Ash From Palm Oil Waste Combustion As A Biomaterial In Concrete Construction

Palm kernel shells (PKS) and mesocarp fibres are commonly used as fuel for palm oil mills for the production of electricity and steam for sterilizers. The byproduct of combustion in the form of ash a lot produced by the process. A palm oil mill can produce 5 tons / day or more of the ash depending on the amount burned because the average ash content of the palm oil waste is around 5%. Most of the palm oil mills do not make use of the residual ash from the combustion but just throw it away. Though the ash can actually be used for various purposes, one of which is as a biomaterial substitute for sand in various building construction projects. The locations of palm oil mills or surrounding communities usually in the remote areas difficult to obtain a supply of sand for the construction of various buildings, so that the presence of ash as a substitute for sand will be helped.

Typical boiler in palm oil mill

At present, a number of domestic industries have started to use biomass fuel, as an environmentally friendly fuel. Palm kernel shell or PKS is one of the favorite biomass fuels at this time. One of the interesting things about palm kernel shells is that they are  almost similar properties to wood pellets, but at a lower price. Ash from the palm kernel shells as well as ash from the palm oil mills can also be used for sand substitution for various building construction projects. The location of industries in urban areas so that the use of ash can also be in line with various city construction constructions such as the construction of roads, high rise buildings and aircraft runways. Although the ash cannot replace 100% sand but it will help save costs by around 25% substituted with the ash.

Main chemical compounds content in sand

Main chemical compounds content in boiler bottom ash

The palm kernel shell ash itself contains high silica which is around 60%, while the ash mixture from the shell and palm fiber in the boiler furnace contains about 30% SiO2. SiO2 functions as a filler in the manufacture of concrete which will affect the strength of the concrete. While the composition of the main compounds in the sand can be seen that SiO2 has a relatively large composition. Mud in sand is impurity so that the mud content in sand cannot exceed 5%. Mud levels of more than 5% result in the hydrogen bonding of cement paste and sand being reduced due to the influence of sludge as impurities. Boilers ash from palm oil mills can be used as a substitute for sand in making concrete because it has compounds that play a role in making concrete. If it is to be used as a cement substitution material, a material must contain a relatively large amount of lime compounds because cement basically functions as a binder and mainly functions as lime. The content of SiO2, Al2O3, and CaO is contained in boiler scale ash (bottom ash) which is needed in making concrete.

The yield of ash density is 2.11 g / cm3, lower than the density of sand. According to ASTM C128-93, the good density for making concrete is above 2.50% so it includes rough aggregate. The absorption value of water produced by boiler scale ash fulfills the requirements of preventing or reducing empty voids in concrete. The maximum limit of SiO2 content contained in sand for making concrete is around 30%, so that the boiler bottom ash is included in a good aggregate and meets the standard for partial sand replacement. Based on the composition of the chemical content, boiler bottom ash is superior to sand because CaO in ash plays a role in helping cement as a binding material. Similarly Al2O3 is very influential in accelerating hardening of concrete.

Comprehensive concrete strength tester

If calculated the potential ash from the waste of palm oil is also quite large potential. Say with 1,000 palm oil mills now operating in Indonesia with each mill producing 5 tons / day of ash then 5,000 tons of ash a day or 150,000 tons of ash a month. While the excess of palm kernel shells from palm oil mills that can be utilized by other industries in Indonesia is estimated to reach 11 million tons, which means that the ash potential that can be produced is 550 thousand tons. In addition, the difference between ash from palm oil waste classified as biomass ash and coal ash is palm kernel shell ash excluding B3 (hazardous) waste so handling is easier while coal ash including B3 (hazardous)waste whose handling is more difficult. Palm kernel shell ash also comes from biomass which is a renewable resource while coal is from non-renewable resource group.

Sheep Farm Based Startup Business

Lamb meat is the best meat for human consumption. Prophets and Messengers of Allah SWT must have been herdsmen. There are many lessons from the pastoral activity, for more details, you can read here. Increasing consumption of lamb and even become a favorite food is something that is encouraging. A number of satay shops and also offers a number of lamb dishes are always crowded. It is estimated that around 250 satay shops yand processed sheep are scattered throughout Yogyakarta special province, Indonesia. The high interest and consumption of lamb meat will also have an effect on the high supply of sheep needed. Other cities in Indonesia should also follow it. Surely this will be an interesting opportunity, including the pattern of business startup. Even when the supply of sheep increases, the export market is also ready to wait.

In Indonesia, grass cultivation is certainly not difficult, even without planting grass has grown thick and filled our gardens. Unmanaged grass is just annoying and causes problems. But on the other hand, if the growth of grass is well designed and managed so that the sheep grazing area will certainly be a different story. In any livestock industry the feed factor is the highest cost component. If the sheep are managed by herding in the pasture, the cost of feed will be minimized so that the profits are maximized. Rotational grazing is a grazing technique that can maximize these benefits.

