Reject (Non-Standard) Coconut Fruit for Bioavtur / SAF Production

The international civil aviation organization (ICAO) has included non-standard coconuts on the ICAO positive list – ICAO document – ​​CORSIA Default Life Cycle Emissions Values ​​for CORSIA Eligible Fuels, 6th Edition on October 28 2024. Non-standard coconuts include very small old coconuts, already sprouted, starting to rot or mold and those that are broken. Based on data from a number of research studies, the number of non-standard coconuts in Indonesia is estimated to reach 30% of Indonesia's coconut production. Non-standard coconut is also a potential raw material for the production of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).

Basically the raw materials sought for SAF bioavtur are pure triglycerides and long chain carbon chains. This is due to the volatility of jet fuel, the preferred components are hydrocarbons in the C10 to C15 paraffin range. Furthermore, to meet the freezing point specifications (-47oC), this paraffin must have many branches to reach this low freezing point. This means that bio-avtur or SAF must have carbon atom bonds or C bonds in the C10-C15 range, and in this range palm kernel oil and coconut oil are most suitable because of the high composition of lauric acid which consists of 12 C atoms.

With the high laurate content in palm kernel oil and coconut oil, the yield will be high because the oil content is in the bio-avtur range, namely C10 - C15. This is different if you use vegetable oil with a longer carbon chain, for example CPO, nyamplung oil or canola / rapeseed oil. If you use long chain vegetable oil, the yield will be small and an extra cracking process is needed to increase the bioavtur or SAF yield.

And because the raw material used for bioavtur / SAF is oil from coconut flesh, the coconut water can be used to produce nata de coco or bottled coconut water, then coconut shells for the production of charcoal, charcoal briquettes or activated charcoal, husk for fuel to produce energy and potassium-rich ash for fertilizer or for planting media (cocopeat) and cocofiber. Meanwhile, coconut cake are used for animal feed.

Blue Economy & Bioeconomy – Seaweed, Coconut and Nyamplung

With the second longest coastline in the world, located on the equator so it has a tropical climate and the largest coconut producer in the world, maintaining and continuing to develop coconuts is very important and strategic for Indonesia, especially since Indonesia has long been famous as the land of waving coconut trees. The productive life of coconut trees is also very long, namely 60 years, so they can be passed down across generations. The nyamplung tree, which is easy to grow and is often found in coastal areas, should also be developed, as well as the potential for seaweed. With the development of the times to carry out decarbonization in various sectors of life, especially the use of renewable energy, coconut, nyamplung and seaweed can be an effective solution.

Coconut oil, like palm kernel oil (PKO), has a high lauric acid content, so it is very suitable for the production of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF). Currently, Indonesia is planning to increase SAF production from palm oil, namely palm kernel oil, to 3% this year (2026). This policy was accelerated to support the aviation sector's decarbonization targets. Palm kernel oil production is around 5 million tons/year with the main uses currently being very diverse, including the food industry (margarine, chocolate, cakes), cosmetics (soap, shampoo, lipstick), oleochemicals (fatty acids, glycerol), to renewable energy (SAF) - still in the early stages, as well as non-food products such as lubricants. while the potential for coconut oil is 2.9 million tons with the main uses being cooking (cooking oil), processed food industry (biscuits, margarine, ice cream), cosmetics (soap, shampoo, moisturizer), health (consumed directly as Virgin Coconut Oil (VCO)) and pharmaceuticals (ointment base), skin/hair care and oleochemicals. Why coconut oil and palm kernel oil are very suitable for SAF production, read more details here.

In addition to the potential raw material for SAF from coconut, the international civil aviation organization (ICAO) has included non-standard coconut in the ICAO positive list - ICAO document - CORSIA Default Life Cycle Emissions Values for CORSIA Eligible Fuels, 6th Edition on October 28 20024. Non-standard coconut includes very small old coconuts, already sprouted, starting to rot or become moldy and those that are broken. Based on data from a number of research studies, the number of non-standard coconuts in Indonesia is estimated to reach 30% of Indonesia's coconut production.

