Animal Feed Protein Business from Palm Oil Mill By-Products

Animal feed is a link in the food chain for humans. The need for feed will also continue to increase along with the growth of population or human population. In fact, a number of animal feed companies have animal feed factories with very large production capacities or millions of tons every year, for more details, read here. It is predicted that the human population will reach 9 billion people in 2050. The nine billion people who are predicted to live on planet Earth in 2050 will need an additional 250 million tons of protein per year, or an increase of 50% compared to today. This protein need can be met one way from the livestock sector and so that the livestock industry can achieve its target, a lot of animal feed industries are needed. 

Not only for humans, protein is also one of the main elements for animal feed and is among the most expensive protein animal feed elements. This is why protein production for animal feed is important for the feed industry in particular or the livestock industry in general. The world, especially Europe, is lacking the protein element in animal feed. This is why there is an organization in Europe that encourages the use of insects as a source of feed protein, namely IPIFF (International Platform of Insects for Food and Feed). The types of insects permitted to be bred by the European Commission for this purpose include only 7 species of insects, namely 3 types of crickets, 2 types of caterpillars and 2 types of flies. Apart from having determined and legitimized several types of insects, it turns out that the protein from these insects is not 100% for animal feed, but around 30% is for food consumed by humans.

PKE / Palm Kernel Expeller or PKC / palm kernel cake is a by-product or waste from palm kernel oil (PKO) mills with a protein content of around 15%. Compared to CPO mills, there are fewer PKO mills. This is because not all CPO mills also have PKO mills. It is estimated that the ratio of CPO mills to PKO mills is 10: 1. With the number of CPO mills in Indonesia currently around 1,000 units, the number of PKO mills is estimated to only be 100 units. This palm oil expeller or palm kernel cake / PKC has the potential to be used as maggot feed. Cultivating maggots from palm oil cake will produce premium quality maggots. With the main protein content (~ 45%) maggots will be a source of high quality feed protein. Meanwhile, if maggot cultivation uses palm oil mill effluent sludge or part of CPO mills liquid waste, the quality of the maggots produced will not be as good as if fed from palm oil expeller. However, with so many CPO mills, the potential for maggot production from palm oil mill effluent sludge is no less large.

Products that can be produced from maggot farming include dried maggots, maggot meal and maggot oil, as well as by-products in the form of feces and urines. Products from maggots in the form of dried maggots, maggot oil and maggot meal are feed ingredients for poultry, fish and pets. World feed production is estimated at around 1 billion tons each year with the following composition, namely, poultry feed production is ranked first with a portion of 45% or almost half of world feed production, followed by second place pig feed at 11%, third ruminant 10% and the rest are others such as food for fish, pets and horses. The world's largest animal feed producing countries are China with a share of 19.6%, followed by a number of countries, namely America with 17.4%, Brazil with 6.8%, then countries such as Mexico, Spain, India, Russia, Japan and Germany as well. are large producers of animal feed. the rest by countries around the world.

Maggot droppings, which are a by-product or waste from maggot farming, can be used as organic fertilizer, namely solid organic fertilizer and liquid organic fertilizer. This fertilizer can be used on various plantations and farms, including on palm oil plantations themselves. And it would be even better if the organic fertilizer was added or enriched with biochar so that it becomes slow release fertilizer and increases its nutrient use efficiency (NUE: Nutrient Use Efficiency).

Drying Palm Kernel Shells (PKS) by Utilizing Waste Heat from Palm Oil Mills and POME Biogas Units

The need for palm kernel shells or PKS is getting bigger because its use is increasing and diversifying. PKS can be used as boiler fuel in industry and in power plants. In addition, it can also be used as a raw material for activated carbon whose needs are also increasing, for more details, read here. The global trend to decarbonize or replace fossil fuels with renewable energy including biomass fuels, especially PKS is the main driving force for the increasing demand for PKS. Even oil-rich countries with economies driven from oil (petrodollars) are also gradually implementing the decarbonization program.

To be used as fuel or further processed into a number of derivative products such as torrified PKS, PKSC or palm kernel shell charcoal and activated carbon, the PKS must be dried first. The process of drying or reducing the moisture content to a certain level requires energy. PKS, which are palm oil mill waste, are generally just piled up in the backyard of the palm oil mill, so they are usually dirty and wet, resulting in a low selling price. If the palm oil mill can dry and clean its PKS, the selling price will also increase, so that there is added value as well as additional income for the palm oil mill. A number of energy sources from waste heat from palm oil mills can be used for the drying process.