In addition to grass which can be regarded as a staple food for the sheep, additional food in the form of supplements is also needed to get the best quality meat. Energy plantation such as the calliandra plantation can support the sheep farm. Leaves from the energy plantation harvest can be used for additional feed. Calliandra leaves with high protein content will be nutritious feed for the sheep. In addition, wood from energy plantations can also be used for the production of charcoal briquette. By using charcoal made from energy plantations wood that means it does not damage the environment such as cutting down forest wood and so on. The quality of charcoal briquette (sawdust charcoal briquette) is also better than ordinary charcoal that is not briquetted, because it is denser, has a uniform size and a longer burning time.

At a large capacity these sheep can also become export commodities. Extensive grasslands and energy plantations can be made for many of these export purposes. Utilization of technology is increasingly needed for such large capacities such as drones to monitor the movement of these sheep. Locations outside of Java and can even be integrated with large plantations have huge potential, for additional information can be read here. Indonesia as the owner of the largest palm oil plantation in the world with an area of ​​12 million hectares has the potential to integrate this sheep farm. Previously we have also heard that cattle farming has been integrated in a number of oil palm plantations, for more details, please read here. In addition to the sheep which will become an export commodity as well as sawdust charcoal briquette from the energy plantations.

Lamb satay in packaging

The sheep-based startup business will encourage improving the quality of our food and at the same time improving the environment. And so that various regions can also easily get the supply of lamb meat, lamb meat can also be packaged in the form of ready satay, so it is also easy if you want to consume lamb satay every day. At the time of Eid al-Adha, this business startup also supports the provision of sacrificial animals, as part of upholding Islamic law (QS. Al-Kautsar: 2; QS. Al-Hajj: 34) which will continue to exist until the Day of Judgment. Even sheep is permitted for qurban animals that are still six months old, entering seven months old (jadza'ah) while other qurban animals are eligible if they are at least one year old or more (mussinnah) such as goats are tsany (one year old, enter second year ), two-year-old cattle, entering the third year and camel five years, entering the sixth year. Furthermore also the need for halal food is an absolute necessity for all Muslims so running a business for the fulfillment of halal food should also be the domain of Muslims as well as the business of Umrah and Hajj to halal tourism. Moreover, there are many verses in the Qur'an concerning the superiority of sheep over other livestock, for more details, please read here. Let us be part of the world's food and environmental solutions and uphold the Shari'a of Allah SWT.

Startup Business Based on Energy Plantation

Startup business is a trend today and not a few, especially young people who are very interested in this business pattern. Information technology in the form of the internet has made it easier to run the startup business. Today we can see that with this startup pattern a number of large companies have existed and stood by selling their products and services. Innovative products that can provide accurate solutions to the various problems that make the company exist and continue develop. But it turns out that running and developing a startup business is also not easy and without obstacles. The fact is that up to now the possibility of startups appearing and being able to survive is only 8%, meaning that out of 100 startups, only 8 startups can last until the second year. Even if it is counted until the fifth year, only 2 startups can survive. But the fact above is not an obstacle so that it decreases the enthusiasm to continue pursuing the  startup business. On the contrary, it becomes an encouragement about the need for knowledge and sufficient provision to even improve the condition.

Similar to business in general, a startup business will always be able to survive and develop if it continues to be needed by consumers. There are a number of fundamental commodities that will always continue to be needed including food and energy. Food and energy needs are always directly proportional to the human population. Renewable energy, especially biomass-based, which is also one of the focuses of this blog, has bright prospects in the future. Energy plantations can be the basis for a startup business. Energy plantations beside having great benefits for the environment, they also have economic and social benefits. In addition to the fact that there is currently no energy plantation implementation that has yet to work professionally, it needs acceleration. In the early stages of startup, it can focus on commodities that are easy and needed by the market, such as the scheme below.

Startup Business Based on Energy Plantation Phase I

Energy plantations have a number of outputs that can be commercialized or sold, namely wood for wood pellets, leaves for animal feed and flowers for honey production. A number of outputs or yields will clearly maximize the benefits of the energy plantation. The extent of idle land, critical land and a number of unproductive land that reaches tens of millions of hectares is a challenge for the implementation of the energy plantation. The more land is utilized and the higher the level of profits obtained, of course, the more investors invest in this sector. The meat self-sufficiency program from domestic production is also increasingly helped and can be accelerated by forage from the leaves of the energy plantation. The energy plantations use plants such as leguminoceae (legumes) such as calliandra and gliricidae, with roots that are symbiotic with azetobacter microorganism so that it can bind nitrogen from the atmosphere making the leaves rich in protein to become nutritious feed for livestock.

Startup Business Based on Energy Plantation Phase II

In stage 2 such a scheme above the benefits can be further increased. This is because the company does not only produce raw materials used by other industries but furthermore, that is, produce finished products that are ready for consumption. Even so the length of the chain of production processes indeed makes the responsibility of producers increasingly large and complex. Startup businesses that have experienced or have surpassed phase 1 schemes will usually find it easier to run phase 2. The market for this stage is also mostly for exports because up to now the domestic market is not ready, for example wood pellets for fueling fluidized bed technology combustion. PKS (palm kernel shell) are now widely used for the power plant, and because availability is also limited it will be very possible in the future era of wood pellets from the energy plantation as a replacement.

