Optimization of Palm Oil Mill Operations to Maximize Profits by Utilizing EFB Waste

As a profit-oriented company, palm oil companies will also do various things necessary to maximize their profits, both in the operations of their palm oil mills and on their plantations. The more efficient the operations of the palm oil mill, as well as on its plantations, the higher the profits obtained. Minimizing the environmental impact of waste produced, even zero waste, and becoming part of responsible and sustainable environmental management practices, including part of climate solutions, are important parts of this industry that cannot be abandoned. That is why palm oil mills must innovate to achieve optimal conditions. To achieve these conditions, it can be done by evaluating current practices and finding better solutions.

CPO (crude palm oil production) requires steam for the sterilization process. This is why palm oil mills definitely need boilers for their production process, for more details read here. Steam from the boiler is also used for power generation with steam turbines to drive generators. The operation of the boiler is generally carried out by burning fiber (mesocarp fiber) and some palm kernel shells / PKS, so that some palm kernel shells /PKS can still be sold or even exported. This common practice in palm oil mills has also been running for decades, but it turns out that there is still a lot of biomass waste from palm oil mills that has not been utilized, especially empty fruit bunches or EFB (empty fruit bunches) which account for around 23% of the fresh fruit bunches (FFB) processed. These EFBs are usually only piled up behind the palm oil mill and tend to pollute the environment.

The EFB can be processed into biochar. Biochar production with thermal processes, either pyrolysis or gasification, will produce energy as cogeneration in palm oil mills. Cogeneration is the right solution for biochar production while supplying energy needs for boiler operations. In this way, 100% of palm kernel shells / PKS can be sold or even exported, meaning that palm oil companies' profits are greater. But to maximize biochar production, pyrolysis is the right choice. This is because gasification technology is to maximize gas products while pyrolysis is to maximize solid products (biochar). By-products from pyrolysis are also beneficial for the palm oil industry.

Empty fruit bunches (EFB) are solid waste from palm oil or CPO production which is the largest in number. This is what makes many machine manufacturers make these EFB processing machines. Most of the machines made are equipments for cutting and pressing the EFB so that the water content decreases and the material size becomes smaller. However, both the water content and the size of the EFB as the output of the machine or equipment still do not meet the requirements to be further processed into biochar. The typical output is more than 4 inches and the water content is more than 45%. EFB must have a low water content of 10% and can be less than 1 inch for biochar production or as fuel in the boiler.

  

To obtain the EFB with a dryness level or water content of 10%, waste heat recovery from palm oil mills can be utilized for the drying process. Other biomass waste from the palm oil industry can be utilized as fuel or a source of heat energy for drying the EFB. By utilizing these biomass wastes, mill operations can be more efficient so that profits are maximized and environmentally friendly with zero waste. 

Cogeneration in Palm Oil Mills with Pyrolysis, Initial Steps in Biochar Production and Implementation

The analogy is like cofiring carried out in coal-fired power plants by mixing biomass fuels with a certain ratio as an effort to decarbonize the energy sector in power plants. While in palm oil mills, cogeneration with pyrolysis is an innovative initial step to enter the carbon negative era with the application of biochar, the main product of pyrolysis. And because all palm oil mills use biomass fuel for their mill operations, they are already based on carbon neutral fuel, unlike coal-fired power plants which are based on carbon positive fuels because they come from fossils.

Unlike cofiring which mixes coal and biomass fuels with a certain ratio and then burns them together in a furnace such as pulverized combustion, cogeneration is done by producing energy separately but the energy output is for the same use or especially the same boiler. This is done because the types of fuels may be different, such as solid fuels with liquid fuels or the technology for producing the energy is different. With this cogeneration, it means that not all energy is produced from one energy source or energy from cogeneration is a secondary energy source to meet total energy needs, and in the case of cogeneration in this palm oil mill, energy from combustion is still the primary energy.

Then why not just do full pyrolysis? It is easier, gradually for palm oil mills to adopt pyrolysis technology and its characteristics. Because (slow) pyrolysis aims to maximize solid / biochar, the by-products in the form of excess energy (syngas and biooil) as a source of boiler fuel, the calorific value is not as much as combustion which is indeed intended to maximize heat. Only about 1/3 of the excess energy contributes (cogeneration) as boiler fuel. In other words, if full pyrolysis is carried out directly, the amount of biomass as raw material for pyrolysis becomes 3 times greater or the pyrolysis unit becomes very large so that all palm oil mill biomass waste is used, and the mill cannot sell its palm kernel shells.

