Compost Production with Biochar to Improve Compost Product Quality and Business Profit

Although compost and biochar production both utilize and recycle organic waste, there are several differences: compost production through aerobic fermentation is a biological process, while biochar production through pyrolysis is a thermal process. Furthermore, regarding raw materials, ideal compost production requires a moisture content of 60–70%, high nutrient content, and low lignin content, such as food waste and animal manure. Conversely, ideal biochar production requires a moisture content of 10–20% and a high lignin content, such as woody biomass.

Recent research suggests that adding biochar to the composting process accelerates composting, reduces greenhouse gas emissions such as methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O), reduces ammonia (NH3) loss, increases aeration and reduces compost density, and reduces odor. The biochar itself is not damaged or decomposed during the composting process but enriches it with various nutrients.

To achieve optimal results, the biochar dosage must be appropriate to the amount of organic matter used in the compost. Using too much biochar will disrupt the composting biodegradation process, and using too little biochar will diminish the positive effects mentioned above. With the appropriate dosage, biochar can accelerate the composting process. This is because it increases the homogeneity and structure of the mixture and stimulates microbial activity in the composting process.

This increased microbial activity will increase the temperature and speed up the composting process. Several studies have shown that adding 5% to 10% of the biochar volume at the start of composting can speed up the composting process by 20%. While the average compost production time is 2 months (9 weeks), adding biochar at the above dosage can speed up the composting process by 20%, or approximately 1.6 months (7 weeks). With the shorter production time and better compost quality, the added biochar can lead to a higher selling price, potentially equivalent to premium compost. This can offset the cost of adding biochar to the compost production process.

The pores in biochar reduce the bulk density of the compost and aid aeration during composting. For nitrogen-rich compost materials such as livestock manure, adding biochar can reduce N loss during composting, particularly NH3. The unpleasant odor is caused by the release of NH3 during composting, and for this reason, many composting facility developments are rejected by local residents. In a study, adding 20% ​​biochar (mass basis) to poultry litter reduced NH3 concentrations in gas emissions by 64% and N loss by 52% without negatively impacting the composting process.

When used, compost decomposes, with nutrients absorbed by plants, while biochar remains in the soil for centuries. This makes biochar a long-term solution for improving soil quality. Using biochar in compost offers both short-term and long-term benefits. The short-term benefit is as an organic fertilizer, while the long-term benefit is improving or stabilizing soil quality and sequestering carbon. CO2 absorbed through photosynthesis becomes biomass, or organic matter, as the raw material for biochar, and the carbon in biochar remains stable for hundreds of years, and is not released into the atmosphere during this time.

There is no data yet showing the calculated amount of compost production in Indonesia per year. However, the potential for compost production from domestic organic waste is very large, reaching around 60% of the total national waste generation which reaches more than 60 million tons per year or more than 36 million tons of organic waste as raw material for compost. There are a number of parties carrying out compost production in various regions in Indonesia, both government and private parties who contribute to compost production, with varying production capacities. With the very abundant organic raw materials (more than 36 million tons/year), the production of biochar-enriched compost can be carried out so as to maximize the quality of compost and other benefits.

This can be achieved by building a biochar production unit or installing a pyrolysis unit at the organic waste source. Organic waste materials that are less suitable for composting can be used for biochar production. Several companies are already planning to do this. Read the related article here. 

Palm Oil Replanting Movement and Utilization of Biomass Waste

Palm oil trees begin to lose productivity after 20 years and need to be replaced after 25 years, while new trees take about four years to begin bearing fruit. This generally renders the land unproductive during this four-year period, which discourages farmers from replanting their palm oil. However, intercropping during this period can still provide benefits for farmers. Planting short-term crops like upland rice and corn alongside palm oils can help farmers earn additional income while the palm oils bear fruit and mature.

In 2024, Malaysia, the world's second-largest palm oil producer, began implementing land intensification due to limited land area, only replanting 2%, or approximately 114,000 hectares. This is despite the country's target of replanting 5% of its land. The situation in Indonesia is not much different, with replanting predicted to be less than 2%. For example, if only 1.5%, or approximately 246,000 hectares, are replanted, it would be disproportionate to the area of ​​its oil palm plantations, which is nearly three times Malaysia's. Furthermore, replanting should be carried out periodically every year to achieve optimal palm oil production performance.

