Estimated Increase in POME Biogas Production in Indonesia and Malaysia with the Addition of Biomass Briquettes

 

The important thing that needs to be done to implement a research in a commercial unit is the technical and economic side. A research product that has been tested technically needs to be evaluated on the economic side. This is because in commercial units, the economic aspect is the main consideration for the implementation of a certain technology. A technology implemented with the intention of improving the performance of these commercial units but not providing economic benefits generally will not attract many. Likewise, vice versa. How much economic benefit can be obtained from implementing this technology? Is it worth the effort? These two questions will be considered next.

In the biogas unit (mostly for electricity production) the above rules also apply. And especially the biogas unit in Indonesia and Malaysia as the largest CPO (crude palm oil) producer in the world, the POME biogas unit or palm oil mill liquid waste has been built as a means of overcoming the problem of liquid waste and also energy production, especially electricity. Tens or even hundreds of POME biogas units have been built in Indonesia and Malaysia, but that number is not yet comparable to the number of palm oil mills in Indonesia and Malaysia which has reached thousands. And more specifically, the number of POME biogas units in Indonesia is less or a smaller percentage compared to palm oil mills compared to Malaysia. Why did this happen? For more details, please read here.

And because the commercial end product of the commercial biogas unit is electricity, the price of electricity will greatly affect the operation of the biogas unit. Research conducted at Aarhus University in Denmark shows that biomass briquettes can significantly increase biogas production, that is, every 1 tonne of straw briquettes added has increased biogas production by an average of 400 cubic meters. With a biogas caloric value of around 4500 kcal / m3, each tonne of addition of straw briquettes will increase calories by 1,800,000 kcal in the form of biogas. for more details, please read here. In the case of POME biogas, if empty fruit bunches (EFB) are used as raw material for briquettes, it could be an increase in the biogas product produced. This is because the EFB have undergone a sterilization process (steamming) so that the biomass pores are more open so that the surface area is larger. The briquetting of the EFB will also further expand the surface of the biomass so that the anaerobic fermentation process is more perfect and the biogas product increases.

Assuming the electricity price per kwh in Malaysia from biogas is 0.49 RM (IDR 1,715) and IDR 1000 in Indonesia, with the increase in biogas produced above, Malaysia will be more attractive and profitable. However, this increase in biogas production has also yielded attractive advantages when applied, both in Indonesia and Malaysia. The estimate assuming a biogas reactor capacity of 150,000 tonnes and with the addition of 15,000 tonnes of biomass briquettes (maximum 10% of the reactor volume) has resulted in profits of nearly 27 billion rupiah/Rp (application in Indonesia) and 14 million Malaysian ringgit/RM (application in Malaysia). Under these conditions, it is actually very interesting to implement this research on POME biogas power plants in Indonesia and Malaysia. Apart from reducing solid waste from the palm oil industry, increasing biogas production which is proportional to electricity production will provide attractive benefits for the palm oil industry.