What are the benefits obtained by palm oil mills if they carry out cogeneration with pyrolysis for biochar production? Among the biochar products, it can save fertilizer use in oil palm plantations, overcome the problem of empty oil palm bunches (EFB) so that palm oil mills can achieve zero waste, palm kernel shells (PKS) that have been used for boiler fuel can be sold to increase income, the productivity of fresh fruit bunches (FFB) of palm oil increases, the application of biochar in palm oil plantations is also a climate solution (carbon sequestration / carbon sink) so that it can get carbon credit compensation and with good waste management, even zero waste and the application of biochar in palm oil plantations, palm oil companies will get a good image in terms of the environment and sustainability.
 

Utility Business for Palm Oil Mills

When the priority is to obtain the maximum profit, good environmental management and ease, efficiency and stability of production as an option, then utility matters at the palm oil mill may be collaborated with other parties. This specialization becomes important because of the priority choices above. The utility problems in question are electricity and steam. Electricity is produced from a steam turbine and steam is produced from a boiler. High pressure steam enters the steam turbine to drive a generator and produce electricity and low pressure steam output from the steam turbine is used for the fresh fruth bunch (FFB) sterilization process. Water treatment for boiler feed is also part of the utility problem, as well as for boiler operations to produce output in the form of electricity and steam.

Regarding cooperation or business models, palm oil mills can pay for the electricity and steam they receive. But because the fuel or energy to produce electricity and steam comes from palm oil mills, of course the price is cheaper. If currently almost all palm oil mills use their boiler fuel from mesocarp fiber and palm kernel shell (PKS), then with this specialization it is possible for palm fiber (mesocarp fiber) and empty palm fruit bunches (EFB) to be used as fuel or energy sources while palm kernel shells (PKS) can 100% sold and even exported. Palm kernel shells (PKS) as biomass fuel can be sold directly and are in great demand, and are also the main competitor for wood pellets in the global biomass fuel market.

Under these conditions, there are efforts to increase the efficiency of utility production such as steam and electricity as optimally as possible, not only combustion technology with static grates, moving grates, reciprocating grates to fluidized beds, but it is even possible to use pyrolysis. EFB or empty palm fruit bunches, which were previously unprocessed and were an environmental problem, can become a potential energy source so that 100% of the palm kernel shells / PKS from palm oil mills can be commercialized/sold. And even if the utility provider uses pyrolysis, biochar will also be obtained. Biochar provides many benefits related to soil fertility and climate.

Future Palm Oil Mill: Producer of CPO, Biochar and Hydrogen at the Same Time

Efficiency factors, optimizing potential and improving climate should be implemented simultaneously in the palm oil industry. This can be done by replacing the combustion furnace in the boiler with pyrolysis so that the boiler fuel is mainly biooil, a pyrolysis by-product, with the main product being biochar and building a biogas unit for hydrogen production as the final product. Biochar will be used as a soil amendment together with fertilizer so that it becomes slow release fertilizer, so that fertilizer use efficiency (NUE: nutrient use efficiency) increases. The use of biochar as carbon sequestration, namely by using it together with fertilizer, will also provide additional income from carbon credits. Acid soil or dry soil will have better fertility with the application of biochar.

Furthermore, liquid waste or POME (palm oil mill effluent) is used as raw material for biogas. With the main component of biogas being methane (CH4), with steam reforming the methane will react with steam at a temperature of 700-1100 C with a nickel catalyst to become hydrogen/H2 and carbon monoxide/CO. To maximize hydrogen H2 production, the resulting carbon monoxide / CO is then subjected to a shift reaction, resulting in hydrogen / H2 and carbon dioxide / CO2 products. The reaction runs at a temperature of 400-500 C or at a lower temperature, namely 200-400 C. At higher temperatures the shift reaction usually uses an iron oxide or chromium catalyst, while at lower temperatures the catalysts usually used are copper, zinc oxide and alumina. , which helps reduce CO concentrations to below 1%.

