Hydraulic Press Type Biomass Briquettes, Efficient for Small Capacity

Wood processing factories and sawmills that produce small amounts of wood biomass waste, such as 5-10 tons per day, can process it into value-added products, namely briquettes. Briquettes and pellets both use biomass densification technology, but pellets are far more popular than briquettes. Wood pellets are typically used for large-scale power plants with annual demand of tens or even hundreds of thousands of tons. Briquettes (wood briquettes) are typically used for smaller capacities, and there are also wood briquettes for special applications, such as charcoal and BBQs. The question is, which type of wood briquette is suitable for this small amount of waste?

Compared to wood pellets, which only use one type of production technology—a roller press—wood briquette production uses three types: piston press, mechanical press, and screw press. For more details, read here. Of the three, hydraulic wood briquette is the most suitable type for processing this "small" amount of waste. This is because it uses the least electricity, can operate automatically, and is stable, even for 24/7 operation. The sawmill and wood processing industry, in addition to achieving clean production units (zero waste), also benefits from contributing to renewable energy.

Technically, briquette production is also easier than pellet production, due to the looser moisture content and particle size. Even for abrasive biomass materials, briquetting, particularly with piston presses and hydraulic presses, can handle these materials more effectively than roller-press pelletizing. The wear and tear on equipment in pelletizing these materials is much greater, while in briquetting, this is much less. This is because the contact area during pressing/compaction in pelletizing is much larger than in briquetting. Therefore, in briquetting, it is easier to replace certain machine components that wear out due to abrasive materials, unlike in pelletizing, which requires replacing dies and even rollers.

As the era of decarbonization accelerates, the use of renewable fuels, particularly biomass, such as wood waste, is also growing. Briquetting, particularly hydraulic press briquettes, simplifies handling and use in furnaces. Biomass boilers that feed fuel manually will easily utilize these hydraulic press briquettes. Small and medium-sized industries using small boilers will be able to utilize these hydraulic press briquettes.

Replanting Palm Oil Plantations and Utilizing Old Palm Oil Trunks Waste (Presentation Version)

Aging plants are one factor in declining palm oil productivity. Palm oil trees begin to decline in productivity after 20 years and need to be replaced after 25 years. Therefore, rejuvenation or replanting must be carried out periodically according to the age of the trees.

Furthermore, the demand for palm oil continues to grow in line with global population growth. For the domestic market, biofuel use takes the form of a mandatory 40% palm oil blend in biodiesel (B40) this year, which is being reviewed to increase to 50% (B50) by 2026, and a 3% blend for jet fuel by 2026. Demand for the international market also continues to grow. The main destinations for Indonesian palm oil are India, China, Pakistan, Bangladesh, the United States, the Netherlands, Spain, Italy, Egypt, and South Africa.

Replanting palm oil plantations is crucial because it maintains sustainable palm oil productivity and prevents or reduces deforestation for new lands. The potential volume of old palm oil trunk waste generated is enormous, and there are numerous utilization options, including bioenergy, biocarbon, biomaterials, biofuels, and biochemicals.

To read and access the presentation, please download 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.

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. 

Industrial Wood Briquette Becomes an Alternative Between Wood Chips and Wood Pellets

Biomass fuel is a renewable fuel or renewable energy that is currently positioned as one of the alternative fuel. However, along with awareness of various climate problems, the use of alternative energy from biomass has increased over time. The decarbonization trend as a response to climate problems has penetrated all lines of life including the industrial sector. As a profit-oriented industry, of course, efforts to maximize are a major concern, including in the use of alternative fuels. There are various types of fuels that can be produced from biomass and especially for solid fuels, including wood chips, wood pellets and wood briquettes. The characteristics of these fuels are slightly different from one another, including their production costs. It is necessary to look more carefully and deeply so that you can get the best biomass fuel according to the goals of the industry.

Industrial briquette can be produced in large quantities at a lower cost than briquette produced with hydraulics or extruders. And when compared to wood pellets, industrial wood briquette is also cheaper to produce. But of course the production cost is more expensive than wood chips. Wood chips can be said to be the easiest and cheapest biomass fuel to produce.

This places industrial wood briquette in a position between wood chips and wood pellets or hydraulic and extruder type briquettes. As a biomass densification product, industrial wood briquette is also more economical for long-distance transport. In addition, a number of industrial boilers have also been specially designed to be able to use industrial wood briquette fuel, even with automatic feeding. Other factors such as uniformity of shape, size can vary and low water content are other advantages of industrial wood briquette.

