevention are very important.

VCO as an Immune Booster for Corona Virus (nCoV-19)

Indonesia is predicted to be an epicenter of corona cases, due to the slow and incomplete handling, lack of health facilities including laboratories, large population, wide area and poor transparancy distribution of cases. This is a concern for a number of scientists and countries in the world, so many have drawn their ambassadors from Indonesia.One thing that is very alarming is that it is very minimal of the population of the population tested by the corona, it makes the reports that appear to be inaccurate so that it cannot be used as a reference. The sadder thing from the minimal report of being infected with the corona is the high death rate detected i.e. a range of 9% or a very high category (higher than the international average). At present it is estimated that only around 0.001% (2,700 individuals) (3/24/2020) of the population are added and complaints are added about the accuracy and duration of the corona test process, so massive tests must be carried out immediately.

A number of simulations and models have been carried out to predict the spread of the corona viris infection. Here are some simulations and modelings that we can make reference. The professor of applied mathematics at the University of Essex in the UK estimates that 50% of Jakarta's population will be infected within 50 days of the first case being confirmed on March 2, or that means on April 21, 2020. Another model from LSHTM (London of School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine) estimates there will be more than 35,000 cases recorded at the end of March 2020, where the number of infected people reaches more than 960,000 people. Meanwhile, from a joint research of a number of universities in Indonesia, it is stated that the death of Covid 19 in Indonesia could reach 2.6 million people (very much or almost 1% of the population). According to them the peak cases of infection reached 55 million people in May 2020, and the peak ICU requirement was around 6 million people. And of those treated in the ICU it is estimated that 1% will need a ventilator or means that it needs 60,000 ventilators. Basically, the modeling curve is to effectively reduce the number of infected people or make the curve flatter so that it is below the capacity of the hospital, which makes the expected percentage of the population helped is greater.

Prediction of corona outbreaks in Indonesia

Based on the above conditions, it is predicted that the corona virus outbreak will take a long time to overcome (and if no systematic radical steps are taken such as tight lockdown), it will take more than 1 year to predict. Of course this will be very hard for people's lives, especially from the economic and social-security sector. Moreover, tens of thousands of prisoners have also been released from prisons in Indonesia. This should encourage the population to be increasingly vigilant and anticipatory, including by taking various preventive measures to increase the body's immunity against virus attacks, especially the corona virus by consuming food supplements that support it.

VCO is different from coconut cooking oil because VCO is made without heating to produce medium saturated chain fatty acids or Medium Chain Fatty Acids (MCFA), vitamin E, anti-oxidants and enzymes in coconut fruit. Lauric acid in VCO is easily absorbed to the mitochondria so it will increase the body's metabolism. Saturated fatty acid, lauric acid consists of 12 carbon atoms, which are bound saturated (no double bonds) by hydrogen atoms. This makes it not easy to rancid and can last up to 2 years. With these 12 carbon atoms, lauric acid is called medium chain fatty acid (MCFA). While other fatty acids or oils in general such as palm cooking oil, peanut oil and so on are long chain fatty acids (LCFA) and their chemical bonds are not saturated (double bonds). Lauric acid will be converted into monolaurin or a monoglyceride compound obtained by babies from breast milk which has anti-viral, anti-bacterial, and anti-protozoa properties.

Medium chain fatty acids (MCFA) can be directly absorbed through the intestinal wall when they reach the digestive tract, this process is faster because without going through the hydrolysis and enzymatic processes. Furthermore, it is directly supplied into the bloodstream and immediately brought into the liver to be metabolized. In the liver, VCO is processed into energy only, not LDL cholesterol and not fat deposits, the energy is used to improve the function of all endocrine glands, organs and body tissues. Medium chain fatty acids (MCFA) have small molecular sizes, so they are easily digested and can be directly absorbed by the body (absorbed by the intestinal wall) because MCFA easily penetrates the mitochondria (an organ that is in every cell of our body that functions to produce energy for the body), So that the pancreas, digestive tract, and liver can work more easily. The ease of MCFA penetrates the mitochondria, making VCO acts as an instant energy source or quickly produces energy for the body. VCO can also be a halal health food supplement. The Philippine coconut authority has even recommended VCO to overcome the corona virus problem. A Doctor from Ateneo De Manila University, Dr. Fabian M. Dayrit is one of a number of experts who have published the results of his research on the potential of VCO with its anti-virus capability to fight the corona virus (nCoV-2019), the publications can be read here.

