Stationary Auger : Industrial Pyrolysis for Indonesia and SE Asia

Global biochar production in 2023 is estimated to reach 350 thousand tons or equivalent to 600,000 carbon credits and is expected to continue to increase. From an economic perspective, revenues from biochar producers, distributors, value-added producers and equipment manufacturers exceeded $600 million in 2023, with a CAGR of 97% between 2021 and 2023. Revenues are projected to grow to nearly $3.3 billion in 2025. The existence of carbon credits is the second largest motivation for biochar production. With the existence of carbon credits, there has been a significant increase in biochar production from before. In 2023, this biochar carbon credit contributed the largest amount, namely 90% of carbon removal in the voluntary carbon market according to data from cdr.fyi.

And even biochar production where the income from direct sales of biochar is not that big or in other words they rely on income from biochar production then it is still a profitable business. As a tropical country, Indonesia can be said to be a biomass heaven both from agricultural / plantation biomass or forestry. If the biomass is converted into biochar then the production will be very large as well as the carbon credit. Direct sales of biochar (physical biochar) can also be done well because there are so many sub-optimal lands that can be repaired or upgraded using biochar, such as dry lands, critical lands, post-mining lands and so on, which amount to tens or even hundreds of millions of hectares.

Nearly 80% of biochar producers in 2023 will fall into the medium, large, and very large categories

The selection of production equipment that can produce certified biochar so that it can get carbon credit is important besides maximizing production capacity, it requires adequate production equipment. Stationary auger pyrolysis equipment is the right choice to meet the above requirements. In addition to producing biochar as the main product, by-products such as excess heat, biooil and syngas are additional benefits of the pyrolysis process with the stationary auger. The utilization and monetization of these by-products are an increasing driving force for biochar production with the stationary auger. Currently, there are still many biochar producers who do not have certification or standards for carbon credit, this also makes them unable to get income from carbon credit or just business as usual with biochar sales. Of course, this is not attractive to companies that will produce large-capacity biochar.

But why is biochar production in Indonesia and Southeast Asia still very small and not many people even know about biochar? This is related to low awareness of climate, sustainability and the environment and more specifically to biochar. Biochar as a solution to improve soil fertility so that productivity increases (both agricultural/plantation crops and forestry) as well as a climate solution with carbon sequestration. But with the high problem of climate awareness, sustainability and the environment, especially with the economic driving force in the form of carbon credits, it seems that the story will be different in the coming years. But there are indeed reasons related to the low participation of biochar producers in the carbon market, namely the costs and difficulties in obtaining certificates to sell carbon credits, as well as the costs of participating in carbon marketplaces. But with the large production capacity of industrial capacity with stationary auger equipment, the costs and difficulties in obtaining carbon credits will be commensurate with the benefits obtained.

SBE Pyrolysis: A Profitable Waste Management Solution

Spent Bleaching Earth (SBE) which is solid waste produced from the bleaching process in the CPO processing industry into cooking oil and oleochemicals is increasing along with the production of palm oil derivative products or downstream palm oil industries such as cooking oil and oleochemicals. The amount of bleaching earth used generally ranges from 0.5-2.0% of the total CPO refined, depending on the quality of the CPO to be processed in the refining process. SBE is included in category 2 hazardous toxic material (B3) waste from specific sources with waste code B413. SBE is categorized as hazardous toxic material (B3) waste because it contains high oil and has characteristics that are flammable and corrosive. SBE can be categorized as non-B3 waste if its oil content is below 3%.

The classification of SBE status as hazardous toxic material (B3) waste in Indonesia is different from the status of SBE in Malaysia, which is also the second largest palm oil producer in the world. SBE waste produced by the Malaysian refinery industry is not classified as B3 waste but is still categorized as solid waste from refinery factories whose processing is regulated in the Solid Waste Regulation (SWR) so that the waste can be reused into products with high economic value.

According to the Indonesian Vegetable Oil Industry Association (GIMNI, 2021), with a refinery capacity of palm oil/CPO between 600 tons to 2,500 tons per day, and assuming the use of bleaching earth (BE) of 1%-2%, the average will produce 6-50 tons of SBE per day. And according to the Directorate General of Waste Management, Toxic and Hazardous Materials (PSLB3) of the Ministry of Environment and Forestry, the SBE produced from the vegetable oil refining process in Indonesia in 2019 reached 779 thousand tons. Of that amount, 51.47% (401 thousand tons) of SBE was processed, while the remaining 48.39% (378 thousand tons) was stored or stockpiled. A very large amount and has the potential to pollute the environment.

SBE has an oil content of around 20-40%, so it has the potential to be utilized. In addition, SBE also contains color, gum, metals namely Silica, Aluminum oxide, Ferrioxide, Magnesia, other metals and water. Basically, SBE processing is done by separating oil from its solids. The separated oil can then be used as raw material for biodiesel and even aircraft fuel (bio-jet fuel) such as POME / PAO and UCO. With the amount of unprocessed SBE reaching around 378 thousand tons per year, the potential oil that can be extracted reaches around 115 thousand tons per year.

With pyrolysis, the process of separating solid and liquid fractions from SBE is easy to do, as well as oil recovery can be maximized, as well as SBE becomes non-hazardous toxic material (non-B3) waste because its oil content is below 3%. More specifically, with continuous pyrolysis, the volume of SBE waste reaching 50 tons per day in the CPO refinery unit can be easily done. The large potential economic value that can be obtained from the utilization of SBE is a shame if it is not optimized. The market opportunity for processed products from SBE waste is also expected to be bright in the future, along with the development of market preferences that demand the availability of eco-friendly and sustainable products.
 

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.