The reluctance or slow pace of replanting has led to a decline in national crude palm oil (CPO) production. Malaysian palm oil production has even stagnated for more than a decade due to limited land for new plantations and slow replanting. Meanwhile, in Indonesia, concerns about deforestation have also impacted the expansion of new oil palm plantations. Crude palm oil (CPO) production will decline further if labor shortages and the spread of ganoderma fungus reduce yields.

Given the above conditions, the replanting of palm oil plantations must be encouraged to maintain or even increase palm oil production. The issue of biomass waste from palm oil trees, which cover thousands of hectares, also poses a challenge. With such a large volume of old palm oil trees, utilizing them for value-added products is crucial. With an average hectare of palm oil plantations containing 125 trees, each tree yielding an average dry weight of 2 tons, this yields 250 tons of dry weight of biomass per hectare. For 10,000 hectares, this yields 2.5 million tons of dry weight, and for 100,000 hectares, this yields 25 million tons of dry weight. An optimistic estimate would be that Indonesia could replant 5% of its land, or 820,000 hectares, for 205 million tons of dry weight of biomass. Similarly, Malaysia, with 5% replanting, or 285,000 hectares, would yield 71.25 million tons of dry weight.

Business readiness factors, both in terms of technology and the market or user base for the product, need to be carefully assessed. With such a large volume, biomass processing plants or industries can be established and operate optimally without worrying about raw material shortages. Products such as pellets, briquettes, and biochar are made from waste biomass from old palm oil trunks. Dead old palm oil trunks, often left abandoned on land, should be utilized to produce these useful, value-added products.

Firelog Igniter Briquette, a Unique and Specific Product for Wood Briquette Users

The use of biomass fuels for space heating has been around for a long time, from simple open fireplaces to automated stoves equipped with IoT (Internet of Things). From firewood collected from forests to the use of wood pellets and (on a smaller scale) wood briquettes. The driving forces related to decarbonization, climate change, and the environment also play a strong role in the use of biomass fuels, especially wood pellets. Premium-grade wood pellets are an option for space heating with a very low ash content of less than 1%, known as A1/A2 pellets. For more details, read here, as well as for wood briquettes (consumer briquettes). The main difference between wood pellets and wood briquettes is their size, and sometimes their shape, and their production technology is also more diverse than wood pellets. For more details, read here.

For wood briquette (consumer briquette), there are various stoves that can use it, but generally, any stove or oven that uses firewood can use it. Because firewood is no longer readily available in Europe, many people purchase wood briquette from vendors who typically also sell stoves or ovens. In Europe, wood briquette is sold directly to buyers on pallets or through supermarkets.

The size of briquettes makes it difficult to light them directly with a match. Typically, they are lit in a separate place (firestarter), using small twigs or breaking the briquettes to make them ignite more easily. However, this is considered difficult and impractical. This is why innovations have emerged in the form of briquettes enriched with paraffin, making them easy to ignite as starters for briquette stoves. These briquettes (igniter briquettes) can be easily lit with a match and are more practical. Currently, paraffin is generally derived from petroleum, making it a fossil fuel. To be more in line with the aforementioned decarbonization and climate change initiatives, paraffin sources should also be renewable, such as from plants. HRBDPS, or hydrogenated RBD palm stearin, derived from or derived from palm oil, can be a substitute for paraffin from this fossil source.

Biochar for Sustainable Palm Oil Productivity

The Indonesian government emphasized the importance of sustainable palm oil productivity for food and energy security, as conveyed by Deputy Minister of Agriculture Sudaryono, at the opening of ICOPE (International Conference on Palm Oil and Environment) in Sanur, Bali, mid-February 2025. The conference, attended by delegates from various countries, namely Indonesia, Malaysia, India, the Netherlands, France, Finland, Colombia, and Spain, aims to formulate a sustainable transformation for the palm oil industry. Sustainable palm oil productivity can be increased by land intensification and the use of superior seeds. Even if land expansion is necessary, it must be done without causing deforestation. Meanwhile, for replanting in dry land, it can also be combined with upland rice or corn through intercropping methods.

Biochar is a powerful solution
Palm oil productivity can be increased by improving fertilizer efficiency, or Nutrient Use Efficiency (NUE), as part of land intensification. Using the same fertilizer dose with the addition of biochar will increase palm oil productivity by around 20% or more. Fertilizer savings of around 30% with the addition of biochar will keep palm oil productivity relatively stable or at the same level as before. For efforts to increase palm oil productivity while avoiding deforestation, the first option is more appropriate: maintaining the same fertilizer dose as usual, but adding biochar to increase fertilizer efficiency.  

