Bagasse Pellet and EFB Pellet for Power Plant Fuel

Baggase pellets and EFB pellets are groups of agricultural waste pellets (agro-waste pellets) whose quality is below wood pellet. Not all power plants can use the two types of pellets above. This is because pellets of agricultural wastes generally have a large ash content and chemical content of ash which cannot be accepted by certain types of electricity generation technology. In general, agricultural waste pellets (agro-waste pellets) contain high potassium (kalium) with low melting point and chlorine that's corrosive element, so it is generally not suitable for pulverized combustion system type plants. The pulverized combustion system operates at high temperatures more than 1400 C. Power plants that operate at lower temperatures such as gasification and fluidized bed combustion (FBC) can use bagasse pellet and EFB pellet as fuel. Palm kernel shell is also suitable for this type of combustion technology, while wood pellet because it comes from wood (woody biomass) generally can be used for fuel pulverized combustion systems.

Baggase and Baggase Pellet

EFB and EFB Pellet

Both baggase pellet and EFB pellets can both be produced in Indonesia because the raw materials are widely available. Even the EFB pellet has a huge potential considering the vastness of palm oil plantations and the number of palm oil mills in Indonesia. With an estimated plantation area of ​​12 million hectares and 600 palm oil mills, Indonesia is the largest producer of CPO (crude palm oil) in the world, followed by Malaysia at number 2. EFB or palm oil empty fruit bunches account for 22% of palm oil plant capacity while 1 ton of sugar produces 3 tons of baggase waste. For sugar cane production, Indonesia is still lagging especially with Brazil. The area of ​​Brazilian sugar cane plantation is 9 million hectares with sugar production of 29 million tons, while Indonesia is only around 0.5 million hectares with sugar production in the range of 2 million tons. Baggase pellets have also been produced in Brazil, namely by the Cosan company with a capacity of 175 thousand tons / year (14.6 thousand tons / month) and exported to Japan.

Although the power plant with gasification and fluidized bed combustion technology is not as much as a pulverized combustion system, but with increasing awareness of environmentally friendly and sustainable renewable energy, it is also predicted that in the near future it will also increase. This is because power plants with gasification and fluidized bed combustion technology (<50 MW) are generally not as large as the pulverized combustion system (> 50 MW). Although small, but if there are large quantities, it will also cause demand for agrowaste pellets, such as pellet baggase and EFB pellets, even palm kernel shells. In the coming era power plants will also be smaller, but scattered and many, even so small that every household can have its own power plant, because it is only the size of a refrigerator, for more details can be read here.

Pellet Fuel from Corn Cobs and Stalks

Corn cobs and stalks is waste from the cultivation of corn. Generally both of the waste disposed of and is not utilized. The costly of energy prices, solution to problems of waste and increased value added by utilization of these wastes are the driving forces of the utilization of thay waste. Data for the year 2006 with the production of corn nationally 11.7 million tons,  the agricultural waste generated, i.e. 12.1 million tons. With the potential energy of the dried stems and leaves an estimated 66,35 GJ and corncob by 55,75 GJ certainly potential for a source of energy. Dried corn stems and leaves have a calorie value 4370 kcal/kg whereas the corn cob on 4451 kcal/kg at MC 7,53%.

Pelleting to be a pellets fuel is the best choice for the energy source. Pellets from waste agricultural corn can be used to fuel stoves on the agricultural area or for industrial or electricity generation and the potential for exporting abroad. Review of pellet fuel origin because from the waste corn agriculture these include biomass pellet or agri-pellets, that its specifications are slightly different from wood pellets. Production technology of  pellet from waste corn  is also almost the same as the production of wood pellets.

A number of areas where corn production centers throughout Indonesia is potential for developing these commodities due to the availability of raw materials, agricultural waste, tackle the problem of energy needs continue to rise and economic factors. As an environmentally friendly fuel, easily stored and used, as carbon neutral fuel will reduce the impact of climate change due to greenhouse gases and push low-carbon economy.