Boiler users in industry and even coal power plants can consider using industrial wood briquette. Especially for companies engaged in industrial utilities such as steam providers for processing industries so that the operation and maintenance of the boiler including the use of biomass fuel is the responsibility of the company. With a long-term steam supply contract, for example around 5-10 years, the provision of biomass fuel in the form of industrial wood briquette within that period is also very important. In addition to the availability of sufficient, legal and sustainable raw materials, the reliability aspect of industrial wood briquette production machines cannot be ignored.

 

Complete Pellet Production Line (Fuel and Feed) Small Capacity For Research and Experiment

Laboratory equipment as a production unit or as a small factory (mini-mill) is needed both for learning (research and experiment) and as a production stage before reaching the commercial stage of a business. By observing and conducting trials on the mini-mill, in addition to getting a complete understanding of the production process from A to Z, we can also make detailed and in-depth observations of each stage of production in an easy and inexpensive way and provide a more complete picture for the commercial production process later. It is also easy to do research and experimentation on various kinds of raw materials, both single material and a mixture of several raw materials. Currently, there are many researchers and practitioners who want to try a raw material to make pellets but have difficulty finding partners or companies that can do it. Setting up equipment with mini-mill facilities is also much easier, in contrast to large factories. This is why in general large factories do not want to accept trials of making pellets from a certain material, because their focus is on production targets, unless they have R & D facilities for these trials.

Meanwhile, if the laboratory equipment is only in the form of functional tools such as cutting tools, crushing tools and so on but is not integrated into a production unit (even though the capacity is small), it will be difficult to imagine even more accurately designing an industrial or commercial factory. Even if a number of functional tools in the laboratory are integrated, which usually come from a number of manufacturers and have different capacities, operating the assembled mini mill is also not easy. That is why it is important to establish a complete line for the production of these pellets. The resulting pellet production can also be of two kinds, namely fuel pellets such as wood pellets and feed pellets such as leaf pellets, depending on the raw materials used.

And indeed on a commercial scale or large factory the pelletiser specification for fuel pellets such as wood pellets is different from the pelletiser for feed pellets. Pelletisers for fuel pellets such as in wood pellet production have a greater electric motor power about 3 times than a pelletiser for feed pellet production, for example for 1 ton/hour wood pellets need 150 KW while for feed pellets it is only 50 KW. In addition, the quality of the metal used for the production of the pelletiser is usually also different because the level of hardness of the raw materials is also different. Pelletiser is the main equipment or the heart of the process in pellet production, both fuel pellets (wood pellets) and feed pellets. Based on experience in the field, it turns out that there are many cases of failure of commercial wood pellet production due to errors in the selection of this pelletiser, namely the pelletiser for feed is used for wood pellets besides being not optimal, the machine life is short, even in a number of cases wood pellets are not formed so that the target production is not achieved. The main reason why this happened is because of being tempted by the price issue, namely the feed pelletiser is cheaper and in appearance it is also difficult to distinguish (especially the common people).

In this small capacity pellet production, only one type of pelletiser is used, because the main purpose is more on the qualitative aspect, not on the quantitative aspect. A number of process stages in the production of fuel pellets (wood pellets) are also very similar to the production of feed pellets, so the equipment used is also similar or even the same. This is mainly so that the price of the production unit is not too expensive. In commercial pellet production, ring die pelletisers are more widely and commonly used than flat die types. However, because the ring die pelletiser is more expensive even though it is close to the real conditions of the pellet industry, the flat die pelletiser is also sufficient for the purpose at this stage.

Feed pellets have a longer history than fuel pellets, especially wood pellets, namely in the 1920s when Purina Animal Nutrition, one of the largest animal feed producers in the world today. With this pelletization, the material is in powder form, unpalatable by livestock , different densities become easier to use and increase uniformity. This pelletization technique was quickly in great demand by many feed producers, so that in 1930 there were a number of feed factories specializing in the production of these feed pellets. World feed pellet production also far exceeds fuel pellets (wood pellets), which is in the range of 1 billion tons per year, while wood pellets are in the range of 50 million tons per year. Both have strategic functions in human life. Feed pellets as a food chain for humans are needed and their production continues to be increased. 