Indonesia's current CPO production reaches approximately 50 million tons/year across 16.4 million hectares, with an average CPO production of 3.55 tons/ha per hectare, or 3.55 million tons per million hectares. If biochar is used and productivity increases by 20%, this means an increase of 10 million tons of CPO per year (a total of 60 million tons of CPO per year), saving approximately 2.8 million hectares of land. The use of biochar will also slow down forest clearing (deforestation) for palm oil plantations.

Besides using biochar to increase palm oil productivity, other benefits from biochar production include the potential for carbon credits (BCR = biochar carbon removal) and the utilization of pyrolysis byproducts for palm oil plantations and palm oil mill operations in CPO production. This method offers several advantages for palm oil companies, such as savings in liquid organic fertilizer and pesticides, and the sale or export of 100% of the palm kernel shells (PKS). In addition to palm oil companies producing their own biochar through pyrolysis, it is also possible to establish separate companies or companies that collaborate with palm oil companies for biochar production under specific agreements.

Global pressure and scrutiny on the palm oil industry to adopt sustainable practices are increasing. Amidst soaring demand for palm oil in both global and domestic markets, increasing palm oil productivity is inevitable. Utilizing biomass waste from palm oil mills and plantations, such as empty fruit bunches (EFB) and trunks (OPT), for biochar production, and using biochar to increase palm oil productivity, is a powerful solution to address these challenges. Even for replanting dryland with upland rice or corn using intercropping methods, the use of biochar will also have a positive and significant impact on these intercrops. 

Ash Content and Quality of Premium Grade Wood Pellets

Compared to industrial wood pellets, which have looser specifications, particularly regarding ash content, which can reach 6%, premium-grade wood pellets, for use in space heating, have stricter specifications, specifically a maximum ash content of 1%. Premium-grade wood pellets generally have a diameter of 6 mm, while industrial pellets are generally 8 mm. The color or appearance of premium-grade wood pellets also plays a role, with brighter colors generally preferred. This is why premium-grade wood pellets are naturally more expensive. Demand for premium-grade wood pellets increases during the winter due to the increased need for space heating.

Regarding ash content, several standards even stipulate ash content lower than 1%, such as DIN Plus with a maximum of 0.5%, ENPlus-A1 with a maximum of 0.7%, and Ö NORM M7135 which requires a maximum of 0.5%. This is why strict control of raw material selection and treatment is applied in the production of wood pellets to meet these specifications. Although the ash chemistry for premium grade wood pellets may not be as stringent as for industrial pellets because the application operation is at lower temperatures, the production of wood pellets with very low ash content requires high-quality raw materials.

In premium grade wood pellets, even a slight difference in ash content can significantly impact the selling price. For example, wood pellets with a maximum ash content of 0.55% can differ by around USD 30 per ton compared to wood pellets with a maximum ash content of 0.35%. Because they are used for space heating, premium grade wood pellets are generally packaged in small plastic bags, such as 15 kg, while ordinary industrial pellets are packaged in jumbo bags or even bulk due to the much larger volume requirements.
 

Biochar for Palm Oil Nurseries Part 2

In 2024, Malaysia reported that replanting their palm oil plantations reached 114,000 hectares, or 2% of the country's total area, compared to the targeted 4% to 5%. Indonesia's replanting rate is estimated to be lower, but because Indonesia's palm oil plantations are much larger, approximately three times Malaysia's, the area is larger. This situation has led to a decline in palm oil production, as palm oil productivity begins to decline after 20 years and requires replacement or replanting after 25 years to maintain productivity. Replanting should be carried out periodically, with an area of approximately 5% of the total palm oil plantation area.

Palm oil rejuvenation (replanting) requires palm oil seedlings. If estimated current replanting of palm oil plantations in Indonesia is 300,000 hectares per year (or 1.8% of Indonesia's oil palm plantation area), then with an average oil palm plantation population of 125 trees per hectare, the need for palm oil seedlings reaches 37,500,000. And with 114,000 hectares in Malaysia, the need for palm oil seedlings will reach 14,250,000 seedlings. Producing quality palm oil trees, in addition to selecting superior varieties, also includes seedling production in palm oil nurseries. Biochar can be used effectively in palm oil nurseries, as it helps improve seedling growth and health.