VCO production with plastic jars

VCO filtration

VCO products

The small VCO producers especially, those who were once constrained to market their VCO, especially for export markets that require organic certification, then the current conditions become a momentum to market it especially for the domestic market. Most of the VCO producers are also home industries scale so that activities can still be carried out and in line with appeals or orders to work from home (WFH = work from home). Conducting VCO production activities amidst quarantine / lockdown at home can also be a fun, productive activity and eliminate boredom. For the VCO producer, it is also possible to process coconut water waste for nata de coco production and coconut shell for charcoal production and more macro to revive the integrated coconut industry. VCO for immune booster means that as a food supplement in order to increase endurance, it is very important especially for those identified as ODP (Insider Monitoring) and more specifically for PDP (Patient Under Supervision) status and positive confirmed corona virus infection. While for those who are healthy it is important to always maintain health and maintain endurance, especially during this pandemic.

Integration of Farm with Biomass Plantation or Energy Plantation

The long and expensive social costs for the production of hardwoods such as teak which require a minimum of 15 years make Perhutani company replace them with fast-rotating plants such as gliricidia. As for private companies, the main reason for growing fast-rotation species is mainly profit. Commodities that provide quick returns, with minimal risk. Short harvest time of wood which is only around 2-3 years and can be repetitive (coppice) repeatedly without the need to replanting is the advantage of these plants. Planting and caring for the tree is also very easy. The price of wood that is only worth the waste wood or firewood also mitigates the social cost of securing wood theft. The use of wood as a source of biomass or raw materials in the wood processing industry such as the manufacture of particle boards or as an energy source for example by processing it into wood pellets and wood briquettes. Hundreds of thousands of hectares have been planned for the planting and will take several years to come.

In addition to the main product namely wood, there are actually two products from the tree that can be utilized namely flowers and leaves (whole tree utilization). Flowers for beekeeping or production of honey and leaves for animal feed or meat production. Sheep, goat and cattle farms can be developed close to the plantation so that they are close to feed sources. Although the protein content in gliricidia leaves ranges from 18-24% or high enough for animal feed in general, so it is very good for animal feed, because concentrated feed usually only contains about 15% protein, but to get a balanced feed is still needed a number of other nutrients . Other complementary nutritional needs can be obtained from the surrounding community by collaborating through community empowerment. Nutrients needed for animal feed to become complete feed are complete sources of fiber, sources of protein, vitamins and minerals. Gliricidia leaves with 18-24% protein content as a source of protein, while grass or straw as a source of fiber and added vitamins and minerals.

Grazing
To produce superior livestock products, livestock grazing is the solution. With grazing, livestock will be healthier and feed costs can be cheaper because grass can be directly obtained. With an area of biomass or energy plantations that reaches tens to hundreds of thousands hectares, then allocating several tens or hundred hectares is certainly not difficult. The area can be used for pasture herds. Certain grasses can be planted as a source of food in the pasture. Sheep and cattle can even be farmed and herded in the same pasture field. Rotational grazing is a shepherding technique that can be applied because it is more effective and efficient than conventional grazing.

Single grazing

Mixed grazing

Feed Factory
With the composition of gliricidia leaves produced from each tree reaching around 30% and an average of 10,000 trees per hectare planted, the number of leaves produced from biomass or energy plantations is huge and excessive for consumption on farms. Then it also has the potential to create animal feed factory. The livestock feed produced can then supply feed to a number of farms in various regions so that the livestock business is growing and self-sufficiency in meat is easily achieved. Meat imports that reach tens or even hundreds of thousands tons should be avoided and sufficient from domestic livestock businesses.