Why Is It Better For Palm Oil Mills To Use Pyrolysis Rather Than Combustion Furnaces?

The palm oil mill production process or CPO production always requires steam for sterilization, this means a boiler is needed. The heat needed by the boiler usually comes from a furnace with fuel in the form of mesocarp fiber and palm kernel shells. Apart from being used for sterilization, the steam is also used to rotate turbines and produce electricity. With continuous pyrolysis, heat for the boiler can be supplied from syngas and biooil products. Apart from that, pyrolysis also produces biochar as the main product and pyroligneous acid, which is a kind of wood vinegar. The last two ingredients will be very useful in palm oil plantations. Using these two fuels (gas and liquid fuel) will make the furnace produce cleaner smoke compared to burning solid fuel in the form of mesocarp fiber and palm kernel shells which is usually done up to now.

Many palm oil plantations are on acidic soils so the pH needs to be raised and biochar can be used effectively. The biggest operational cost for palm oil plantations is fertilizer and the use of biochar will increase fertilizer efficiency thereby reducing fertilizer input and saving costs. The application of biochar in palm oil plantations apart from improving soil quality thereby increasing the productivity of palm oil fruit or FFB (Fresh Fruit Bunch) is also part of the climate solution, namely carbon sequestration which receives compensation in the form of carbon credits. The carbon credits will also provide additional income for the palm oil company. Apart from that, pyroligneous acid can also be used as fertilizer and biopesticide.

The development of combustion technology is also increasingly developing, starting with the use of moving grates to reciprocating grates used to increase boiler efficiency. But the basic question is how profitable is the use of this technology for palm oil companies in overall? The use of the combustion furnace only increases the efficiency of the boiler, whereas the use of continuous pyrolysis in addition to sufficient boiler heat can also produce other benefits in the form of environmental and financial benefits. Environmental benefits from improving soil fertility conditions and minimizing fertilizer being leached or lost into the environment with the slow release fertilizer technique, for more details read here and also the income from carbon credits which is also big.

The application of biochar is for palm oil plantations, while biochar production is from palm oil mills, while the plantation division and mill division are two separate organizations within the palm oil company. The role of the general manager in particular is needed to handle this so that the company's big goals as a profitable, environmentally sound and sustainable company can be achieved. Factors in the form of maximizing profits, improving land and the environment, as well as being part of the climate solution with carbon sequestration will be a strong driving force for the use of continuous pyrolysis compared to combustion furnaces.

Increasing Energy Efficiency in Palm Oil Mill Operations Using Pyrolysis

Energy utilization in the form of steam production which is then used for electricity production through steam turbines and generators, as well as the use of steam for steamming (sterilizing) fresh fruit bunches (FFB) are the main things in palm oil mill operations. This is because the need for electrical energy to power various mechanical equipment in the mill comes entirely from this electricity production. Electricity and steam for industrial processing are grouped under the utilities that support that industry. Meanwhile, in the sterilization process or the boiling of FFB, steam besides stopping the development of FFA (free fatty acid) and facilitating the threshing will also facilitate the CPO extraction process and processing the kernel (palm kernel). To produce steam and electricity, of course, energy is needed, namely heat. Steam is produced by the boiler in the form of superheated steam to drive steam turbines and generators to produce electricity and then steam from electricity production or low pressure steam is used for steamming (sterilization) of FFB.

The water after being treated so that it becomes BFW (boiler feed water) is then used for the production of steam and electricity. Heat energy to produce steam can be reduced in such a way with the use of a pyrolysis process (which means that it is not ordinary combustion), so that the heat requirement for the boiler furnace is getting smaller. The pyrolysis condenser will produce hot water so that it becomes preheating for the boiler. In pyrolysis a condenser is used to separate bioil and syngas (uncondensable gas). Preheating from the condensation process of the pyrolysis unit will then go to stage 2 preheating in the economizer of the boiler unit. Thus the temperature of the water entering the upper drum on the boiler is high enough, and the heat requirement to become superheated steam will be reduced. The palm oil mill uses a water tube type boiler as is commonly used in large industries and not a fire tube which is in the form of a shell and tube type heat exchanger with the tube submerged in water so that it does not overheat. In a water tube type boiler, it consists of an upper and lower drum (mud drum) which is connected to a pipe. The lower drum and water tube are fully filled with water, while the upper drum is only partially filled. With this arrangement, steam will pass through the mechanical separator on the upper drum, flow to the superheater and exit the boiler. Efficiency is the key word in production, including the use of energy in the production process of CPO or palm oil mills. The rule of thumb is an increase of 10 C in BFW is equivalent to increasing 1% boiler efficiency.

