As the decarbonization trend continues to penetrate various sectors of life, various efforts aligned and relevant to decarbonization and aspirations will become a concern, even a choice, and even an obligation. Sooner or later, these climate-smart efforts will become increasingly accepted and an integral part of human life. The upstream palm oil industry (particularly palm oil mills/CPO mills) is no exception. With the use of biomass fuel for boiler operations, which outputs high-pressure steam for palm oil mill operations and electricity production, from a climate perspective, the palm oil industry contributes approximately 1.4% of carbon emissions to the atmosphere.
Emissions from the palm oil industry primarily come from carbon loss during land clearing/deforestation, emissions from peat drainage, and emissions from palm oil mill effluent (POME). In addition, there are also emissions from the use of vehicles for transporting raw materials and palm oil products, as well as for plantation operations (soil cultivation, fertilization, harvesting, etc.), and during palm oil mill start-up. Compared to other sectors, such as energy, power generation is the largest global contributor of emissions at 29%, followed by industry (cement, steel, chemical, etc.) at 21%, and transportation (land, sea, and air) at 15%. Although the global palm oil industry is quantitatively small at 1.4%, in the NZE (Net Zero Emission) effort, it must still be reduced.
This also includes the water treatment sector. In palm oil mills/CPO mills, where steam generated from boilers is used not only for electricity generation but also for mill operations, water treatment, especially for boiler feedwater (BFW), is crucial. Water is likened to blood for the human body. Environmentally friendly water treatment, without secondary pollution and without chemicals, is predicted to become a new trend in this era of decarbonization and sustainability. The high water quality specifications required for boiler feedwater (BFW) require a series of water treatment unit operations. In addition to being clean and clear (TDS <700 ppm), it must also have low hardness, mineral content, and oxygen content.
A number of equipment such as ion exchangers, activated carbon filters, RO membranes, and deaerators are used to produce boiler feedwater (BFW). For an environmentally friendly water treatment process that is more in line with the sustainability mission, the electrochemical method is the solution. By using the principle of redox reactions (reduction and oxidation), electrochemical cells will produce ions capable of sterilization, deodorization, scale prevention, rust protection, decomposition of organic compounds that are not easily biodegradable, remove heavy metal ions, remove residual chlorine, remove residual insecticides, and so on. The use of this method will also save or extend the service life of ion exchangers, activated carbon filters, and especially the RO membrane.
This not only provides environmental and sustainability benefits but also economic benefits. Technical and economic comparisons can also be made between conventional and chemical methods and this electrochemical method. Please contact us if you'd like to make such a comparison, and we'll create a simulation. Besides the longer lifespan of boiler feedwater treatment equipment, which requires less frequent cleaning, another important piece of equipment that can be saved or extended is the boiler. Boilers, which have a lifespan of around 15-20 years, can also last 30% or even more, depending on a number of factors, including water conditions.
Related to decarbonization and sustainability, the palm oil industry is also currently moving towards electric vehicles in the plantation sector. The use of electric vehicles has the potential to provide added value, especially for companies that have obtained sustainability certifications such as the RSPO (Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil) and ISPO (Indonesia Sustainable Palm Oil). The use of electric vehicles allows palm oil companies to claim fossil fuel reduction and benefit from sustainability aspects. Technically, when charging the electric vehicle's battery, it comes from renewable energy sources, namely electricity produced by palm oil mills that use biomass fuel (fiber and palm kernel shells) as their energy source, and not from PLN (Indonesia state owned company electricity) , which uses fossil fuels like coal.
