EFB Densification To CPO Downstream Industries

Energy is generally the highest cost component in the production process.  Energy savings would give a significant impact on production costs and product prices. So that the energy must be obtained at a low cost for production efficiency. Utilization of wastes available is a surefire way to get the production efficiency, especially these wastes generated daily is available or even with a large number or capacity.

EFB (empty fruit bunch) is waste that is generated every day in the palm oil mill or CPO factory. The EFB volume or capacity pretty much every day, for example: the CPO mill with a capacity of 30 ton FFB (fresh fruit bunch) / hour will be generated tankos 8.1 tonnes / hour (5.7 tons of water, 2.4 tons of dry weight) or 162 tonnes each day (114 tons of water, 48 tons of dry weight). EFB utilization for energy source in refining or downstream of CPO, is the perfect solution for waste management and the source of energy.

EFB is wet waste of palm oil and large size from the CPO mill can not be directly used but must be processed in advance so that a fuel or energy source ready. Densification or compaction of EFB into pellets or briquettes is the solution to fuel or energy source that is ready to use it.

Since the Government implemented customs exit (BK = Bea Keluar in Indonesian) CPO, downstream palm oil industry in Indonesia is growing. Finance Minister Regulation (PMK) No. 67/2010 on Stipulation of Export Goods Subject BK and BK Rates mentioned, CPO exports imposed BK from 0-25% depending on price developments in Rotterdam, Netherlands. But the government ultimately lowering the amount of BK to 22.5% after the oil palm planters protest. Magnitude BK was arranged through the PMK No. 128/2011 regarding the Stipulation of Export Goods subject to export duty on August 15, 2011.  Analogy in the fields of petroleum, sell export crude oil should be restricted or even banned, but the industrial products which have undergone treatment so as to give a great added value supported and encouraged as much as possible. Indonesian palm oil product exports 60-70% is in the form of CPO, while the downstream products is only 30-40%. Refinery or refining of CPO was built and some have already been produced. In general, oil products are divided into crude palm oil (CPO), refined products of CPO, palm kernel oil (PKO) and refined products of PKO, biodiesel and oleo-chemical.

Purification or CPO refinery is now generally only owned by CPO large factories, while the small and medium-sized CPO factories in general do not have the CPO purification unit. Indonesian Palm Oil Association (GAPKI) noted that currently there are 1,911 oil palm industries in Indonesia which produce 23.5 million tonnes of crude palm oil (CPO) from an area of 8.2 million hectares of land. Utilization of wastes optimally so that the production process of CPO into zero waste and energy cost savings (energy efficiency), the target of all production processes. Briquetting and peletting of EFB as a source of cheap energy, environmentally friendly (carbon neutral) and sustainable for CPO refining industries means will drive the downstream palm oil products, and can be more affordable for the small and medium sized factories.

Simply put the small and medium palm oil mills are going process or producing EFB briquette thereby increasing revenue, making it more profitable than throw away or sold cheaply, while large factories which have CPO purification unit can buy it as fuel for the CPO refining. EFB briquettes price could be cheaper than other energy but still profitable for the EFB briquette producer. In addition to getting energy from burning EFB briquettes, the briquettes buyers will also get an additional benefit from the use of ash.

EFB Ash, photo is taken from here

Nutrient in Banana fruit and K have large portion on it

Effect of  K in banana yield

After EFB densification or compaction product in the form of briquettes or pellets then burned it will leave ash as combustion residue or waste. Ash has many benefits for the life of plants. Ash from EFB palm oil are also rich in various compounds, especially potassium (K) which is necessary for the plant with the percentage ranges from 30-40%.  Potassium has many functions for plant namely transporting sugar, to control stomata on the leaves by maintaining electro-neutrality in a plant cell, a co-factor of more than 40 enzime and reduce the occurrence of various diseases. The ash of EFB can then be used as organic fertilizer in the palm oil plantation itself and other plantations, like banana. The high content of potassium in bananas and leaves, indicating potassium is the most important nutrients in banana production. Some of potassium from the soil is taken or removed from the plantation in the form of a banana crop very much.

Banana fruit

Estimated loss of the potassium element from the soil through the banana fruit alone reached 400 kg (equivalent to 480 kg K2O) per hectare with a production of 70 tons of fruit. Based on these reason, the banana still require high amount of potassium supply, although the content of potassium in the soil is already quite high. A study on the banana tree with K2O giving as much as 1000 grams / tree has given a bunch of banana weighing 29.4 kg. Some plants are also less suitable and sensitive element of chloride (Cl), so that the portions need to be reduced or even eliminated. In the banana plant, for example the high chloride make banana seedling growth is disrupted and empty fruit. K2O is a compound in EFB ash can be used as ideal organic fertilizer, replacing KCl fertilizer. Potassium fertilizers on the market today KCl and K2SO4 (ZK). The price of KCl fertilizer is cheap because of subsidy, while K2SO4 (ZK) fertilizer is expensive, following the dollar exchange rate because it is not subsidized so that only generally only used by large estates/plantations. Whereas if our plants need potassium fertilizer and does not contain chloride, and ZK fertilizer price in the market is much more expensive, the EFB ash fertilizer that rich of K2O can be a perfect solution.