Typical of water tube boiler

Excess energy from the pyrolysis process should be used for fuel or energy sources in the boiler furnace. The use of excess energy from pyrolysis will also produce environmentally friendly flue gas emissions because the combustion of liquid and gaseous fuels will be cleaner than solid fuels. In this way, the palm kernel shell, which has been used for boiler fuel, can no longer be used. All these palm kernel shells or PKS can be sold directly and even exported to Japan and Korea. Of course, be a separate source of additional income. Palm kernel shells or PKS are competitors for wood pellets in the global market because they have many similar properties, but because palm kernel shells come from waste or palm oil mill sideproducts, the price can be cheaper, more information can be read here. The use of slow pyrolysis for biochar production is the best option compared to similar technologies such as fast pyrolysis and gasification, more details can be read here. Palm oil mills or companies will get a lot of benefits from biochar production, for more details can be read here.

Biochar to Increase Biogas Production

Charcoal (biochar) is the raw material for the production of activated carbon. The production of activated charcoal itself goes through two main processes, namely carbonization (pyrolysis) and activation. The surface area of charcoal (biochar) is also smaller than that of activated carbon, but larger than the raw biomass. The carbonization process increases the surface area of the raw biomass. The ratio of surface area between raw biomass, charcoal and activated charcoal is approximately 25 m2 / gram, 200 m2 / gram, 2000 m2 / gram. The larger the surface area of the biomass material that is inserted into the biogas reactor, the greater the penetration of bacteria into the substrate so that the fermentation process that occurs is more perfect so that biogas production will increase. Biochar itself does not participate in fermentation because the main component is stable carbon, while hemicellulose, cellulose and lignin have been decomposed during the carbonization process.

Another example is the addition of biomass briquettes to the biogas reactor, briquetting processs with high pressure and heat also open pores or expand the surface of the biomass, so that biogas production also increases, for more details, read here. The addition of biomass briquettes to the biogas reactor will also increase the C / N ratio, even biochar and activated charcoal have high carbon (C) content.

Charcoal (biochar) has been widely used in the agricultural world to repair damaged soil / soil amendment and thus increase fertility. Good soil fertility will also increase agricultural production. The biochar becomes a home for soil microbes, so that organic materials or compost will break down more completely and be absorbed by plants more as plant nutrients. The charcoal (biochar) pores are the home for these microbes. The more pores, the more microbes will inhabit the biochar as their “house”. The same principle applies to the biogas unit. Another bonus of using biochar is that it absorbs CO2 from the atmosphere, thereby contributing to lowering the greenhouse gases that cause climate change and global warming.

Research in Germany shows that adding 5% biochar to a biogas reactor increases methane production by 5% - based on the dry matter of biochar to the substrate. But when the amount of biochar became 10%, it turned out that no more methane was added. This shows that the optimum condition for adding biochar is the amount of 5%. The microbes in the biochar increase the volume of microbes in the reactor so that the production of biogas or especially methane also increases up to 5%. Biochar itself is not decomposed in the fermentation process. 

Meanwhile, the addition of biomass briquettes per 1 tonne of briquettes will increase biogas production by 400 Nm3. This is because in the biomass briquettes, both cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin have not been decomposed, thus adding to the substrate in the biogas reactor. Whereas in biochar, both cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin have been decomposed during the thermal carbonization process, so there is practically no additional substrate, but only microbial addition occurs in the biochar pores.

The important thing about the addition of biochar is that the compost or digestate produced is of better quality with the addition of the biochar. Biochar will make the compost which is produced as a slow release organic fertilizer. This further encourages biochar production, especially for palm oil companies that care about environmental issues and even strive for zero waste conditions.