Heat is an energy source that can be used for various purposes, either heat generated directly from the combustion process or from waste heat which is the residual heat from the combustion or other sources such as electricity and so on. In palm oil mill operations there is a certain amount of waste heat that can be extracted or harvested or recovered as a heat source for drying such as heat from combustion in the boiler, heat from steam turbine and heat from the FFB sterilization process. If the palm oil mill also processes its liquid waste for electricity production, the waste heat from burning biogas in the generator can also be used as a heat source for drying the PKS. A number of heat sources which are waste heat when integrated, the amount is large so that it can be sufficient for drying the PKS.

In addition to producing CPO (Crude Palm Oil) as the main product, palm oil mills generally also produce palm kernel. Currently, there are still a few palm oil mills (CPO mills) that also have PKO (Palm Kernel Oil) mills , meaning that there are palm oil mills that process fiber for CPO production and palm kernel for PKO production. The palm kernel is produced from the separation of palm kernel with its shell (PKS). Separation is done by breaking the palm kernel shell in a nut cracker drum, then it can be separated between the palm kernel shell and the kernel or core based on differences in specific gravity. If the palm oil mill wants to get added value from its palm kernel shells (PKS), then as soon as it leaves the palm oil mill it goes straight into the dryer (with waste heat as the heat source) after which it is cleaned with a sieve (screening) so that it becomes the final product in the form of dry and clean PKS, so that higher sale value. The size of the shell and fibers that pass the sieve (undersize), can also be used as boiler fuel. Palm oil mill boilers currently operate using fiber fuel (mesocarp fiber) and part of the palm kernel shell (PKS). The rejected material in the form of undersize can be used as boiler fuel so that less PKS are used.

Export Wood Pellets to Japan, Is It Possible?

The consumption of biomass fuels especially wood pellets in Japan continues to increase over time according to the target of 4-6 GW in 2030. Supply of wood pellets for Japan, especially from Canada, have a volume of more than 250 thousand tons annually. The use of wood pellets is mainly for fuel generating electricity (read the background here). Wood pellet producers in Asia are also increasing, but the fact is that not many of them can export to Japan. Japan applies strict standards for the quality of wood pellets and also guarantees that wood pellets are produced in an environmentally friendly manner as evidenced by a sustainability certificate in the form of FSC. Another factor that makes it difficult to export wood pellets to Japan is the application of long contracts with fixed purchase prices for a certain time. That is because with the FIT (Feed in Tarrif) policy, the selling price of electricity produced is also fixed for 20 years with prices depending on the type of fuel. In addition, the volume of shipment needed is also quite large, which is 10 thousand tons for each shipment. This has consequences for the capacity of the wood pellet plant.

Then how about the track record of export wood pellets from Indonesia? It turns out that wood pellet exports from Indonesia to Japan are still very minimal, in general only for the trial phase. This is very different from other biomass fuel commodities namely palm kernel shells (PKS) whose export volume to Japan alone is estimated at more than 1 million tons annually. Why did it happen? First, the average wood pellet producer in Indonesia is still in small capacity or less than 5000 tons / month. In addition, the majority of raw materials used come from sawdust from sawmills and wood wastes from the wood processing industries. This condition also makes it very difficult or impossible to obtain a sustainability certificate because it is very difficult to trace the source of wood from its origin. Second, the amount of PKS is abundant in palm oil mills because it is one of the solid wastes from palm mills or CPO production. With national CPO production estimated to reach more than 40 million tons / year, the resulting PKS are estimated to reach more than 10 million / year and only through a simple process can the PKS be exported. Technically, PKS also have many similarities with wood pellets for technical specifications such as heating value, size, etc., as well as having advantages namely of easier handling and lower prices.

One scenario to be able to export wood pellets to Japan, is the production of wood pellets from energy plantations. With an energy plantation, the origin of the wood so that all aspects of its cultivation can be clearly monitored and verified so that certificates like FSC can be easily obtained. The supply of raw materials can also be guaranteed and it is possible for large capacity production. To optimize the energy plantation can also be integrated with sheep, cattle and goat farms and honey beekeeping. The three important aspects for human life, namely food, energy and water can be done with these activities, for more details can be read here.

Another alternative is to produce EFB pellets or palm oil empty fruit bunches pellet, but EFB pellets are not a wood pellet group, because they originate not from woody biomass, but from agricultural waste so they are called agricultural waste pellets or agro-waste pellets. The quality of agro-waste pellets is generally lower than that of wood pellets mainly because of the higher ash content and the lower heating value. In addition to the technical factors above, there are important things to consider for the production of EFB pellets is the availability of electricity. This is because palm oil mills are generally in remote locations making it difficult to get electricity supply, while electricity produced by palm oil mills is also inadequate when used for EFB pellet production. To be able to produce electricity, namely by producing biogas from POME (palm oil mill effluents), and for more details, please read here.

