Densified Biomass (Biomass Pellet & Biomass Block) for Animal Bedding

In contrast to wood pellets used for fuel so that their quality or characteristics are reviewed from the combustion side such as calorific value, ash content to ash chemistry, wood pellets used for animal bedding have different quality requirements. In wood pellets for fuel, the performance factor and efficiency of power plants are the benchmarks, while for wood pellets for animal bedding, the health factor of livestock is the benchmark. The use of animal bedding is mainly in subtropical areas or areas with four seasons and the need is increasing in winter. The use of wood pellets for animal bedding is indeed not as popular as wood pellets for fuel so its usage is also not as much as use for fuel. For animal bedding, the quality of wood pellets required is the ability to absorb water, not too hard (low density), not containing harmful ingredients and a soft texture. Not only wood pellets are commonly used as animal bedding, but also biomass blocks.

By compacting (densification) such as pellets and blocks, transportation costs are cheaper, making it easier for storage and use. Historically, the first animal bedding used was straw because it was easy to obtain and widely available. Lack of straw, such as low water absorption, so that more urine flows out than is absorbed, and also after being mixed with urine and livestock manure, the livestock can still eat it so that it often causes stomach pain, which encourage the innovations for animal bedding. In addition, straw also often contains quite a lot of dust and requires a large space for storage. Wood shaving is the next animal bedding material that is better than straw.

Wood shaving in the form of bales is usually traded for this animal bedding. The dust is also removed before the wood shaving is baled, so it does not become a respiratory problem in certain animals such as horses and dairy cows. The water absorption ability of wood shaving is also better than that of straw, which is around 260% to 420% while that of straw is only around 200%. Some manufacturers even enrich the wood shaving with enzymes and bacteria to bind ammonia so it doesn't escape into the air. This product makes the life of animal bedding longer and after that it can be a good compost manure. However, because the density of the bales of wood shaving is quite low, which is less than 200 kg/m3 so it is less economical for transportation and long-distance use. This is so that biomass densification into wood pellets or biomass pellets and biomass blocks is the solution to this problem.

A number of the above biomass compaction products have been used for animal bedding. In a number of countries with four seasons such as horses, dairy cows and chickens using animal bedding, this product indirectly supports food security, especially animal protein sources such as meat and milk. Another important factor is that the animal bedding products do not come from biomass which contains hazardous materials or must come from untreated wood (if it comes from wood biomass), so that raw materials from wood that are painted, polished, caulked or contain other chemicals cannot be used. As for the raw materials above, albasia is a type of soft wood, EFB or empty fruit bunch of palm oil, OPT or oil palm trunks are commonly obtained during replanting of the palm oil plantations and cocopeat is a side product of the cocofiber industry or coconut fiber processing.

Bioenergy is The Best Energy Source

The best energy source is an energy source that are environmentally friendly, sustainable, non-intermittent, available in almost all locations on earth, easy to use, can meet energy needs for both small and large capacities and support other essential needs of life. This can only be met by bioenergy or energy sources that come from living things, especially plants. Most of the land on earth inhabited by humans is overgrown with plants such as trees as a source of this bioenergy. This certainly does not mean that energy sources must come from bioenergy because if only using bioenergy it is likely that energy shortages will occur, so they must complement each other with other energy sources. Bioenergy itself is only a carbon neutral fuel if managed properly, i.e. the amount used for energy sources is at least the same as the growth of the bioenergy plant. In order to reduce the concentration of CO2 or greenhouse gases or decarbonize the use of bioenergy, especially solid fuels such as wood pellets, wood chips and PKS (palm kernel shell) is very important.