Palm oil mills have the potential to apply biogas and biochar units. Solid wastes such as empty bunches and mesocarp fiber can be used for biochar production. Palm oil mills can even replace the furnace in the boiler with a gasifier or pyrolyser. This becomes more profitable because in addition to heat energy being used for production of steam which is used for power generation and sterilization of fresh fruit, biochar will also be produced. The biochar produced is then used to increase biogas production and improve the quality of the compost, as well as a fertilizer mixture in palm oil plantations. And even the potential use of biochar to save fertilizer on large palm oil plantations, for more details can be read here.

Biomass Boiler and Its Urgency

A problem that is visible and can be felt, especially if it has a short-term impact, is certainly easy to map and find a solution to. But if the opposite namely is not visible, it is difficult to feel and the impact or effect is long-term, of course it is more difficult to map, let alone find a solution. The use of fossil fuels, especially coal in a number of industrial boilers, is an example. The effects of exhaust emissions in the form of COx, NOx and SOx may be difficult to detect at first but create environmental damage in the long term. Likewise heavy metals like mercury which also have long-term effects. Meanwhile, fly ash pollution and boiler furnace ash (bottom ash) are clearly affected more easily. In a larger case or global scale, namely climate change and global warming due to greenhouse gases, especially CO2 (carbon dicside), a global consensus is also needed to solve these problems. That is what makes the Earth Conference on Climate Change (UNFCC) always held every year, which has so far been recorded 27 times, lastly in 2019 in Madrid, Spain, while what was supposed to be held in 2020 was postponed in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Fossil fuels including coal are carbon positive fuels so that their use will increase the concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere, while biomass fuels such as wood chips, wood pellets, wood briquette and palm kernel shells (PKS) are carbon neutral fuels. It is said to be carbon neutral because of the use of this fuel because it does not increase the concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere.

 

Boilers are essential equipment for the operation of a number of industries. The main function of the boiler is to produce steam which is used in the industrial production process. But when the boiler is not operated and maintained properly, the boiler can be dangerous. The continuity of production operations also greatly depends on this equipment, so that disruption of boiler operations will have a significant effect on this production. The boiler also consists of a number of subsystems that work in harmony, such as boiler burners and controls, water treatment for boiler feed water preparation, fuel handling and feeding and so on. Sometimes a number of subsystems are supplied from a number of different vendors, so synchronization between these subsystems is very important. This makes boiler operations safe, efficient, reliable and minimizes boiler downtime. And of all the subsystems in the boiler, the burner system is the most sophisticated subsystem in the boiler unit. The burner system has a number of operational modes that require extensive training and / or experience for boiler operators to be well understood.

Currently, a number of industries have started to switch from fossil fuels to biomass fuels. In industries that previously used solid fuels, technical changes or furnace modifications can be minor, while in industries that previously used gas or liquid fuels, the usual thing to do is replace the boiler unit (including the furnace). Of course, the replacement of the boiler unit is also followed by its supporting systems such as fuel storage, provisioning and so on. Petroleum fuels, coal and natural gas are consistent fuels with standard quality and their contaminants or impurities have been known and studied for decades. Whereas with biomass there are a number of options and each source is also unique and also the level of contaminants.

In certain cases, industries that will switch to using biomass, namely palm kernel shells (PKS), that previously using natural gas, so the industry needs to study and analyze the implications of using the PKS. And because the use of PKS for industrial fuel is relatively new, the industry can use old data about their furncae operations with natural gas and compare it to furnace that use solid fuels like coal - which is commonly used by the industry today. Although PKS is also a solid fuel, there are a number of characteristics that distinguish it from coal. In addition, gas combustion can be said to be the most ideal combustion process, which is in terms of stoichiometry or the perfection of combustion compared to combustion of liquid or solid fuels. Large particle size such as coal will also have an effect on combustion and also make a fuel more difficult to burn. So that from this comparison, the industry can get an overview of the burning of the PKS and the scheme below to describe the case.