It is estimated that protein needs in 2050 need an additional 250 million tons per year, an increase of 50% compared to today. This is because according to the United Nations, the global human population is predicted to reach 9 billion people by 2050. The food sector is looking for a solution to the protein deficit due to protein demand per capita and population growth. Meanwhile, fuel pellets (wood pellets) are needed to save the earth from climate change. Wood pellets as carbon neutral fuel make it not increase the concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere which is a greenhouse gas that heats the earth's temperature. Decarbonization programs or substitution of fossil fuels for renewable energy, especially biomass fuel or wood pellets, continue to be improved throughout the world, as a reference you can read here and here. Energy plantations or legume plantations will be the solution to this problem, read in more detail here. 

 

In addition to pellet production (both fuel pellets and feed pellets) with a slight modification, namely replacing the pelletiser with a briquette machine, it can also be used for briquette production. This is because the production process is almost the same, the two technologies are the same, namely the biomass densification technology group. The use of these briquettes is also for fuel the same as wood pellets, but these briquettes can also be charred (carbonized) so that they become charcoal briquettes. The production of charcoal briquettes in this way produces better quality than the production of charcoal briquettes with charcoal as raw material and then added adhesive and pressed. This charcoal briquette product is commonly known in the market as sawdust charcoal briquette, the production of which does not require additional adhesive (binderless briquette).

Case Study India: Priority of Biomass Pellet Production Over Biomass Briquette

There are dozens of biomass briquette machine manufacturers in India and almost all of these machine manufacturers use mechanical press technology for the production of these briquettes. With this technology, briquettes will be formed due to mechanical press such as repeated strokes every minute (about 220 strokes per minute). This briquette machine manufacturer industry has also existed for decades in India so that biomass briquette products have also been widely known in India. Technically, there are actually 2 other technologies for the production of biomass briquettes, namely screw press and hydraulic press. Based on the briquette production technology, the briquette product output is also slightly different, for more details, read here.

The Indian government launched a decarbonization program at their coal power plants, recently, namely on October 8, 2021 which ordered the use of 5% to 10% biomass pellets for cofiring at all power plants and took effect in October 2022 or one year is the target time set. For example, in the early stages, the Indian government targeted only 5% for the cofiring ratio in their coal power plants, where the 5% figure when translated into biomass pellet production would reach around 50 million tons of biomass pellets per year. A very large number especially with a very short target time. And with a cofiring ratio of 5%, coal power plants also do not need to modify their equipment even though the biomass pellets used come from agricultural wastes, whose quality is below that of woody biomass.

With the number of power plants reaching about 900 units with an average consumption of 50 thousand tons of biomass pellets per year or a total of almost 50 million tons per year, so that a biomass pellet factory with a capacity of around 5 thousand tons / month seems to be suitable, and even if each factory supplying one power plant, the need for a biomass pellet plant will also be the same as the number of power plants, which is 900 units. A huge amount.

Production of biomass briquettes or biomass pellets?
In India, biomass briquette is indeed more popular than biomass pellets, but for the world level pellets are much more popular than briquette, even in 2021 alone, the need for pellets for global power generation alone is estimated to have reached 23 million tons. In addition, the production or pellet factory in general is also larger than the briquette factory. There are many pellet factories with a capacity of 5 thousand tons or even 10 thousand tons per month, while for briquettes it is very rare for a biomass briquette factory to have a capacity like the pellets above. Pelletisers for pellet production for commercial capacity have a capacity of 3 tons/hour or more, while briquette machines are generally less than 2.5 tons per hour, even for the screw press type the average machine capacity is only 300 kg/hour. Technically, even though they are both products of biomass densification technology with the difference that the size of the briquettes is larger than pellets, the production of briquettes is easier than pellets. 

The driving force from the business side makes biomass pellet production more attractive, especially because of its need as cofiring fuel in coal power plants as part of the decarbonization program. The need for biomass pellets can be a driving force for the production of biomass pellets or in general, namely the economy in various regions. The program should also be able to provide three benefits at once, namely environmental, social and economic. In addition, because briquette products are mainly used for boilers in industry, while pellets are for power generation, both of them also have their own market segments so that there is no market competition.

What about the Briquette Machine Manufacturing Industry?
Dozens of industries producing biomass briquette machines should now see this as an opportunity so that they can respond to it. These industries can adapt by creating a new line of business, namely helping the manufacture of a biomass pellet factory. Technically, the biomass briquette production line with biomass pellets also has many similarities (both use biomass densification technology) with the main difference being the pelletiser and briquetter. A number of equipment that can be made themself will reduce imported machines. Pelletisers are almost certain to be imported, so the selection of pelletisers as the heart of the pellet production process must be of high quality so that the pellet production target can be achieved. In the production of large capacity pellets, a number of equipments come from a number of providers, as is common in wood pellet factories with a more detailed explanation here.