Regarding coconuts, the government should limit or prohibit exports of round coconuts. This will not only hinder the domestic coconut processing industry but also more specifically the development of SAF. Apart from that, efforts to replant coconut plantations must also be carried out. The area of ​​coconut plantations that must be replanted currently reaches hundreds of thousands of hectares, such as in Riau alone with a coconut plantation area of ​​426,579 hectares (11.4% of the plantation area in the province, read more details here). 72 thousand hectares of coconuts need to be replanted, while the replanting speed is very low so coconut productivity continues to decline. Meanwhile, nyamplung trees and seaweed require socialization and real action so that they can meet production targets and expectations.

Meanwhile, nyamplung oil can be used for biodiesel / FAME production. From the government's plan to increase the biodiesel mixture from B-40 to B-50, this means requiring almost 60 million tons/year of vegetable oil, especially palm oil. Meanwhile, currently crude palm oil or CPO production is around 50 million tons/year and increasing 20% ​​or to 60 million tons/year is certainly not easy. Moreover, currently the expansion of palm oil plantations (extensification) is in the sharp public spotlight with widespread public attention. A number of natural disasters, especially the Sumatran floods, which have claimed the lives of thousands of people, with the extensification of palm oil plantations as the suspect, have made it increasingly difficult to increase palm oil production through expanding this land. And indeed land expansion (extensification) must always be in the corridor of sustainability, so that palm oil can be a blessing and not a disaster.

Nyamplung trees with productivity almost the same as palm oil trees are very interesting to develop for biodiesel production or more practically adding 10 million tons / year to reach the B-50 proportion. Along Indonesia's very long coastline, there are locations for coconut and nyamplung plantations. Apart from that, seaweed from its waste is also a potential raw material for renewable energy, both ethanol, biodiesel and SAF.

Meanwhile, from the seaweed sector, apart from the production of agar, carrageenan and alginate which are widely used for food products, biofuel can be produced from seaweed waste. Seaweed industry waste can reach 65-75% of the fresh raw materials processed. This very large amount is often wasted without further use which can increase added value. Because solid seaweed waste contains a high percentage of cellulose and only a small amount of lignin, this waste has the potential to be processed into bioethanol and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). 

The process route, namely ATJ or alcohol to jet fuel, can be used to produce sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). Meanwhile, seaweed waste is usually disposed of in landfills, which can cause unpleasant odor problems. Specifications for industrial waste from the E. cottonii species are 3.66% water content; ash 36.84%; protein 1.78%; carbohydrates 11.36%; 0% cellulose; hemicellulose 12.86%; lignin 0%. Meanwhile, industrial waste specifications from the species Gracilaria sp. and Gelidium sp.: cellulose 26.92%; hemicellulose 16.11%; lignin 15.38%; ash 16.72%; water content 12.94%; NaCl 3.77%. 

After their productive life is over or ends, the coconut trees and nyamplung trees are cut down. Coconut tree trunks and nyamplung trees are very suitable for building wood used for housing. This will add economic value and is a necessity that will continue to be needed. In fact, efforts to improve the quality of wood can also be done by engineering the wood material, such as with CLT (cross laminated timber) and so on.

And like palm oil, both coconut and nyamplung also produce shells. Just as palm kernel shells can be used for fuel, so coconut shells and nyamplung shells as well. Even palm kernel shells or known as PKS (palm kernel shell) are the main competitors of wood pellets in the global biomass fuel market. However, because the quality of coconut shells is better or more suitable for the production of charcoal briquettes and activated carbon, coconut shells are generally carbonized or made into charcoal. Charcoal is an intermediate product or raw material for charcoal briquettes and activated carbon. Read more details about the production of activated carbon from coconut shells here. Meanwhile, because nyamplung shells are not widely produced, their use is still limited, but if the quantities are large, such as the production of palm kernel shells, then it could be like palm kernel shells, or perhaps also like the use of coconut shells.