White pellets or Pellets 1.0

A number of countries have gradually and systematically reduced the use of coal to zero for power generations. Countries that still prioritize coal will be isolated from the world arena and could face more pressure to stop this activity. Countries that already have a reduction program to replace coal for power generation, namely Germany announced not to use coal in 2038, the UK even targets to no longer use coal for electricity production starting October 2024. Europe with the Renewable Energy Directive II (RED II) renewable energy is targeted to reach 32% by 2030, biomass fuels are predicted to account for around 75% of the share of renewable energy and the target is that coal is not used in total by 2050. North America, namely the United States and Canada as members of the G7 (Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, UK, and the United States) are also committed to reducing coal consumption, even Canada in 2018 announced regulations to no longer use coal for electricity generation by 2030.

Palm Kernel Shell

The characteristics of each energy source are different from one another. More specifically, renewable energy sources to reduce CO2 concentrations in the atmosphere or decarbonization programs and the position of bioenergy can be explained as follows. The paradigm used to analyze mainly on decarbonization or reduction of CO2 emissions in the atmosphere and electricity production as a supporter or second priority. When this paradigm or mindset is used, in a power plant the thing to be analyzed is the reduction in CO2 that occurs as main priority and then the characteristics of the energy source. To complement or fulfill a number of other energy sources such as wind, solar, water and nuclear are used. Among these energy sources, nuclear is not a renewable energy but its use does not produce CO2 emissions or carbon neutral.

Black Pellets or Pellets 2.0

Wind and solar power plants are intermittent (sometimes the wind does not blow or it is cloudy) making it difficult to rely on a stable electricity supply. Indonesia's condition which is in the tropics makes the sun shine all year round, but also as an archipelagic country it makes a lot of cloudiness and high rainfall so that solar power plants are constrained, for more details read here. Meanwhile, hydroelectric power plants that use dams or river flows also have unstable water discharge conditions, during the dry season it will decrease. In addition, environmental damage factors such as deforestation and so on will affect the water discharge. Forests can be a source of bioenergy so that apart from being a conservation forest, it is also a production forest whose management should improve environmental conditions, including water absorption.

Nuclear is one of the most efficient energy sources but has a high risk factor. CO2 emissions are not produced by this nuclear power plant because the energy produced comes from fission and fusion reactions in the reactor. Until now, Indonesia does not have a nuclear power plant, although studies have been carried out for a long time. The idea of ​​a nuclear power plant has actually been around since 1956 in the form of statements in seminars held in several locations in Bandung and Yogyakarta. Determination of the location along with feasibility studies and a number of supporting studies have been carried out until the late 1990s but have not yet been implemented. Meanwhile in Japan after the Fukushima reactor accident in 2011, nuclear power plants were limited. The current nuclear power plant in Japan, in addition to having a smaller capacity, also has a small generating capacity located far from each other to reduce or avoid this risk. In addition, the construction of a nuclear power plant also takes a long time, which is about 10 years. In its application, nuclear as a generator is functioned to support the base load, which can work well when the output power is constant and cannot be used for peak loads.

Electricity from geothermal is a carbon-neutral energy source as well as wind, nuclear, solar and hydro power plants. The development of electricity from geothermal has great potential for the current decarbonization program. Indonesia in particular can be a user of geothermal electricity because it has great potential, even the largest in the world. Indonesia has a series of 6,000 km of volcanoes that are a source of geothermal energy. According to data from the Geology Agency, KESDM, the potential of geothermal resources in Indonesia reaches 28.5 Giga Watt (GW) spread over 265 geothermal fields and is the largest in the world, while only about 5% has been utilized. Unlike hydroelectric power plants that are affected by annual climates such as a decrease in water flow due to drought, geothermal electricity does not experience it. However, geothermal well fields also require water catchment areas around them such as well-managed forests to maintain the stability of electricity production. The production of electricity from geothermal is base-load, i.e. it produces a constant supply as in nuclear. Currently, the main obstacle to the development of geothermal electricity in Indonesia is the need for large investments with high financial risks, especially on the exploration and development side of geothermal fields. In addition to the selling price of electricity to PLN (as the sole buyer) which must be competitive, carbon credit from carbon offsets from geothermal electricity production should also be the main attraction of this geothermal electricity development.