Biochar, made from biomass, functions as a soil amendment, improving soil structure, water retention, and nutrient availability, while also providing a favorable environment for the growth of soil microorganisms. Biochar can be mixed directly into the growing medium during nursery cultivation, with the dosage adjusted to the type of growing medium and the plant's needs. Numerous studies have shown that applying biochar to palm oil nurseries can improve seedling growth, including plant height, stem diameter, leaf number, and root dry weight. By utilizing biochar, palm oil nurseries can become more efficient, productive, and environmentally friendly.

And because the planting medium for palm oil seedlings generally uses compost, if the compost is enriched with biochar or the composting process also uses biochar, the compost quality will be even better. The advantages of the composting process using biochar include improving compost quality, accelerating the composting process, reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the form of methane (CH4) and nitrogen oxide (N2O), reducing ammonia (NH3) loss, increasing aeration (bulking agent) in composting, and reducing odor. As for the biochar material itself, it will enrich the biochar with various nutrients and the biochar is not damaged or decomposed during the composting process. So by utilizing biochar in composting, we can process organic waste more effectively, produce high-quality organic fertilizer, and contribute to more sustainable agricultural practices. 

Biochar-Based DRI / Sponge Iron Production

In the steel industry, carbon neutral production will be achieved when iron and steel production use 100% renewable energy. Electric arc furnaces (EAFs) can be used as long as the electricity is generated from renewable energy sources. However, EAFs, which still use electricity from fossil fuels, can be a transitional medium before 100% carbon neutral production due to their lower CO2 emissions compared to blast furnaces (BF) using coke from coal. The raw materials processed with EAFs are steel scrap and direct reduced iron (DRI/sponge iron). Steel scrap or DRI (sponge iron) is directly fed into the electric arc furnace (EAF) for steelmaking, resulting in lower carbon emissions compared to the blast furnace (BF) method. CO2 emissions from the blast furnace (BF) are approximately 2.33 tons for each ton of crude iron/pig iron, while with the EAF, they are only approximately 0.66 tons for each ton of crude steel.

Currently, approximately 80% of steel scrap is recycled using EAFs. Globally, EAFs account for approximately 22% of steel production (based on scrap and sponge iron). India is the largest producer of sponge iron, or DRI. Other major producers include Iran, Russia, Mexico, and Saudi Arabia. In 2023, India produced 49.3 million tons, while Iran produced 33.4 million tons. Global sponge iron, or DRI, production reached 135.5 million tons in 2023, while pig iron reached nearly 1.5 billion tons.

And the fact is that currently, to achieve the goal of producing carbon neutral steel is still far away because the construction of blast furnaces - basic oxygen furnaces (BF -BOF) is still being carried out a lot, which should be EAF (Electric Arc Furnace) or currently only about 30% globally the iron and steel industry uses this EAF. The construction of new blast furnaces does tend to increase, in fact, by mid-2024, around 207 million tons per year of new production has been announced and around 100 million tons per year is under construction.

Sponge iron, or DRI, is produced from iron ore that has been processed to remove oxygen, resulting in a porous, sponge-like material. The process for producing DRI is called direct reduction. Direct reduction processes can be roughly divided into two categories: gas-based and coal-based. Just as coal can be used, so charcoal (biochar) can be used as the carbon source. The difference is that charcoal (biochar) is derived from wood or biomass, which are renewable resources. The process typically involves a rotary kiln where iron ore and coal or charcoal (biochar) are fed together, and the reduction reaction occurs in the solid state. India is a major producer of coal-based DRI, with production increasing substantially in recent years, as shown in the map below. Other major producers of DRI, or sponge iron, generally use natural gas-based processes.

The availability of biochar that meets specifications and sufficient volume, as well as its sustainable supply, is needed to substitute coal in DRI production. Therefore, on the upstream side, the availability of biomass raw materials from forestry waste, wood processing, agricultural waste, and agro-industrial waste is crucial for the sustainability of biochar production, including the establishment of energy plantations for this purpose. In addition to replacing the reductant or fuel from coal to charcoal (biochar) in DRI or sponge iron production, efforts to reduce carbon emissions in steel production on the DRI-EAF route also include replacing the EAF electrode from fossil-based synthetic graphite to biochar-based biographite. For more details, read here.