Apart from that, both the production and extraction of coconut oil and nyamplung oil will produce cake. Coconut cake and palm oil cake can be used as animal feed, but nyamplung cake requires additional processing so that it is non-toxic and safe for animal feed. The development of a blue economy on the Indonesian sea coast should be an important concern as an environmentally friendly economic solution that suits the conditions and potential of Indonesian society and is in line with the global community's concerns about decarbonization as mitigation for climate change and global warming. Apart from also supporting food and feed security. 

Charcoal Production for Activated Carbon Raw Material

Charcoal characteristics are influenced by the raw materials used and the conditions of the production process. The use of charcoal for certain applications or industries also requires certain specifications or characteristics. For example, charcoal used for fuel can have different specification requirements from charcoal specifications for agriculture (biochar), or charcoal used as raw material for activated carbon. A number of parameters that are acceptable in certain applications may not be acceptable in other applications.

Charcoal products used as raw materials for activated carbon production are also the same. Parameters in the form of high fixed carbon (~80%), high hardness, low ash content (~3%) and low volatile matter (<10%) are prerequisites for the specifications or quality of charcoal as a raw material for activated carbon. As a comparison, charcoal for agriculture (soil amendment) or commonly called biochar has a wide range of quality or specifications, namely lower fixed carbon (FC), higher ash content and higher volatile matter, especially in agro type biochar according to WBC (World Biochar Certificate), while premium type biochar according to WBC has a higher or highest quality and can be used for various purposes. While the material type biochar according to WBC has the lowest quality with use mainly in certain industries such as cement, asphalt, plastic, electronics, and composite materials or cannot be used for agriculture, soil applications and consumer products.

 Raw materials for charcoal production for activated carbon production because it requires stricter parameters, especially high fixed carbon, low ash content and high hardness so that raw materials suitable for this purpose are more limited or not all biomass can be used for charcoal production for activated carbon raw materials. This is what makes coconut shells the best and most popular raw material for charcoal production as activated carbon raw materials today. And palm kernel shell raw materials (especially from dura variety) are expected to be the next candidate. The availability of abundant palm kernel shells (PKS) is a special attraction. But indeed with this palm kernel shell (PKS) charcoal raw material, there is still the smell of palm oil, so it is a challenge for activated carbon producers.

PKSC For Activated Carbon Production

The production of palm kernel shells (PKS) in Indonesia and Malaysia is very large, with more than 15 million tons annually which comes from palm oil mill waste. There are about 20 million hectares of palm oil plantation from these two countries (Indonesia and Malaysia) as sources of crude palm oil and are the largest in the world today. Utilization of PKS can be optimized for the production of activated carbon. The demand for activated carbon is predicted to increase by around 10% per year and the demand will reach nearly 4 million tons in 2021 worth 8.12 billion USD, while data in 2015 recorded global activated carbon production of around 2.7 million tons worth 4.74 billion USD. Powdered activated carbon (PAC) has the largest market share followed by granular activated carbon (GAC). The high demand for PAC is mainly driven by the need in a number of industries such as chemical, petrochemical, food and beverage for decolorizarion and deodorization applications. More specifically, the use in the liquid phase has the largest portion.

However, it is recognized that coconut shell is the current favorite material for activated charcoal production, and PKS is likely to be the next priority. The area of ​​Indonesian coconut plantations is estimated at around 3.7 million hectares so that the number of coconut shells that can be used as activated carbon is also not as much as PKS because the area of Indonesian palm oil plantations has also reached approximately 15 million hectares. With a coconut plantation area of 3.7 million hectares, coconut shells have a composition of 12% of coconuts so that the total coconut shells that can be produced are around 23,000 tons/year. This is in stark contrast to PKS which have the potential to reach tens of millions of tons every year.