In the long term, the goal is to minimize import spending, and even 100% can be made or fabricated by themself. This effort will usually take longer because the complexity of the pelletiser is higher than that of the briquetter. These briquette machine-producing industries can also cooperate with machine manufacturers in Europe who are more experienced and proven with pellet production as an effort to accelerate the transfer of the technology. Within one year as the target was set, it is very difficult to do this, so the practical effort is to buy a 100% complete line from a proven vendor, or sort out a number of equipment that can be produced yourself as above and gradually substitute the imported equipment. This is because achieving the production target for the decarbonization effort is a priority.

In conclusion, at this time India has to maximize efforts to accelerate the construction of biomass pellet factories to achieve this target. However, 1 year to achieve this target is very difficult. With these conditions in the future, it is possible that power plants in India will import biomass fuels such as wood pellets and PKS (palm kernel shell) to meet their needs. With the planned cofiring ratio, which is the lowest target of 5%, the need for biomass pellets reaches around 50 million tons, if only 2% of the biomass fuel needs are imported, both PKS and / or wood pellets, it will reach 1 million tons, a fixed amount still quite big.

Rice Husk Briquettes Amid the Soaring Condition of Biomass Fuel Demand

 "Briquettes are a compressed biomass fuel (densified biomass fuel) as an alternative to pellets."

The use of biomass energy is increasing day by day so this is a positive thing that needs to be encouraged. The increase in coal prices (domestic industry is priced at $90) and the resulting pollution are especially the driving force for energy use from the biomass. Among biomass energy, wood pellets are the most popular and most widely used form of biomass fuel. The use of wood pellets is not only used by processing industries but also by power plants. A number of small and medium industries such as tofu factories, cracker factories, and so on. Wood chips, as a simpler form, are less attractive than wood pellets, even though they are cheaper. With a low density, the transportation costs are also high, besides that the moisture content of wood chips is sometimes also less controlled.

The form of briquettes is also less popular than wood pellets. Briquettes can also be said as an alternative to pellets. The technology for making briquettes is the same as wood pellets, namely biomass densification, the difference is that the size of the briquettes is larger than wood pellets. Unlike wood pellets, which only use roller press technology for their production, briquettes have several variants of technology for their production, for more details, read here. But in Indonesia there is only one type of briquette, namely the screw press. Indeed, in many ways briquetting is easier than pelletizing. Biomass materials that are difficult to pelletize are usually easy to briquette. Certain types of boilers may also be more suitable for briquettes, compared to wood pellets, read in more detail here. Therefore, the use of briquettes should also be encouraged.

In addition to wood waste, agricultural wastes are also potential biomass for fuel. Rice husk is an abundant agricultural waste because the staple food of Indonesians is rice. It is estimated that the amount of rice husk is 15 million tons/year. However, with the high content of ash and silica, this rice husk is less desirable to make pellets because it is abrasive, thus shortening the service life of machine components. Likewise for making briquettes, but with a variant of the mechanical press technology, the abrasive problem can be minimized. The production of rice husk briquettes with mechanical press technology can be a solution for the utilization of the rice husk waste. In the midst of the increasing use of biomass fuels, rice husk briquettes can be the next alternative.

Briquette For Textile Industry

As the demand to become an environmentally friendly industry enters this era of decarbonization, a number of industries have begun to switch to using renewable energy in their production processes, and the textile industry is no exception. You can read about the urgency of a biomass boiler here. A number of boilers are used in the textile industry with the type of boiler that uses a static (static grate) and dynamic (moving grate) furnace. From the operational point of view, a dynamic furnace (moving grate) is easier and more efficient because the combustion process can be more complete. In addition to general fuel specifications such as calorific value, moisture content, ash content and so on, the size and shape of the fuel is also an important factor in the efficiency of the combustion. Wood pellets with a diameter of generally 6 mm and 8 mm and palm kernel shells with a size of about 1 cm to 5 cm are sometimes not suitable for this type of boiler. For these conditions briquette can be the solution. Briquette sizes are not only bigger but also more diverse, including the briquetting technology used, for more details on briquetting technology, you can read here.

