Wood Pellet Production, Solution to Urban Wood Biomass Waste Problems

Sorting is 50% of the solution to the problem of urban waste. The best sorting is at the location where the waste is generated, such as in households in housing or residential areas. With sorting, further waste processing will be much easier. The better the sorting is done, the easier the waste processing can be done. The reluctance of the community to sort waste makes the waste problem more complicated, prone to social conflict and protracted. Although difficult and complicated, cultivating waste sorting must continue to be done because if not handled it will become a serious environmental problem. The paradigm of waste processing also continues to change according to conditions, namely related to environmental impacts, availability of landfills, types and volumes of waste, as below.

If urban waste or MSW (municipal solid waste) can be sorted and processed properly, the environment will be clean and healthy. For example, such sorting is leaf waste made into compost, organic waste from the kitchen and leftover food for maggot feed or farming, wood waste in the form of twigs, pieces of wood and so on for wood pellet production, and plastic waste to be pyrolyzed into fuel or naphtha. And to be processed adequately, the volume of waste must also be sufficient and continuous. This is because the procurement of units for waste processing is also quite expensive. Waste processing should also be decentralized, so that it does not pile up in one place. The production capacity of the village or sub-district scale seems quite good and suitable for the manufacture of such waste processing units.

Among the urban waste is wood waste in the form of twigs, pieces of wood and so on that can be used for the production of wood pellets or wood pellets. The wood waste can come from pruning and felling trees, wood processing industry waste or wood that clogs waters such as rivers. The use of wood pellets or wood pellets can be for household cooking or SME industries. The use of wood pellets in addition to being a fuel or renewable energy that is environmentally friendly, easy to store and use and a solution to overcome biomass waste and reduce LPG imports which are worth around IDR 63.5 trillion each year.

Along with the innovation that continues to be done, wood pellet cooking stoves are becoming easier to use, efficient, clean and safe. For local governments, the production of wood pellets from wood waste also provides many benefits, namely as a solution to handling the waste, creating jobs and socializing the use of environmentally friendly renewable energy for the community. If this is successfully done, in the future the utilization of wood waste can continue to be developed.

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. 

Empty Fruit Bunch of Palm Oil Processing: for Pellets, Briquettes or Biochar ?

Empty fruit bunches (EFB) are solid waste from palm oil mills 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 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 pellets, briquettes or even 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 a size of 5-6 mm to be able to make pellets or briquettes, and less than 1 inch for biochar production.

To obtain suitable raw materials for pellet, briquette and biochar production, the EFB that has been cut and pressed still needs to be reduced in size (size reduction) and its water content reduced to about 1/3 so that it is dry enough. Equipments such as a hammer mill or crusher is needed to reduce the size and a drying tool such as a rotary dryer is needed to reduce the water content. The smaller the size of the material (particle size) and the lower the water content or the drier it is, the more energy is needed. Equipment such as hammer mills and rotary dryers have not become an integral part of EFB processing at this time. However, usually EFB palm oil processing producers also produce press equipments for kernels for the production of kernel oil or PKO in kernel processing plants or KCP (kernel crushing plants) with by-products in the form of palm kernel meal or PKE (palm kernel expeller). 

Considerations for selecting pellet, briquette or biochar production from EFB palm oil depend heavily on the readiness of the business. It is estimated that there are 30 million tons per year of dry EFB palm oil in Indonesia and 10 million tons per year of dry EFB palm oil in Malaysia for raw materials for these products. The use of EFB palm oil waste, in addition to being a solution to waste problems in palm oil mills, will also provide additional benefits for the palm oil mill or company. How much profit is usually also proportional to the investment and production capacity made. With the abundance of potential raw materials and the driving force of sustainability and zero waste, EFB palm oil waste will become an attractive new business. 

Biochar for Biographite, Important Material for Future Strategic Industries

The decarbonization trend continues in all sectors, especially in strategic industries such as the energy industry, iron and steel industry, and transportation equipment industry. The contribution of a number of these industries in producing CO2 emissions that increase concentrations in the atmosphere (carbon positive) is very significant, namely the energy industry, especially power plants, contributing 27.45%, the steel industry contributing 8%, and the transportation sector industry 24%. Various efforts have been made to reduce CO2 emissions from these fossil sources. Biographite is one of the important components for this purpose. The use of graphite currently comes from fossil sources, namely petcoke and coal tar, which are synthetic graphite. This is because graphite mined in nature cannot meet the expected technical specifications in the form of strength, density and conductivity.