The characteristics of coconut shells are also almost the same as PKS. Likewise for the use of activated carbon which emphasizes factors such as hardness and ash content. The harder the material and the smaller the ash content, the better the quality of activated carbon produced. Currently there is a need for palm kernel shell charcoal / PKSC  of 20,000 tons / year for the raw material for the production of activated carbon. Groups of palm oil companies that have a number of palm oil mills (1 group of palm oil companies having 5 palm oil mills is common in Indonesia) or other private parties by taking raw material for PKS from these palm oil mills to be able to produce PKSC to be exported as raw material for the activated production. The use of a large capacity carbonization (pyrolysis) equipment that works continuously is needed to meet these needs. This will be a business development for the palm oil companies and will be more environmentally friendly because less solid biomass waste is produced.

Carbonization Furnace Innovations To Improve Coconut Processing Efficiency

Inefficient production processes will encourage waste, resulting in high production costs. Energy is an important factor for a lot of industries, especially in the integrated coconut processing industry. Carbonization or the coconut shell charcoal process is generally inefficient besides it also produces a lot of smoke pollution in the charring process, for more details, please read here. This much wasted energy should be used for various coconut processing, such as making white copra, dessicated coconut (DC), nata de coco, and drying cocofiber or cocopeat. Furthermore, the smoke that comes out of the carbonization process can also be condensed so as to produce liquid smoke product. With the above configuration, the carbonization furnace can be used optimally as well as waste or smoke pollution can also be minimized as little as possible. A simple carbonization furnace scheme is as follows:

The input of the carbonization furnace is mainly coconut shell, but coir/fiber, bunch, and frond can also be used. A heat exchanger is installed to extract or utilize heat from the carbonization process. The air from the environment after passing through the heat exchanger will become hot. The hot air produced can then be used as needed as above. In the production of white copra where only clean hot air is needed, not from smoke or flue gas can take advantage of this hot air, as well as in the production of dessicated coconut (DC). Coconut water, which is still disposed of so much that it pollutes the environment, should also be processed into nata de coco or vinegar. The process of boiling coconut water for the two products above can also take advantage of the heat from the carbonization furnace. With energy costs that can be cut or minimized in this way, coconut processed products become more competitive and provide additional benefits for the producers.

Three in One with Carbonization Furnace Innovation

At present we still encounter a lot of inefficient charcoal production (carbonization). Besides producing a lot of pollution there is also a lot of heat or energy lost, which should be used for others, for example drying copra or cooking coconut water for the production of nata de coco and so on. If the carbonization process can be made more efficiently then it can be integrated with the production of white copra and nata de coco. The production of white copra and nata de coco has also become very economical because energy or heat needs can be supplied from the charcoal process or carbonization. Fuel or energy sources can be minimized or even eliminated altogether.

The heat energy from the charcoal process is very large, so efforts to use it are important to increase production efficiency. The carbonization furnace which is designed for charcoal production while producing heat for copra drying with indirect heating and boiling coconut water for nata de coco production is a solution to increase this efficiency. The quality of the charcoal products produced is also higher and stable because of the better control of the production process. With a minimum raw material capacity of 3 tons/day of the coconut shell carbonization furnace can be operated. This is equivalent to processing 6.5 tons of coconut meat/day or white copra production around 3.25 tons/day and nata de coco 5 tons/day. The scheme of carbonization furnace design is as below.