Biomass waste, both wood processing industry and agricultural waste such as rice husks, can be used as raw material for these briquettes. Briquette shapes such as pucks or cylinders or short octagonals can be a solution for certain types of boilers. Currently, there is still a lot of wood waste that has not been utilized and even polluted waters such as rivers that can be used for the production of these briquettes, more details can be read here. Meanwhile, rice as a staple food source for the Indonesian population also produces a lot of waste in the form of rice husks. Indonesia's rice production in 2008 is estimated to reach 59.9 million tons of milled dry grain with a husk composition of 25%, meaning that the husk potential reaches 15 million tons/year. Although the amount is abundant but generally its utilization is still not optimal, this is because rice husk has a low bulk density and relatively small calorific value due to the high ash content. Indeed, with biomass compaction technology such as briquetting, the biomass waste becomes easy to use, economical for long-distance transportation and overcomes environmental pollution problems.

Whereas in Indonesia, almost all of the briquettes produced are screw extrude types which are actually not very suitable for the boiler solution. This is because this type of briquette is not only long in shape and also requires a large amount of energy or electrical power for the production process. Cutting it into small pieces will be an additional job in itself. While the mechanical press type to get small pieces to form pucks is easy to do and also requires less electrical power. As a comparison, screw extrude briquettes to produce 1 tonne of briquettes require about 100 kW of electricity, while on a mechanical press to produce 1 ton of briquettes, electricity is needed only 50 kW or half. In addition, when using abrasive raw materials such as rice husk which has a high silica content for a screw extrude type briquette machine, it will only have a short life, while the mechanical press has a much longer service life.

Briquetting of Pineapple Plantation Waste

Pineapple is a fruit that is quite popular throughout the world, this can be seen from the percentage of pineapple fruit production in world fruit production which reaches 8%. Pineapple plants are almost the same as banana trees, that is, after bearing fruit once, the plant dies, and then the production is continued by the saplings for several generations. Or more specifically, pineapple plants produce after 1-2 years of planting and die after fruiting and produce about 70 leaves. The pineapple plants will be dismantled after two or three harvests to be replaced by new plants, which results in increasing pineapple leaf waste. Currently there is almost no utilization of this waste and pineapple leaves also cannot be used for animal feed, so they are only burned or thrown away which also causes environmental pollution. In every hectare of pineapple plantation, the waste produced can reach 3 tons. Large pineapple plantations are usually with an area of  thousands or even tens of thousand of hectares so that the production of this waste is also very much. Handling pineapple leaf waste with an effective and efficient method will certainly provide added value when examined from an economic point of view, so it is necessary to make efforts to handle this waste and briquetting  can be the perfect solution to this problem.

Although both use biomass densification technology, briquetting of pineapple leaves and stems is easier and cheaper than to make pellets. The production of pineapple leaf briquettes can then be used for cooking fuel, industry and even electricity generation. In addition, pineapple leaf briquettes are also used to increase biogas production. There are large pineapple plantation companies that have cattle farming businesses. Cattle farms are chosen mainly because they can use pineapple skin or fruit waste to feed the cows. And because the volume of pineapples produced is also very large, the fruit waste is also large and the cattle farm that is made is also large. The cow manure is usually further processed for biogas production and the digestate of biogas then composted. The compost produced is reused in the pineapple plantation. The briquettes of pineapple leaves and stems added to the substrate or co-digestion will further increase the biogas production significantly. Read here for more details.

With a scenario like the one above, almost all of the biomass waste generated from the pineapple plantation and industry can be utilized optimally. Likewise, the waste from a side business in the form of cattle farming for biogas production. In addition to large pineapple plantation companies, pineapple production centers in Indonesia such as Subang, Pemalang, Prabumulih, Kediri, Blitar, Kubu Raya, Mempawah, Muaro Jambi, Kampar, Central Lampung and Karimun can also develop the above concepts.

Estimated Increase in POME Biogas Production in Indonesia and Malaysia with the Addition of Biomass Briquettes

 

The important thing that needs to be done to implement a research in a commercial unit is the technical and economic side. A research product that has been tested technically needs to be evaluated on the economic side. This is because in commercial units, the economic aspect is the main consideration for the implementation of a certain technology. A technology implemented with the intention of improving the performance of these commercial units but not providing economic benefits generally will not attract many. Likewise, vice versa. How much economic benefit can be obtained from implementing this technology? Is it worth the effort? These two questions will be considered next.