With adequate analysis, planning and system design, the use of new fuels, especially biomass, such as wood chips, wood pellets, wood briquettes and PKS can be implemented properly. Energy prices and environmental regulations are driving forces for the use of this new fuel. Fixed bed combustion type furnaces are most commonly used in a number of industries. These furnace variants include grate furnace types namely traveling grate, fixed grate system, incline moving grate & horizontally moving grate, vibrating grate, cigar burner and underfeed rotating grate, while other types are underfeed stokers. Meanwhile, the fluidized bed and pulverized combustion types are generally used by power plants. The technical considerations for selecting biomass-based solid fuels include heating value, moisture content, ash content, density, particle size, emissions, availability of these fuels, and suitability for the furnace. In the end, the most optimal combustion rate that is safe and meets environmental standards is the purpose of using the biomass fuel.

Which is Better, Efficient Boiler or Pyrolysis System ?

Fiber and palm kernel shells (PKS) are palm oil mill solid wastes that are produced in CPO production in that mill. The amount of fiber and PKS waste is quite a lot, which is around 20% of each fresh fruit bunch (FFB) or almost the same as the CPO produced. A palm oil mill with a capacity of 60 tons / hour FFB can produce fiber as much as 8.1 tons per hour or 194.4 tons per day and PKS of 3.3 tons / hour per hour or 79.2 tons per day. And because both of them are waste, generally the utilization of the waste is not initially considered, including for use as fuel in boilers in palm oil mills for the production of electricity and steam. The use of fiber and PKS for boiler fuel generally uses 100% fiber and about 30% of the PKS. Under these conditions the remaining 70% of the PKS can be used for other things including being sold or even exported.

When the shell becomes a commercial commodity and demand is greater, palm oil mills replace their old inefficient boilers with new boilers that have a high level of efficiency. In this way, 100% of the PKS is no longer used to boiler fuel and only requires fiber as fuel. In this condition a paradigm shift in thinking begins to occur, that is when the solid waste is almost unnoticed and tends to be considered a problem, then it becomes an important part of earning additional income and it can even be estimated that if the shell is successfully sold then it is sufficient to cover the operational costs of the palm oil mill. Certainly something interesting if the production of CPO (crude palm oil) with 0% operational costs so that profit is increasingly attractive especially amid the recent decline in CPO prices.

Another thing that can be done is to use a pyrolysis unit, to run the boiler. With pyrolysis, not only fiber is used but also the empty fruit bunch (EFB). EFB are solid palm oil mill waste which to date have generally not been utilized. Besides producing energy, pyrolysis also produces products in the form of charcoal (biochar). Although charcoal (biochar) can also be used for energy sources, but in the business of palm oil companies the use of biochar for plantations can be more compatible. The use of biochar in palm oil plantations is mainly to  fertilizer saving, which is one of the major cost components (around 30%) in the CPO production business. With an area of ​​20 thousand hectares of oil palm plantations, fertilizer costs are estimated to reach Rp. 71.50 billion (around US$ 5 million) per year or Rp. 35.75 billion (around US$ 2.5 million) per year for every 10,000 hectares, for more details, please read here. Palm oil mills with big vision certainly try to maximize their potential with the aim of maximizing profits from upstream to downstream production activities. With Biochar can also target the increase in productivity of FFB, for more details, please read here.

The application of biochar will be easier to do in Indonesia than in Malaysia, this is because almost all palm oil mills in Indonesia also have palm oil plantations while in Malaysia the mills generally do not have their own palm oil plantations. The palm oil industry also has an important role for the two countries because Indonesia and Malaysia are the largest CPO producers and owners of biggest palm oil plantations in the world today. The palm oil industry contributes around 7% of Malaysian GDP and 3% of Indonesian GDP, so its role cannot be ignored. Both with pyrolysis and high efficient boilers, biomass waste can be used as an energy source and 100% of the PKS can be commercialized, but with pyrolysis is better because waste of EFB can also be processed, there are biochar product (while only ash if only with regular combustion) for Fertilizers saving in the palm oil plantations and the exhaust gases from the palm oil mill boilers are also clean because they burn gas (syngas) produced from the pyrolysis process. 