The main problems of livestock are feed and markets. When the feed problem has been resolved it means 50% of the problem has been solved. As for starting a business, the first thing to note is the market or the buyer. If the products produced from the business that we do have no market or buyer, then the business will lose money and go out of business. The potential lack of meat in the country can become a large market potential and export market. Regarding sheep and goats, In Indonesia indeed a number of regions prefer goats such as Jakarta, Central Java and East Java while other regions prefer sheep like Yogyakarta. This should also be a concern regarding the target market.

Debarking from Energy Plantation Wood, Is It Necessary?

Debarking machine

Wood pellet target market is an important thing that needs attention. If the power plant is the main market for wood pellets, the quality standard of wood pellet products follows the technology used by the power plant. Meanwhile, if wood pellets for households who want premium quality, wood pellets that are produced also follow these quality standards. The wood pellet market for electricity generation needs large, different from the wood pellet market for households that are sold in small packages or the retail market. Electricity generation technology also needs to be monitored so that all wood pellets produced can be absorbed. Pulverized and fluidized bed combustion technology is the technology most widely used for electricity generation. In pulverized combustion technology generally wood pellets cannot be used 100% (except with a number of modifications), while fluidized bed technology can use wood pellets or biomass pellets from various raw materials.

What is debarking? Why do need debarking? Debarking is the separation of bark from log, with the aim of reducing ash content. That means that if the ash content of the log with the bark can be accepted by the user, of course debarking is not necessary. For power plants usually can accept wood pellets up to 2% ash content for standard pellets and 6% for utility pellets. Meanwhile, if the user wants a wood pellet product with very low ash content, premium pellet (less than 1%), then debarking must be done. The wood species used also affects the ash content. Almost all energy plantations use fast rotation plants and coppice such as gliricidia with ash content of more than 1% so that it is more suitable for electricity generation and do not need debarking.

CFB Powerplant in Japan

Another thing to note is ash chemistry. The potassium and chlorine content in the ash is a critical point that needs attention. Fast rotation plants in general have a high potassium content than wood biomass in general. This makes the use of power plants in particular pulverized combustion increasingly limited to cofiring applications. Whereas in fluidized bed combustion because the operating temperature is lower then it can be tolerated and is considered not to cause problems. This means that wood pellets from energy plantation wood are compatible with biomass power plants with fluidized bed technology and can be used for cofiring with a certain percentage of pulverized combustion.

Fertilizer Savings in Palm Oil Plantations with Biochar and Compost from Biogas Waste

Although Indonesia is the largest CPO producer in the world with an area of ​​approximately 13 million hectares of palm oil plantations, but it is estimated that less than 10% have a biogas facility from POME (Palm oil mill effluent). Whereas by utilizing POME for biogas production, besides being able to be converted into electricity or heat, it also produces organic fertilizer in the form of compost and liquid organic fertilizer. The compost can be used as fertilizer in oil palm plantations, where the cost of fertilizer for palm oil operations is the highest cost component. It is estimated that every 10,000 hectares costs approximately Rp. 35.75 billion (around US$ 2.25 million) for fertilizer and for more details, you can read here. The use of compost will certainly reduce the need for fertilizer.

Palm oil utilization scheme for optimizing CPO production

Besides that, solid wastes such as palm oil empty fruit bunch, fiber and palm oil frond are also very potential for the production of energy (electricity and heat) and biochar. Energy production in the form of electricity and heat is by burning pyrolysis byproducts in the form of syngas and biooil into the furnace to heat the boiler. And because the syngas and liquid fuels used in the furnace, so that the combustion process is more perfect and clean emissions. Steam generated from the boiler will then drive the steam turbine and generator so as to produce electricity. Low pressure steam from steam turbine is then used for sterilization or boiling the fresh fruit bunches (FFB). While biochar will be used together with compost and chemical fertilizers to make fertilizer effective in the palm oil plantations so that it becomes a slow release fertilizer. Costs for fertilization are also expected to be significantly reduced, for example by up to 50% by this way. Although biochar is not a fertilizer, it has a function that makes fertilizer use effectively because it holds fertilizer nutrients from leaching, for example from rain water, also maintains moisture and so on.