Graphite is a material that is used for steel making, lithium ion batteries, nuclear power plants, fuel cells and the defense industry. In the steel industry, every ton of steel produced with EAF uses 2-4 kg of graphite electrodes. On average, each electric car battery contains 70 kg of graphite. According to the Economist, in 2030, the demand for graphite is expected to exceed supply by 1.2 million metric tons, threatening the steel and battery industries. Meanwhile, according to the IEA for Europe, the need for graphite is predicted to increase by around 20-25 times from 2020 to 2040. Including why currently there is no very large battery capacity so that even coal-fired power plants or from fossil sources can be eliminated, it is very possible because of this graphite problem. In addition to graphite, nickel is an important component in lithium-ion batteries used in electric cars with an average of 30 kg, especially in the cathode. Nickel helps increase the energy density and storage capacity of batteries, allowing electric cars to have a longer range.

In the steel industry, carbon neutral production conditions will be achieved when iron and steel production in the industry uses 100% renewable energy. The use of electric furnaces (EAF / Electric Arc Furnace) can be done as long as the electricity is generated from renewable energy sources. And the fact is that currently to achieve this goal is still far because the construction of blast furnaces - basic oxygen furnaces (BF -BOF) is still widely carried out, which should be EAF (Electric Arc Furnace) or currently only around 30% of the global iron and steel industry uses this EAF. Even the International Energy Association (IEA / International Energy Association) highlighted this critical issue to achieve the Paris Agreement's net-zero target by 2050. With an average blast furnace life of 20 years, the iron and steel industry's efforts to achieve the target must be formulated and programmed properly. Even if the blast furnace replacement effort does not follow the target time, it will put the achievement of net zero emissions 2050 in danger. This makes the use of renewable energy as an energy source for EAF increasingly important and must be accelerated, which should also be in line with the use of bio-graphite in the EAF.

The use of biographite will reduce CO2 emissions and reduce dependence on imports. Bio-graphite which is basically derived from biomass offers a sustainable alternative solution to graphite derived from fossil materials. When applied in steel mills with EAF, although biographite emits CO2 emissions when used, this CO2 or carbon comes from biomass. And the biomass from the plant absorbs CO2 from the atmosphere when it grows, making the process carbon neutral. The bio-graphite production process begins by converting biomass into biochar. Furthermore, with special purification, the biochar is converted into high-purity graphite which is suitable for electric arc furnace (EAF) steel electrodes and battery anodes.

Graphite demand / supply showing market deficit beginning 2025E

 

 Source: Macquarie Research (March 2023)

With the potential for various applications in a number of strategic industries, bio-graphite is not just a new environmentally friendly material but an important material supporting future industries. The shortage of this material could slow the transition to electric vehicles and renewable energy storage, which has an impact on many industries. And specifically in the steel industry, the shortage of this material will threaten to increase the cost of steelmaking and hinder progress towards climate goals. This is why the development of biochar production for biographite is very important and needs to be accelerated for the growth of various green industries or renewable industries in the future. 

Important Parameters of Biochar Quality and Biochar Standards

The physical chemical properties (characteristics) of biochar are parameters of its effectiveness in its various different applications. Factors that affect the physical chemical properties of biochar are raw materials (feedstock), production operating conditions (production process), and treatment before and after processing (pre- or post-processing). And because biochar has different physical chemical properties, laboratory analysis is needed to predict the effectiveness of the biochar. Specifically, certain applications will require certain physical chemical properties so that the selection of the appropriate biochar product is very important. For example, biochar with a high surface area has great potential to absorb environmental toxins, metals and nutrients. This is so that biochar with these characteristics is suitable for environmental remediation applications. And because biochar works on various different contaminants, the biochar needs to be modified for a specific application.

The chemical properties of biochar that are usually used as references are organic carbon (Corg) and carbonates (as CaCO3), H/C ratio and fixed carbon (FC), ash content, and volatile matter (VM). While the physical properties that are usually used as references are bulk density, surface area and particle size distribution. And because the main application of biochar is for agriculture including plantations and forestry, namely to increase the productivity of agricultural, plantation and forestry products by increasing soil fertility, the parameters related to soil fertility are also important references. These parameters are nitrogen, pH & liming, liming equivalent, electrical conductivity, total potassium (K), total phosphorus (P) and metal.