Conversion of Industrial Furnaces and Boilers with Biomass Fuels

 

The use of biomass fuels especially palm kernel shells (PKS) has been increasing lately. This was mainly due to the high price of natural gas and non-subsidized industrial LPG. Viewed from the environmental aspect it is a progress because there is a reduction in fossil fuels (carbon positive) which causes climate change and global warming. Industries that initially used furnaces and gas-fired boilers needed to replace them into biomass, especially palm kernel shells which are solid fuels. The availability of palm kernel shells is  also very abundant inline with CPO products or palm oil plantations in Indonesia. Biomass such as wood chips, wood pellets and so on can basically be used as fuel for the furnace, but economic considerations and continuity of supplies are the main considerations. The quality of the palm kernel shell is also almost equal to the wood pellet and in the international market indeed the palm kernel shell is the main competitor of wood pellet. And when compared to other agricultural waste biomass such as rice husks, palm kernel shells  are also far superior both in terms of calories and bulk density, so palm kernel shells are increasingly becoming a favorite fuel.
 

At present the palm kernel shell has also become an export commodity especially for the Japanese and Korean markets. The two countries are the biggest consumers of the palm kernel shells, especially in Asia but with the main motivation due to the implementation of environmental programs in the country. Large incentives are given by the states to companies, especially power plants, when using biomass fuels, especially palm kernel shells because they are a renewable energy group. This is very encouraging the use of palm kernel shells in the two countries. While the main suppliers of palm kernel shells are from Indonesia and Malaysia as the world's largest CPO producer as well as the owner of the largest palm oil plantation in the world today. This condition will certainly create competition especially when the demand for palm kernel shells is equally large. When these conditions occur, special strategies are needed to react to them, thus providing a large added value for Indonesia and Malaysia, or the pks sources. 

 Palm kernel shells are biomass fuels that have almost no processing and can be used directly, while for wood pellets an industry is needed for processing. Based on the fact above, palm kernel shells should be prioritized for the domestic market and wood pellets for the export market. When the production of wood pellets currently still relies on sawdust and wood wastes which are limited in quantity, then in addition to the the environmental aspects of sustainability recognition are also difficult to be obtained. When wood pellet production is made from energy plantations by growing energy crops such as calliandra and gliricidae, although the availability of raw materials can be guaranteed and capable of large capacities and environmental aspects of sustainability can be obtained, but in general producers are still not interested because the process route is long and need mastering the aspects of energy plantation cultivation. EFB pellet production can be a solution for  this. EFB or palm oil empty fruit bunches like palm kernel shells are an abundant amount of solid palm oil mill waste and are currently largely untapped, for more details, please read here.

If the use of biomass fuels, especially palm kernel shells in Indonesia is getting bigger, it means that it is comparable to efforts to reduce greenhouse gases or CO2 derived from fossil fuels. An achievement in the environmental field that can be proud of course. At present, there are not a few palm oil mills which have not yet sold their palm kernel shells, especially those in remote areas. The effort to take the palm kernel shells at the palm oil mills is also a challenge, but with users in the country it is also easier. If the palm kernel shells for the export market, especially Japan, require a large minimum quantity of an average of 10,000 tons per shipment and the quality of a tight palm kernel shell (especially aspects of cleanliness anddryness), the domestic market in addition to the volume of each shipment is smaller, the quality requirements are also not so tight. The transportation of palm kernel shells to Japan with such quantities requires large bulk vessels, while for the domestic market it is sufficient by barges.

 

Conversion from natural gas to solid fuels especially palm kernel shell biomass does require different equipment and operational aspects. Biomass fuels, especially palm kernel shells, require a larger space for storage, the combustion process is not as easy as gas fuel, and solid ash is also produced. The industrial users of palm kernel shell fuel usually have to replace their furnaces or boilers with furnaces or industrial boilers with biomass fuel, especially palm kernel shells. Basically there are 3 groups of combustion technologies that can be used namely grate, fluidized bed and pulverized combustion. The aspect of mixing air with fuel is an important aspect in the combustion process. Solid fuels have low mixing qualities with air compared to liquid fuels moreover in the gas fuel. In liquid fuels and especially gas, fuels can be atomized so that they are close to the molecular size of air, whereas solid fuels cannot. Grate combustion has the lowest air-fuel mixing rate, fluidized bed has a better homogenisation air-fuel mixture and pulverized combustion has the best homogenisation air-fuel mixture level that can be obtained from combustion of solid fuels. The choice of combustion technology is mainly based on the heat capacity needed and economic aspects including the price of the equipment, operational and maintenance costs.