Natural gas although it is a fossil energy so it is carbon positive but is often used because of its cleaner emission factor and lower CO2 emissions than coal. In general, the combustion of gas fuel will be much more efficient than solid fuel. Natural gas emissions are about 50% of coal emissions. Construction for natural gas-fired power plants is relatively fast and cheaper than coal-fired power plants. Power plants with natural gas are often positioned as a compromise between coal and renewable energy, but natural gas is still a fossil fuel, namely as a carbon positive fuel that increases CO2 in the atmosphere thereby increasing the earth's temperature, so natural gas should not be used as fuel or as a fuel. energy sources as a solution to this climate problem.

To overcome intermittent in wind and solar power plants, it is necessary to back up a stable energy source that can be done by bioenergy, especially with solid fuels (wood chips, wood pellets and palm kernel shells). Other problems such as buffering against variability and peak load are other issues that must be addressed. In addition, battery constraints are also a big problem for wind and solar power plants, and to produce as much power as a conventional power plant or coal power plant, a giant battery is needed. The need for giant batteries is still very expensive, and it is estimated that it will take decades of research to realize it. In addition to production forests that can produce bioenergy sources by utilizing their wood wastes, energy plantations will specifically produce wood whose main purpose is as a source of bioenergy. Plants for the energy plantation are fast growing species and short rotation coppice from legume group such as gliricidia and calliandra. In addition to the wood for bioenergy production such as wood chips and wood pellets, the leaves from the tree are also very good for animal feed, especially ruminants, for more details read here. Strong and deep roots also make better water absorption and prevent erosion. In addition, root nodules in legumes due to their symbiosis with azetobacter also fertilize the soil. So, apart from the energy sector and the food sector, environmental issues such as water conservation and erosion prevention can also be carried out simultaneously. In the Qur'an, bioenergy is mentioned in the letter Yaasiin (36): 80 and the letter Waqi'ah (56): 71-72 that energy comes from green trees. From here it gives direction on the development of the energy including the priorities to be taken.

40-megawatt (MW) gas turbine Mitsubishi fueled with 100% ammonia (NH₃)

In an effort to continue to eliminate CO2 (decarbonization) from the atmosphere to a concentration of 350 ppm (currently (7/8/2021) 415 ppm or an increase of about 2 ppm from last year), environmentally friendly energy sources such as hydrogen (H2) and ammonia ( NH3) (blue or green ammonia) continues to be developed. The two energy sources can then be transported long distances like energy commodities commonly. But what is no less important is that the production of energy sources must also minimize and even eliminate (zero carbon) fossil fuels. Hydrogen production through electrolysis of water, the hydrogen produced can be directly stored or reacted with nitrogen to become ammonia (NH3) using a metal catalyst under high temperature and pressure (Haber-Bosch process). The production process with high temperature and pressure is certainly not easy and simple, not to mention providing a source of energy for the production process. Bioenergy is the best energy source.

Will Indonesia's Wood Pellet Production Beat Vietnam?

Vietnam's wood pellet production began in 2012 with a very small capacity of around 175 tons/year and now in 2021 or about 9 years later, its production has reached around 4.5 million tons/year, placing Vietnam in second place as the world's wood pellet producer after the United States. The total production of 4.5 million tons/year is supplied from 74 wood pellet factories in Vietnam. In 2020 exporting wood pellets of 3.2 million tons to Japan and Korea for power plants with an export value of close to USD 351 million. In addition to Korea and Japan, Vietnam's wood pellets are also exported to Europe.