 

The need for coconut shell charcoal is increasing over time as are other coconut products. Indonesia's export of coconut shell charcoal is about 250 thousand tons / year. White copra is also needed for the production of coconut oil whose quality is better than black copra. The quality of oil from white copra is cleaner and clearer so that it can be consumed directly, while black-black copra is commonly called crude coconut oil. The world's white copra exports were 137 thousand tons in 2013 (APCC-Coconut Statistical Yearbook, 2013) with a total value of more than 2 trillion rupiah. The potential of nata de coco is also no less great in line with the growth of food and beverages, which averages 8% per year and it is estimated that the national potential of nata de coco reaches 1.6 trillion / year. The coconut shell charcoal can also be processed further into briquettes or activated carbon. For the export of briquette charcoal and activated carbon (activated carbon), Indonesia is classified as small, namely 20 thousand tons / year and 25 thousand tons / year. For detailed information on coconut shell carbonization furnace, please email at cakbentra@gmail.com

Reviving the Integrated Coconut Industry Part 6: Integration of Dessicated Coconut Production, Packaged Coconut Water, and Shell Charcoal

Basically the campaign to save the coconut plantation (tree of life) is to revive the integrated coconut industry. Damaged and not maintained of coconut plantations due to lack of funding to maintain and develop it in a sustainable manner.

Bioeconomy is defined as knowledge-based production and uses biological resources or living things to produce products, processes, and services in the economic sector within the framework of a sustainable economic system.

Dessicated coconut is not very popular in Indonesia. This product is used in the food industry for a mixture of cakes and chocolate so that it gives the flavor of coconut and much later became a favorite food in Europe. This product was originally discovered in Sri Lanka from Henry Vavasseur's drying experiment of grated coconut in 1888. There are 3 countries that are currently producing dessicated coconut, namely the Philippines, Sri Lanka and Indonesia. The need for this dessicated coconut product also continues to increase, namely recorded export of dessicated coconut in 1990 amounting to 151 thousand tons and in 2008 it increased to 248 thousand tons. In Indonesia alone, it is estimated that there are around 20 dessicated coconut (DC) factories.

DC is produced by drying grated coconut until the water content reaches a maximum of 3%. A dryer commonly used for DC production is a fluidized bed dryer. This dryer has advantages including high sensitivity for its operations, so it is commonly used for food and pharmaceutical products. Rotary dryer is a type of dryer that is also popular in the industry, especially in biomass processing such as wood pellets and briquettes, for more details, please read here. Rotary dryer types are more suitable for materials that are not too sensitive to heat, are not easily broken when dropped and heavier materials. That is why rotary dryers are more suitable for materials such as minerals, fertilizers and so on. Rotary dryer can be said to be heavy duty processing load and requires a wider space, while fluidized bed dryer for lighter-duty materials and requires less space.

For drying the grated coconut, heat energy is needed and for the operation of the plant's equipment such as shredding, conveyors, etc. electricity is needed. Both of these energies can be fulfilled by using a continuous pyrolysis unit. Coconut shell is used as a raw material for continuous pyrolysis, so that the output is in the form of charcoal, syngas and biooil. The charcoal can be sold for immediate use, made briquettes or activated carbon. For electricity production, syngas is used for fuel the gas engine (internal combustion engines) which convert heat energy into mechanical energy then into electrical energy. And biooil can be a source of heat both for boiling or sterilizing coconut meat as well as for a heat source for drying grated coconut with the heating media not in direct contact (indirect heating) with the grated coconut.

With the above pattern, the integrated coconut industry is energy independent or does not require energy supply from outside. This condition is very attractive especially for operations in remote locations. This energy independent industry practice is common in the palm oil industry. Palm oil mills usually burn shells and fiber for the production of electricity and steam. Why besides electricity, does the palm oil mill also produce steam? For more details, you can read here.

At present a number of palm oil mills have even used efficient boilers so that it is sufficient with fiber only and the shell can be sold or exported abroad. Though there is a better or more efficient way to produce electricity and steam, which is also by continuous pyrolysis, for more details read here. The shell, which is a biomass fuel, has properties almost similar to wood pellets at a cheaper price and is still abundantly available. Japan and Korea are the two countries in Asia that are most striking in the use of biomass energy related to climate change mitigation and global warming.