In the biogas unit (mostly for electricity production) the above rules also apply. And especially the biogas unit in Indonesia and Malaysia as the largest CPO (crude palm oil) producer in the world, the POME biogas unit or palm oil mill liquid waste has been built as a means of overcoming the problem of liquid waste and also energy production, especially electricity. Tens or even hundreds of POME biogas units have been built in Indonesia and Malaysia, but that number is not yet comparable to the number of palm oil mills in Indonesia and Malaysia which has reached thousands. And more specifically, the number of POME biogas units in Indonesia is less or a smaller percentage compared to palm oil mills compared to Malaysia. Why did this happen? For more details, please read here.

And because the commercial end product of the commercial biogas unit is electricity, the price of electricity will greatly affect the operation of the biogas unit. Research conducted at Aarhus University in Denmark shows that biomass briquettes can significantly increase biogas production, that is, every 1 tonne of straw briquettes added has increased biogas production by an average of 400 cubic meters. With a biogas caloric value of around 4500 kcal / m3, each tonne of addition of straw briquettes will increase calories by 1,800,000 kcal in the form of biogas. for more details, please read here. In the case of POME biogas, if empty fruit bunches (EFB) are used as raw material for briquettes, it could be an increase in the biogas product produced. This is because the EFB have undergone a sterilization process (steamming) so that the biomass pores are more open so that the surface area is larger. The briquetting of the EFB will also further expand the surface of the biomass so that the anaerobic fermentation process is more perfect and the biogas product increases.

Assuming the electricity price per kwh in Malaysia from biogas is 0.49 RM (IDR 1,715) and IDR 1000 in Indonesia, with the increase in biogas produced above, Malaysia will be more attractive and profitable. However, this increase in biogas production has also yielded attractive advantages when applied, both in Indonesia and Malaysia. The estimate assuming a biogas reactor capacity of 150,000 tonnes and with the addition of 15,000 tonnes of biomass briquettes (maximum 10% of the reactor volume) has resulted in profits of nearly 27 billion rupiah/Rp (application in Indonesia) and 14 million Malaysian ringgit/RM (application in Malaysia). Under these conditions, it is actually very interesting to implement this research on POME biogas power plants in Indonesia and Malaysia. Apart from reducing solid waste from the palm oil industry, increasing biogas production which is proportional to electricity production will provide attractive benefits for the palm oil industry.

Briquetting of Banana Plantation Industry Waste

Banana has been a fruit that is commonly consumed and loved for a long time. Along with the increasing need for banana fruit, a number of banana plantations were created and many of these banana plantations were large scale with up to tens of thousands of hectares. The biomass waste from this banana plantation will also be very large, such as banana trunk, bunches and leaves. Such a large volume of waste should be processed so that in addition to not polluting the environment and even causing disease in the banana tree itself, processing this biomass waste can also provide economic benefits. Briquette is an effective solution to overcome this waste. The briquette products of banana trunk, bunch and stem are used for fuel or energy sources.

To be able to briquette the biomass waste is reduced in size (down sizing ) to about 1 cm. The biomass waste with a small particle size is then squeezed to separate the water with a screw press. After the water can be separated from the waste until the water content is around 10%, then it can be briquetted. If the moisture content has not reached the moisture content, drying with a dryer can be done. The liquid separated from the waste is rich in potassium / kalium so it can be reused as liquid fertilizer for the banana plantation. Mechanical press briquette is the best option for briquette technology choices. In contrast to pelleting which only uses one technology, namely roller press, briquette there are 3 variations of technology that can be used, for more details, please read here. The briquette is also technically easier and economically cheaper to produce.

The trunk of a banana has many similarities to the stem of water hyacinth. Water hyacinth is an aquatic weed, so the number must be reduced or eliminated. Both are non-woody biomass materials such as trees. Some efforts have been made to compaction water hyacinth into pellets some time ago. Water hyacinth briquette is also very possible, in fact, the rule is that all materials that can be pelleted can certainly be briquette but not the other way around, meaning that all materials that can be briquetted cannot be pelleted easily. This is because in addition to the varied briquetting technology, the tolerance level for material properties is also looser, such as particle size and moisture content. The particle size is too fine which cannot be pelleted like pellets waste and can even be briquetted as well for larger particle sizes. Meanwhile, water content of up to 16% can still work well in briquette but cannot be done in pellet production. The level of briquette density can also be adjusted and generally briquettes are also denser than pellets, even up to 1.4 ton / m3.