Initially, Vietnam's wood pellet production used waste from the furniture industry. Furniture waste in the form of sawdust from the industry has dried and the particle size is suitable for wood pellet production, so equipments such as hammer mill and dryer are not needed. Many Vietnamese wood pellet factories at that time did not have the hammer mill or dryer. With raw materials that are ready to be pelleted, the cost of producing wood pellets is very cheap, plus labor costs are also cheap. But as the demand for furniture industry waste for wood pellet production is getting higher, the availability of these raw materials is getting scarcer, so that new wood pellet factories can no longer use these wastes. Other wood processing industry wastes such as sawmills and veneer factories also become raw materials. Furthermore, with the increase in wood pellet production, forest wood wastes and other logs become the next source of raw materials. This also makes production costs increase because they need equipments such as hammer mills and dryers so that the raw materials are ready to be pelletized.

Vietnam is the largest exporter of wood furniture to the United States, surpassing China. In 2020, Vietnam's wooden furniture exports to the United States reached more than USD 7.4 billion, an increase of 31% compared to 2019. Meanwhile, China exported wooden furniture worth USD 7.33 billion in 2020. Although the difference is only small, it proves about growth of Vietnam's growing wood furniture industry. Meanwhile, the export of Indonesian furniture and handicrafts according to HIMKI (Indonesian Furniture and Handicraft Industry Association) is estimated to reach USD 2.75 to 3 billion this year. According to Abdul Sobur, president of HIMKI, the furniture and handicraft industry is an important industrial sector and has become a pillar in the current pandemic era. With Indonesia's land area reaching 1.9 million square km or more than 5 times that of Vietnam, Indonesia's potency to develop the wood pellet industry is very potential for Indonesia. In addition to utilizing biomass waste from the furniture and handicraft industries, the wood processing industry, and forest wastes, energy plantations are also very potential to be developed in Indonesia. One of the advantages of Vietnam compared to Indonesia is its position which is closer to Korea and Japan so that the cost of transporting wood pellets to buyers or users is cheaper.

With this land area, Indonesia has the potential to develop energy plantations for massive wood pellet production. Even the energy plantation can be made from ex-coal mining land which covers an area of about 8 million hectares, for more details read here. Although currently Indonesia's wood pellet production is still around 100-200 thousand tons / year or like Vietnam’s wood pellet production in 2012 but with this huge potential, Indonesia's potential to become the world's main producer of wood pellets is also large, even becoming a leading country in energy use of biomass. The cofiring program at a number of coal powerplants in Indonesia also encourages the use of biomass energy, especially wood pellets. There are 114 coal powerplants units owned by PLN (Indonesia state owned electricity company) that have the potential for cofiring spread across 52 locations with a total capacity of 18,154 megawatts (MW) with a target for completion in 2024. Energy plantations in addition to supporting business & energy security, should also support the livestock sector, especially ruminants for more details read here, so that food security to achieve self-sufficiency in meat can be done. So can Indonesia surpass Vietnam's wood pellet production? Of course it can, but it takes a lot of extra efforts, and it takes a long time. But at least if Indonesia promotes its wood pellet production, there will be many benefits, including economic, social and environmental.

Sheep and Goat Farming Based on Energy Plantation

The need for food, especially animal protein, continues to increase along with population growth. Meat, especially from sheep and goats, is a source of animal protein that is a favorite of many people. It is estimated that the world's population will reach 10 billion in 2050 and especially Indonesia's population of 319 million in 2045. Greater Jakarta or Jabodetabek is the most densely populated area in Indonesia so that the need for food, especially animal protein, lamb and goat meat is getting bigger. Currently these areas bring in the needs of lamb and goat meat from Central Java, East Java and Lampung alternately depending on the availability of supplies for each area. This is because no single region is able to meet the needs of Jabodetabek alone. Or if these areas can always supply the needs of Jabodetabek on a regular basis then the business can continue to be sustainable and stable but of course it can overcome the obstacles in the sheep and goat business.