Popularizing Wood Briquette For Renewable Fuels and Environmentally Friendly

The title of the utilization of renewable energy and environmentally friendly, has a bustling decorate various print and electronic media at this time. Availability of fossil energy are dwindling and unsustainable become a major driving force to give attention to renewable energy. Over time by increasing energy needs, it is inevitable renewable energy will become a mandatory requirement in time. Lignocellulose biomass such as woody is an abundant source that is easily obtainable as well as easily cultivated to the sustainability of their supply. Facts about the low use of renewable energy such as biomass can be viewed from a number of factors, including environmental awareness is still low, including letting productive lands without results even tend to occur desertification, lack of awareness of self or sovereign in the energy sector as one of the vital needs, the lack of or the lack of mastery of technology for renewable energy production and utilization resulting in the inability to see the potential of biomass is very large in tropical areas like our country.

Wood briquette is a product compaction (densification) biomass. Compared to wood pellets, wood briquette is also less popular and production not as much wood pellets. Technically wood briquette quality is not inferior to wood pellets, because in general the density of wood briquette is higher than wood pellets. In addition to the surface of wood briquette also occurr partial carbonized that makes it easy ignited. The large size of wood briquette makes it not easy to flow or be poured as well as wood pellets, which could be a factor that makes wood briquette less desirable. Basically wood briquette similar to wooden sticks as firewood used for cooking, with a density of approximately 2 times the hardwood so to burn is also not a difficult thing. Some furnaces are accustomed to using firewood will easily adjust to the wood briquette. 

Wood briquette is also less publicity than wood pellets, so wood pellets usually more popular. The use of wood pellets for various industries also have started to bloom as in the tea industry for the process of withering and drying the tea leaves themselves. The content of anthraquinone also be very low when using wood pellets as fuel for the process so that it can be accepted by European market in particular. Characteristics of wood pellets which can bulk this is what makes many selected.

Basically wood briquette also has the same functionality, only slight modifications to the furnace may be needed due to the large size. Resume biobriquette or wood briquette application can be read here. The use of wood briquette and mastery of production technology should be easier to do. Wood briquette has a longer produced in various regions in Indonesia, more than 20 years ago as an intermediate product in the production of sawdust charcoal briquette. Fabrication or manufacture of equipment for wood briquette production also has a 100% have been able to be produced in the country, in contrast to wood pellets that most of its production equipment is still imported.

In addition to the woody biomass waste, plantation waste such as empty fruit bunches of palm oil is also good potential compacted into pellets or briquettes. In the palm oil mill the energy needs both heat and electricity in general have been able to be satisfied by the mesocarp fiber and palm kernel shell. Palm Kernel shell even many left, and they can be sold because it can be directly used for fuel and could bulk as well as wood pellets. Large palm oil industry does not only produce crude palm oil or CPO (crude palm oil) but with a range of derivative products or purification/refinery to increase the added value of the CPO will need a lot of energy for the production process. Picture below about purification scheme (refinery) CPO to produce a wide range of derivative products. 

EFB briquettes as a source of energy that CPO refinery. A palm oil mill operations are efficient and zero waste with optimal utilization of wastes for energy resources could have done well with the above-mentioned mechanism. The ash from burning briquettes that are rich in potassium (K) also can be levied which will be used for organic fertilizer on palm plantations.

EFB Briquetting For Bioenergy And Other Purposes

Solid waste such as Empty Fruit Bunch-EFB numbers are very abundant in palm oil mills and to this day are generally not processed moreover utilized optimally.  EFB waste is generally just dumped somewhere and left to decompose naturally through biological processes. Some places have used it as mulch or as an organic fertilizer. But compared to the amount produced, processed EFB are few in number and little added value. The biological processes are also running slow so it takes a big investment to process all EFB waste every day when will use the process. Eco-friendly palm oil mills and "zero waste" certainly impossible achieved.

As energy needs continue to increase every time the diversification of energy becomes important and should be done. These shorter process and results can be used immediately would be an option for the EFB waste processing. Desification technology of biomass into briquette is an attractive option to implement. Briquetting is the shortest route to process the EFB commercially. Process variables such as the size of the briquettes, moisture content, particle size, ash content and plant investment looser than pelleting make it the quickest route of the EFB waste processing. While the briquettes usage  is not a massive pellets but also very large needs. A number of companies producing briquettes, and briquettes are used itself to produce electricity by gasification, pyrolysis and direct combustion technology. Gasification, pyrolysis and direct combustion technology also requires the size and shape of certain raw materials to get optimal performance.

Make the sustainable palm oil business from upstream to downstream is the desire of almost all palm oil businessman. When the palm oil plantation land in need of nutrients that can be supplied from the palm plant itself (EFB for example) but when taken out without anything coming into the soil will also interfere with the palm oil plantation soil fertility in the long term. So it need a good strategy to achieve a sustainable palm oil business. Briquetting is basically the biomass densification that will save transport to its user so that when the briquettes EFB if you want to use as compost can also be parsed again with biological processes to put into the ground so that the balance of soil fertility can be maintained.