Reject (Non-Standard) Coconut Fruit for Bioavtur / SAF Production

The international civil aviation organization (ICAO) has included non-standard coconuts on the ICAO positive list – ICAO document – ​​CORSIA Default Life Cycle Emissions Values ​​for CORSIA Eligible Fuels, 6th Edition on October 28 2024. Non-standard coconuts include very small old coconuts, already sprouted, starting to rot or mold and those that are broken. Based on data from a number of research studies, the number of non-standard coconuts in Indonesia is estimated to reach 30% of Indonesia's coconut production. Non-standard coconut is also a potential raw material for the production of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).

Basically the raw materials sought for SAF bioavtur are pure triglycerides and long chain carbon chains. This is due to the volatility of jet fuel, the preferred components are hydrocarbons in the C10 to C15 paraffin range. Furthermore, to meet the freezing point specifications (-47oC), this paraffin must have many branches to reach this low freezing point. This means that bio-avtur or SAF must have carbon atom bonds or C bonds in the C10-C15 range, and in this range palm kernel oil and coconut oil are most suitable because of the high composition of lauric acid which consists of 12 C atoms.

With the high laurate content in palm kernel oil and coconut oil, the yield will be high because the oil content is in the bio-avtur range, namely C10 - C15. This is different if you use vegetable oil with a longer carbon chain, for example CPO, nyamplung oil or canola / rapeseed oil. If you use long chain vegetable oil, the yield will be small and an extra cracking process is needed to increase the bioavtur or SAF yield.

And because the raw material used for bioavtur / SAF is oil from coconut flesh, the coconut water can be used to produce nata de coco or bottled coconut water, then coconut shells for the production of charcoal, charcoal briquettes or activated charcoal, husk for fuel to produce energy and potassium-rich ash for fertilizer or for planting media (cocopeat) and cocofiber. Meanwhile, coconut cake are used for animal feed.

Cocopeat and Biochar

Both cocopeat and biochar have uses in agriculture, but there are a number of differences between the two. Cocopeat is mainly used as a planting medium because of its water holding capacity, while biochar in addition to having the ability to hold water like cocopeat also raises soil pH, holds or makes nutrients more available (nutrient retention), and also becomes a colony of soil microbes so that organic matter becomes rapidly decomposed and absorbed by plants. Cocopeat will also decompose in a not too long time like compost while biochar can exist and not decompose for hundreds of years. Under these conditions, biochar is also used to store CO2 (carbon sequenstration) and obtain carbon credits with a carbon sink mechanism.

 

Choose Biochar or Cocopeat?
With these advantages, choosing biochar would be better. Moreover, the cocopeat can also be used for biochar production. The carbon removal program to reduce the concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere is also in line with the application of the biochar. Increasing global awareness of climate change and global warming makes carbon removal programs that also provide economic benefits from carbon credits likely to continue to increase in the near future. This cannot be done with cocopeat.

Converting cocopeat into biochar is also not difficult, even with a variety of simple (low tech) equipments it can be done. But for a large capacity so that the carbon credit program can run, it requires modern pyrolysis equipment with a large capacity. With this equipment, in addition to biochar production, there is also a number of excess energy that can be used for various purposes, one of which is drying cocopeat before it becomes raw material for biochar with such pyrolysis equipment.

Integration of Pyrolysis with Cocopeat and Cocofiber Industries

The high demand for cocofiber and cocopeat in the world which reaches thousands of containers per year should be a golden opportunity and a driving force for the Indonesian coconut industry. There are a number of potential advantages of Indonesia which should be at the forefront of capturing and exploiting these opportunities. These advantages include, from 196 countries in the world, only 8 countries control 90% of the world's coconut demand, Indonesia as the owner of the largest coconut plantation in the world, which is around 3.8 million hectares with a production of more than 15 billion coconuts fruit every year, and strategic geographical position. This is also the reason why the ICC (International Coconut Community) or an international organization concerned that the members of which are coconut producing countries is headquartered in Jakarta, Indonesia. The island of Sumatra is the center of the largest coconut plantation in Indonesia, especially Indragiri Hilir regency in Riau province, followed by the islands of Sulawesi, Java, Maluku and Papua, Nusa Tenggara and Bali, and Kalimantan. The current condition, although with a number of advantages above and the quality of Indonesian coconut coir is high and the price of this coir is cheap, it turns out that Indonesia still supplies less than 5% of the world's cocofiber and cocopeat needs.

To seize these opportunities, of course, one cannot only rely on the potentials, but also on effective and efficient production technology. One of the main obstacles in increasing cocofiber and cocopeat production capacity is the drying aspect. The production of cocofiber and cocopeat can be boosted in such a way if the efficient drying aspect can be carried out. And for drying, heat energy is absolutely necessary. This heat energy can be obtained cheaply from the excess energy of the pyrolysis process. In addition to producing the main product in the form of biochar, excess energy from the pyrolysis process can be relied on as an energy source or heat source for the coconut coir processing industry. A certain type of dryer according to the characteristics of the material being dried must also be used. With modern dryers such as belt dryers, tray dryers and drum dryers, in addition to the high drying capacity, the product quality will also be standard and stable.

Meanwhile, for the pyrolysis process, raw materials are needed in the form of biomass wastes that are widely available in that location, even the biomass waste can vary according to its availability which sometimes depends on the season. In certain cases, it is also possible for pyrolysis to be integrated with an integrated coconut industry, so that coconut shell becomes the raw material. Meanwhile, if the location of the coconut plantation is not far from the palm oil plantation, biomass wastes from the plantation or palm oil mill can be used for the pyrolysis. Even like the palm oil trunk, if it is not used and only left to rot in the plantation, it invites insects that disturb the coconut plantation. For more details, you can read it here. The integration of the pyrolysis industry and coconut coir processing in addition to reducing environmental pollution due to biomass waste is also a solution for the coconut coir industry. The relationship between the two industries must be mutually beneficial, namely the pyrolysis industry can sell its excess energy at a competitive price and the coconut coir industry can increase its production.