It turns out that a number of problems surround the sheep and goat business including the availability of seeds, breeding skills, availability of feed, marketing chain and so on. Simple things such as the availability of seeds. Although breeders in general have not used superior seeds, the availability of seeds is also a problem because many productive females are slaughtered. This is mainly due to the business competition factor, because the price of males is more expensive which makes female goats slaughtered even though this disrupts the sustainability of the livestock business. Aspaqin (Indonesian Aqiqah Entrepreneurs Association) noted that 63% of the female members were slaughtered from a total of 331,693 slaughtered tails. Of course there are still many who are not recorded because there are still many aqiqah entrepreneurs who are not members of the Aspaqin. In addition, there are also many restaurants for eating lamb dishes, such as satay that still slaughter productive female goats.

Of course it would also be better if the sheep and goat that became the seed was the preferred or superior sheep and goat so that the quantity and quality of meat was better. The feed-to-meat conversion factor in superior sheep and goat is also higher, making it more profitable. And this is mainly the responsibility of research institutions. Dorper sheep and Bohr goats are the superior types of sheep and goat. However, there is an easier way to maintain the sustainability of the sheep farm, namely by reducing or even prohibiting the slaughter of productive female sheep and goat. In this way, the continuity of sheep and goat seeds can be maintained and even more developed. To be able to realize this, of course, requires efforts from all parties. Providing incentives or sanctions can be done to support this.

The problem of skill of the breeder is also another obstacle. Most of the sheep and goat breeders are small farmers with traditional farming techniques. This makes it difficult when used to meet routine requests, especially large quantities. Modern farming patterns must be carried out to become a reliable livestock industry as the foundation of the livelihood of these farmers. Only with this effective pattern and efficient farming can be implemented. With good preparation supported by these skills, sheep and goats livestock industry players are able to carry out sheep and goat  farming intensively so that they are expected to be able to supply the meat needs.

Sheep and goats farming is not only an effort to fulfill food sources, especially animal protein in the form of meat and milk, it is also a part of perfecting Islamic law. The population that continues to increase means that Muslim babies born to their parents are ordered to perform aqiqah. In addition, the celebration of Eid al-Adha which is held every year also requires sheep and goats as a sacrificial animal. Sheep even as sacrificial animals have many advantages over other livestock even though they are both halal such as goats, camels and cows. In the verse (Qur’an 6:143-144), the eight pairs of animals (4 pairs) are two (pairs) of sheep, a pair of goats, a pair of camels and a pair of cows. Rules in the Qur'an, something that is mentioned first has precedence over what follows. Another indication of the virtue of sheep can also be found in the event of Qurban, namely when Prophet Ibrahim was ordered by Allah SWT to slaughter his son, Ismail, then by Allah SWT saved Ishmael and replaced him with a large sheep. Then we commemorate this event every year and become the law of Qurban on Eid al-Adha every 10 Dzulhijah.

The development of energy plantations, which is increasingly being echoed lately, with the main product in the form of wood for the production of biomass fuel, both wood chips and wood pellets, will also produce waste or by-product in the form of leaves. The leaves of calliandra or gliricidia are rich in protein content so they are very good as a source of animal feed for the sheep and goats. The number of leaves produced will also be very large so that the potential for sheep and goat farms to be developed will also be very large. Even to meet the needs of sheep and goat seeds, any import is allowed under current regulations. This can also be very similar to a large capacity beef cattle feedlot, where cow seed are imported from Australia, read here for more details. The focus of sheep and goat fattening can also be very effective and efficient or has advantages such as in beef cattle if it is carried out in Indonesia. Leaf waste from energy plantations can be a potential feed.

In addition to domestic consumption, sheep and goat can also be used as an export commodity. For domestic purposes such as qurban and aqiqah, generally small sheep and goats are used, which weighs around 25-35 kg. As for the export market, sheep and goats needs usually require a weight of 35 kg and above. The export market can be a separate segment and is also basically the choice of the farmer himself. Sheep and goat farmers from Indonesia have also exported sheep and goats to a number of countries including Malaysia, United Arab Emirates and Timor Leste as shown in the table above.