Although biochar has multiple benefits both for improving soil fertility and also climate solutions in the form of carbon sequestration / carbon sink, so biochar products can be selected according to usage priorities. Optimizing the benefits between the two important things is certainly the best choice. The perspective or point of view for optimizing benefits is very dependent on a person's profession or expertise, for more details read here. Parameters in the form of organic carbon (Corg), H / C ratio and fixed carbon (FC) are mainly related to climate solutions, namely carbon sequestration / carbon sink or also commonly called BCR (biochar carbon removal) which can get compensation in the form of carbon credit. To be able to get carbon credit, biochar producers must follow the methodology created by the carbon standard institution (Puro Earth, Verra, European Biochar Certificate), so that BCR can be quantified and sold on the carbon market (currently in VCM = voluntary carbon market).

Meanwhile, regarding the priority in soil fertility, the biochar product made must come from a source rich in nutrients or plant nutrients such as from livestock manure. Biochar from livestock manure tends to have lower organic carbon (Corg) than biochar made from wood. Biochar with high ash content such as that from livestock manure usually also has a higher liming equivalent than biochar from wood. High volatile matter (VM) is also beneficial for soil fertility. VM containing gases such as carbon monoxide and methane, organic hydrocarbons, acids and tar and a number of inorganic compounds can be an important food source for soil microbes. A number of studies also show that biochar from livestock manure has a high portion of phosphorus (P) so that it can meet the P needs of plants, as well as its potassium / potassium (K) content.

Transactions or buying and selling of biochar (physical) or BCR credit require certain quality standards. Without an agreed standard, it will certainly be very difficult to determine a meeting point between the seller and the buyer. There are a number of institutions that develop standards for biochar, including the European Biochar Certificate (EBC), Organic Material Review Institute (OMRI), USDA Certified Bio-based Product and World Biochar Certificate (WBC). To obtain quality parameters or specifications of biochar that are in accordance with its use, a certain type of laboratory is needed. Not many laboratories can conduct this biochar test. Some laboratories that can do it include compost, soil, coal and activated carbon analysis laboratories. With a number of these technical supports, of course, the development of biochar for the future will be easier, especially with the various real benefits of biochar and the increasing public awareness of environmental sustainability issues, especially climate issues. 

Food Estate or Biochar? Indonesia becomes the Champion of Global Climate Solutions?

Currently, there are millions of hectares of land in Indonesia that are in dire need of biochar, namely dry land 122.1 million ha; post-mining land 8 million ha; critical land 24.3 million ha; total around 154.4 million ha. Meanwhile, the potential raw materials for biochar production are also abundant (agricultural, plantation and forestry waste) such as dry empty fruit bunch of palm oil around 30 million tons/year, baggase 2 million tons/year, corn cobs 5 million tons/year, cassava stems 3 million tons/year, waste wood 50 million tons/year, rice husks 15 million tons/year, cocoa shells and so on. With biochar, agricultural productivity will increase from an average of around 20% to even 100%.

If applied on a macro or national scale, say with a 20% increase in production, for example, rice production will increase to 36 million tons/year from the previous 30 million tons/year, corn will increase to 18 million tons/year from the previous 15 million tons/year, crude palm oil or CPO will increase to 60 million tons/year from the previous 50 million tons/year. This will save land use so that the opening of forest land for food crops and (bio)energy such as food estates may not be necessary or at least slow it down.

For example, Indonesia's current CPO production reaches around 50 million tons per year with a land area of ​​around 17.3 million hectares. This means that the average CPO production per hectare is only 2.9 tons or per million hectares produces 2.9 million tons. If biochar is used and there is a 20% increase, it means there is an increase of 10 million tons of CPO per year and this is equivalent to saving around 3.5 million hectares of land, or the use of biochar will slow down forest clearing for palm oil plantations.

There is a rough calculation that with an investment of 10 million US dollars, approximately 200,000 tons of biochar produced with more than 400,000 carbon credits will be produced over a period of 10 years. And for example, with a selling price of biochar of 200 dollars per ton and a carbon credit of 150 dollars per unit (per ton of CO2), then within 10 years, the income will be almost 10 times the investment or it is estimated that in less than 2 years the initial investment has been returned (payback period). Carbon credits sellers or biochar producers also try to get sales contracts for 5-10 years.

Of course when the price of biochar is higher and / or its carbon credit then of course the return on investment will be faster. And that does not include the utilization of liquid and gas products and excess heat from pyrolysis which also have economic potential that is no less interesting. 