Coconut shell charcoal is a sought-after product, so the price is also increasing every year in accordance with market laws, namely supply-demand. The production of coconut shell charcoal will provide an attractive additional income compared to just being burned to ash and making a zero waste integrated coconut industry.

The DC industry is usually large enough in scale or production capacity to produce quite a lot of coconut water. Coconut water can be processed into bottled coconut water, which also requires electricity and heat in the production process. Electricity and heat production can use coconut fiber as fuel. Burning coconut fiber to heat the boiler and produce electricity, similar to the palm oil mill. Steam is produced to heat or sterilize the coconut water. The demand for bottled coconut water increased rapidly, from 484 thousand liters in 2009 to 71.7 million liters in 2015, or 141 times.

Reviving the Integrated Coconut Industry Part 3

When continuous pyrolysis is used for processing coconut shells and producing charcoal and is not processed further into activated carbon, excess syngas and biooil can be used as energy sources for processing fruit flesh and coconut water. Fruit flesh and coconut water can be processed into a variety of products needed by the market. The production costs of various processed coconut products have become very competitive because energy costs are very minimal or even zero. In addition, energy needs can also be added from coconut fiber which is used as fuel as well. The energy source can be used for electricity or heat or both depending on industry needs.

If gliricidae is planted as a crop between coconut plantations, wood products will also be obtained. The wood can be used as raw material for wood pellets as an export commodity which is predicted to continue to increase demand in line with awareness of environmental problems and climate change. Gliricidae leaf waste can also be used as animal feed such as goats, sheep and cattle. Maintenance of gliricidae is very easy and planting patterns as intercropping with coconut plantations are also common in Sri Lanka. Land optimization can also be done by using land between coconut plantation and gliricidae as pasture fields such as goats, sheep and cattle and for beekeeping.

To make the business profitable and sustainable, professional management certainly needs to be applied in the business. Management of the upstream sector namely plantations and livestock should be separated from the downstream sector namely factory or plant as a processing unit. This is similar to the organization in the palm oil company which separates the plantation division from the factory or mill division. In addition to facilitating business operations, the business will become efficient and competitive. 

Reviving the Integrated Coconut Industries in Indonesia

The absence of a market causes the coconut industry to not develop, stagnate and even tend to die. Although various products can be produced from coconut fruit but with a small product uptake is not able to turn on the coconut industry. When the products that the demanded by market are already obtained, such as CPO in the palm oil industry, it is possible for the coconut industry to stretch and rise and be taken into account. Modernization of technology also needs to be done so that the coconut industry becomes a modern industry even though the production capacity is not as big as the palm oil industry. Another factor needed to revive the integrated coconut industry and this is almost the same experienced by all industries in general that is the availability of energy. So that to meet the energy needs, not all coconut fruit should be processed, but some are used to produce energy, for example coconut fiber, because the economic value is the lowest.

Activated carbon is a product that has a very good market potential and with continuous pyrolysis technology followed by activation, the product can be produced without the need for additional external energy. Thus the activated carbon plant can stand on its own using its coconut shell waste. But to get the coconut shell, someone must process the coconut fruit. Products such as VCO, dedicated coconut, and coconut milk can be the main products so that the processing of the coconut fruit. The coconut water can be processed into isotonic drinks or nata de coco. The use of coir-fired boilers (if in a palm oil mill, high efficient boilers only use the fiber) or even fronds and leaves can be used for electricity and steam production. Similar to operations in palm oil mills as well, namely electricity can be used to move a variety of mechanical equipment for processing coconut and steam as well as a source of heat, especially if the processing of the coconut fruit does need it.

With the above pattern, the coconut industry can be operated even though the location is in a remote area and there is no electricity network there, a place where coconut plantations are located. Indonesia as a seduction country of coconut islands with the plantation area of almost 4 million hectares and the widest in the world today or the equivalent of 1/3 of palm oil plantations should be also the leader in the world coconut industry.