Palm Oil Mill Business Development: Electricity from Biogas for the EFB Pellets Production

Palm oil mills or CPO mills are generally no longer interested in developing businesses or making businesses anymore, because the demand to produce sustainable CPO products has become a challenge. Palm oil mills in general want to do business development, especially related to its main business such as productivity of palm oil fruit (plantation division) and environmental aspects that are part of sustainable CPO production (mill division). A business unit that can integrate the two divisions in the palm oil business is what is needed for palm oil companies. As a business, of course, in addition to the two aspects above, it also has a profit oriented. Business characteristics that improve the quality of the environment and produce products that are oriented towards environmental sustainability are the characteristics of business in the bioeconomy era.

In the palm oil mill or CPO production, besides producing the main product in the form of CPO, a number of wastes are also produced, such as solid waste and liquid waste. Liquid waste in the form of POME (Palm Oil Mill Effluent) can be further processed into biogas and then the biogas is converted into electricity with a gas engine. Why with a gas engine and not with a steam turbine for electricity conversion? That is because the gas engine is more practical and easier compared to steam turbine. The second consideration is the production of electricity from biogas is a business development that utilizes palm oil mill effluents and not CPO production lines that require steam in the production process series. The electricity generated can then be used for the production of EFB (empty fruit bunch) pellets . While the residue from the biogas unit is then used for fertilizer in palm oil plantations, the term commonly used is land application.

Empty fruit bunches or EFB are generally not utilized and there are quite a lot of them. Increasing its added value by processing it into EFB pellets is an environmental and business solution for empty fruit bunches or EFB waste. EFB pellets are a group of biomass pellets especially agro waste pellets or agricultural waste pellets, which in terms of characteristics there is little difference with wood pellets. Along with the increasing need for renewable energy, especially biomass fuels and more specifically wood pellets, because the number of wood pellets currently produced is relatively limited because it only relies on sawdust and wood wastes, an increase in production can be done with agricultural waste, especially EFB pellets. The potential of empty fruit bunches for EFB pellet production is also huge, for more details, please read here.

The production of EFB pellets with electricity from the biogas unit should be managed separately from the palm oil mill or CPO mill. This will make the CPO mill run optimally as well as EFB pellet production. When the palm oil mill wastes can be treated, the palm oil company will get a positive image on the environmental aspect (green company). Positive image as a result of real or concrete waste processing so that it is a zero waste production will also increase the selling power of CPO products as the main product. Palm oil companies in general are always trying to improve environmental sustainability as an indicator of the performance of the palm oil companies concerned so that the production of EFB pellets with operations using electricity from POME biogas is a surefire solution. 

Urgency of the Biogas Unit in the Palm Oil Mills

In palm oil mills with a big vision, business development is important and always receives special attention. Palm oil mills which generally only produce CPO (crude palm oil) and only a few produce PKO (palm kernel oil). Biomass wastes generated such as empty fruit bunches (EFB), fiber and palm kernel shells (PKS) have great potential to be developed into businesses. In addition, the kernel (palm kernel) which has only been sold to other parties can actually be processed by ownself into a PKO. Even CPO itself can also be developed into various derivative products such as cooking oil, stearin, olein and various other oleochemical products. To process the above material, will always need energy and the availability of energy especially those which become a major obstacle to various business developments in the palm oil mill.

Biogas from POME or palm oil mill effluent is a potential energy source that can be created to support a number of business developments based on the palm oil mill. Liquid waste in the form of POME is generally not utilized and is still a problem for most palm oil mills today. By processing it into biogas, it can then be converted to heat and electricity so that it can be utilized for business development that mentioned above. Under certain conditions the biogas produced can even be upgraded to CBG (Compressed Biomethane Gas) with the use as a substitute for fuel in trucks used in the palm oil industry.

There are two types of biogas reactors being developed at this time, namely by maing then covering the pool with a special rubber material (covered lagoon) and a continous stirred tank reactor (CSTR). Although it requires a wider area, the type of covered lagoon is more widely used because in addition to being simpler it can also accommodate more biogas volume. A palm oil mill using centrifugal oil separator will produce a lot of sludge which increases the COD (Chemical Oxygen Demand) thereby increasing the amount of biogas produced. While palm oil mills use decanters, the sludge will be separated so that the COD is low and so is the biogas product produced.

Biogas Water Absorber

The use of biogas to convert to thermal energy (in external combustion engines such as furnaces and boilers) is simpler than the conversion to electrical energy with a gas engine (typical of internal combustion engine). When biogas is converted into heat, the gas purification process is not even carried out and directly burned in the gas burner, so existing boiler of the palm oil can be used. But when it converted into electricity with a gas engine , the biogas purification process becomes important, because the quality of the gas is very influential on the performance and durability of the gas engine and automatically the electricity product produced. Biogas with a lot of H2S content will be corrosive so as to damage the gas engine unit and biogas with high CO2 content will reduce the calorific value so that the gas engine performance will decrease.