Green Economy in the Cement Industry Part 8 : A Comprehensive Approach and the Role of Biomass

Efforts to reduce or lower CO2 in the cement industry continue to develop with various methods to achieve adequate targets. The global target is to achieve Net-Zero Emissions by 2050 while intermediate targets depend more specifically on the cement industry itself, for example, there is a cement industry that targets to reduce its emissions by 35% with a 1990 baseline in 2025 and then to more than 40% in 2030. This can practically be translated into a reduction in CO2 emissions in cement production from around 800 kg CO2/ton of cement, to 520 kg/ton of cement in 2025 and less than 475 kg/ton of cement in 2030. To achieve this target, the industry must create a roadmap that refers to the latest climate solutions in the cement industry, so that it is easier to achieve based on science (Science-Based Targets / SBT).

While the motivations for reducing CO2 emissions are similar across the world, progress is not uniform across regions. Europe is the fastest region to move forward due to its readiness, supported by a number of factors, including:
• Regulations that prioritize efficient resource use and promote a circular economy.
• Economic incentives to switch to cleaner fuels, which in many cases result in negative energy costs.
• Greater market acceptance of blended cement and consumer demand for low-carbon products.
• Significant government support for research and testing of cleaner technologies.
• Carbon emissions regulations, which result in a predictable carbon price.

Efforts to reduce CO2 emissions in cement plants directly or directly related to cement production are focused on three things, namely the use of alternative fuels or renewable energy or low-carbon fuels, reducing emissions from the calcination process and the use of cement additives (supplementary cementious material / SCM) or lowering clinker factor. While indirect efforts can be done by using electricity from renewable energy for the operation of the cement plants.

Technically or technologically in achieving the target of reducing CO2 emissions in the cement industry, the alternative energy sector or more specifically biomass fuel is in third place. This is because the largest source of emissions in cement plants or around 60% comes from the calcination process (clinker production), while combustion or related to fuel is only around 40%. This is so that carbon capture or CCS (Carbon Capture and Storage) in an effort to achieve emission targets is ranked first, then clinker substitution with additives or SCM (Supplementary Cementious Material) is in second place, and the use of alternative fuels including biomass is in third place. CCS technology is still expensive so that its implementation is still constrained, so that in practice it has not been done much but clinker substitution and the use of alternative energy including biomass are easier to do, so many cement plants have done it.

If efforts to become net zero emissions in coal-fired power plants can be done by converting their fuel to 100% biomass, then in cement plants it cannot be done by simply replacing the fuel with biomass because the main source of carbon emissions in cement plants is in their clinker production. So if a cement plant does this, the percentage of CO2 that can be reduced is only a maximum of 40%, meaning that CO2 emissions from the calcination process (clinker production) of 60% still occur. The use of clinker for cement production can be reduced so that CO2 emissions from clinker production can be reduced. That is why in cement plants the use of SCM for clinker substitution, the ratio or portion must also be increased. But of course it is impossible to reduce clinker production to zero or eliminate the calcination process and replace it entirely with SCM (lowering clinker factor) to reduce the 60% CO2 emissions.

This is so that the higher the ratio of clinker to cement produced (C/S), the greater the CO2 emissions produced and vice versa. China has the lowest ratio of clinker to cement (C/S) in the world today, which is 0.58, while a number of areas in other countries have the highest C/S ratio of up to 0.89, namely in the United States. While in Europe 0.77, then in India 0.68, in Latin America 0.71 and the global average is 0.76. It can also be understood that China uses SCM with the highest portion compared to countries in the world. That is why to achieve net zero emissions in cement plants, CCS (carbon capture and storage) equipment need to be added.

About CCS (carbon capture and storage) a number of innovations are being developed so that this technology is cheaper and easier to apply to cement plants. This also includes increasing the efficiency of CO2 capture, the use of new generation non-aqueous solvents, and cheaper modular technology. The transformation of captured CO2 into new marketable products is also the next focus.

The use of alternative fuels with high biomass content is highly recommended for cement plants to reduce CO2. But in reality, there are usually still a number of obstacles during its implementation so that it is even difficult to increase the ratio. These obstacles include the availability, quality and quantity of biomass waste, logistics and supporting infrastructure, market dynamics, the economics of the price of biomass waste-based fuels and a number of limiting technical factors related to the characteristics of the biomass fuel. A number of agricultural or plantation biomass wastes such as rice husks, palm kernel shells, cashew nut shells and olive seeds have also been used as biomass fuels in cement plants. Obtaining a supply of biomass fuel in sufficient volume, standard quality and continuous / sustainable is very important for cement plants to support the reduction of CO2 emissions. And basically there is no choice for cement plants to avoid climate problems, so what must be done is to respond to it with real action.