PKS (palm kernel shell) can even be sold or exported. This is because previously or in general the palm kernel shells used to fuel boilers with fiber, have been substituted with products from the pyrolysis process namely syngas and biooil. The need for palm kernel shells for both the domestic / local and export markets continues to increase all the time. Palm kernel shells / PKS are environmentally friendly fuels because they come from biomass so they are carbon neutral fuels. The use of PKS as a fuel is widely used by a number of industries starting as a heat source for the drying process such as spray dryers in detergent and ceramic plants, boilers in food industries such as soy sauce factory, to power plants such as in Japan, can be read in more detail here. In the world of biomass fuel commodity trading, especially in the international market, PKS is the main competitor of wood pellets. Although the specifications are not much different, the price of PKS is also cheaper because it comes from palm oil mill waste and does not need complex processing units such as wood pellets. And basically with the scheme of utilizing palm oil mill wastes as above, it will maximize the profit from the palm oil mill or CPO mill. 

Biomass Fuels and Corona Outbreaks

Actually corona virus has been found since 1960. 10% -30% of this type of virus that causes coughs colds (common cold) in people. Actually SARS and MERS-CoV also come from corona virus types. And at the end of December 2019, a new corona virus (nCoV or (new) novel Corona Virus), originally called SARS-CoV-2, was later agreed to be named Covid-19 (an acronym for the coronavirus disease 2019) by WHO. SARS-CoV-2 has become a pandemic (spread throughout the world) because it is very contagious and still much underestimated. With mild symptoms many are unaware that they have been infected and are still hanging around as usual. This makes the chain of transmission of this virus continue to elongate making it difficult to overcome. Unlike the case if the virus causes symptoms of severe pain such as MERS-CoV with a mortality rate of 34%. When infected with MERS-CoV, people realize he is sick, he finally goes to the hospital, he is immediately isolated, then the contact tracing protocol runs, so the virus is easier to stop transmission. That is the background why MERS-CoV finally only became EPIDEMIC (limited outbreaks in certain regions or continents), not until PANDEMIC.

In order to break the chain of distribution of the corona virus a number of efforts were made, which essentially minimized and even negated the same contact between individuals. If previously people flocked to work or held meetings, then the activity was prohibited. Working at home and not leaving the house during the time of the plague struck became an appeal even mandatory orders in a number of areas. The household needs during this period increased rapidly, such as food, body hygiene needs, detergent clothing, electricity and so on. A number of industries in Indonesia have previously switched to using biomass such as palm kernel shells mainly due to economic reasons, so industries related to meeting household needs are also increasing the use of biomass fuels. At the global level, the use of biomass as fuel such as wood pellets and palm kernel shells for electricity generation and space heating is unlikely to be affected much, causing a decrease in demand. This is because the policies of these countries in providing incentives or subsidies through parliamentary sessions with careful consideration. The cheap factor of the price of petroleum as a fossil fuel which still dominates at this time also does not seem to affect the demand for renewable energy, especially biomass fuels.

Uncertainty conditions related to the pandemic continue to haunt. Islam has the right solution to overcome the problem of plague originating from the authentic hadith of the Prophet SAW, namely lockdown (quarantine of the region). In the hadith the Prophet Muhammad SAW said, "If you hear of an epidemic in an area, then do not enter it. But if there is an outbreak in your place, then do not leave that place." (HR Bukhari). Lockdown has now been implemented in a number of countries so it is hoped that the outbreak of the virus can soon be overcome. Thousands of trillions of rupiah have been spent to overcome this problem. The economic sector will definitely be disrupted, but human lives are far more important. The economy can be rebuilt, but human life is irreplaceable. That is the right paradigm of thinking to overcome this problem.