The market for biomass fuels, especially PKS and wood pellets is very open especially in the export market. Japan and Korea are the biggest consumers of biomass fuels today for the Asian region, for more details about the characteristics of the Japanese and Korean markets can be read here. Whereas Europe with the RED program (Renewable Energy Directive) II in 2030 targets that almost 1/3 of energy consumption derived from renewable energy with biomass fuel gets a portion of 80%. The amount is certainly very large, with the current conditions Europe still needs around 5 million tons of wood pellets even though RED I, which applies until 2020, only targets 20 percent of energy consumption from renewable energy and biomass to get a portion of 80 percent.

Vibrating Screen for Cleaning the PKS for Export Oriented

One of the quality parameters for PKS or palm kernel shells for the export market is the cleanliness factor. This cleanliness factor is very much associated with a lot or  little impurities in it. PKS in palm oil mills are usually only piled in a back yard the palm oil mill. This is very possible to mix with a number of impurities that are in the vicinity of the location or because of a number of waste or garbage that might also be disposed of at the location of the PKS pile. PKS impurities commonly found are metal, plastic and stone. For export purposes, the amount of impurity allowed or tolerance level is very small, which is around 1%. Why does the PKS need to be cleaned in such a way? This is because the impurities will interfere with the combustion process or utilization of the PKS and the power plant is the largest user. And for more details can be read here.

Manual Screener

Screener is the equipment used to clean the PKS from the impurities. The impurities or foreign materials will be separated from the PKS due to differences in size. And specifically for metal impurities, the separation is done by magnet (magnetic separator). The cleaning process with this sieve is basically very easy, even with a manual sieve it can be done. But for a large enough volume, for example up to thousands of tons, the manual sieve is inefficient and takes a long time, so it takes a sieve that works mechanically. There are two mechanical sieves that are commonly used, namely vibrating screen and rotary screen.

In practice the type of vibrating screen is more popular than the rotary screen. This is because the construction and operation of vibrating screens are easier, besides the price of vibrating screens is also cheaper than the rotary screen. Vibrating screen is a sieve that operates due to vibrations from eccentric movements. The higher the rpm the vibrating screen movement will be smoother. Both the vibrating screen can also be equipped with multiple sieves or multi-level sieves so that a number of product fractions can be obtained based on their size. It's just that it's also easier to do with a vibrating screen. In PKS sieving it is usually only one to three levels of sifting.

PKS needs for the Asian and European markets are predicted to continue to increase every year to reach millions of tons. This is because electricity production using PKS is increasing. PKS supply or supply mainly originates from Indonesia and Malaysia, as well as several countries in West Africa, the origin of palm oil trees. Indonesia and Malaysia mainly supply the needs of Japan and Korea in Asia while West Africa supplies countries in Europe. PKS as a biomass fuel also has competitors, especially wood pellets. PKS prices on the world market are much cheaper than wood pellets so that many biomass power plants prefer PKS. PKS production for export is also easier than pellet wood. Exports of PKS from Indonesia and Malaysia are quite large, because the number of PKS produced is also large, while the needs are also large. Besides that, the use of PKS in the country that is still small makes the PKS export more dominant

To order a vibrating screen machine, you can email it at cakbentra@gmail.com or call +62 813-288-41805

Looking for PKS Supply from Indonesia

Palm Oil Mill

With the number of palm oil mills estimated to reach more than 1,000 units with 12 million hectares of palm oil plantations and more than 40 million tons / year of CPO, the potential of the PKS (palm kernel shell) produced reaches 15 million tons / year. With properties almost similar to wood pellets and prices are much cheaper, PKS is a prime of biomass fuel. But with the location of palm oil mills located mostly very remote and PKS still considered a waste for palm oil mills, often getting PKS supply is not easy. Infrastructure factors and the distance from export ports are often obstacles. This makes some palm oil mills only dispose of or stockpile PKS in locations around their mills. For palm oil mills that have the main business of palm oil or CPO, there are still many palm oil mills lacking attention to PKS as an additional source of income.

PKS Stockpile

Japan in particular is the largest PKS consumer, followed by Korea and several European countries. Their needs are estimated to be up to millions of tons every year. PKS exports to Japan and Korea are easier and often done because the distance is relatively close compared to Europe. PKS exports to Japan and Korea are usually quite economical with a volume of 10,000 tons per shipment while for Europe with a longer distance so in order to remain economical the shipping volume must be quite large, for example more than 25,000 tons per shipment. It is predicted that in 2021 or 2022 the needs of Japanese PKS will increase rapidly and then be relatively stable for the next 20 years. This is because biomass power plants can be said to be fully operational that year. The original plan for 2019 is that the biomass power plants can operate, but because of a number of obstacles, it will be delayed until 2021 or 2022. For more details about the delay in the construction of power plants in Japan, please read here.

The PKS comes from a palm oil mill and is collected somewhere to reach a certain volume so it is ready to be shipped. In order to be accepted by the power plant, PKS is cleaned from a number of impurities and dried until the water content is below 20%. Cleaning of the impurity is done by means of a sieve and drying is carried out only with the sun light or aerated. In addition to being able to maintain the cleanliness and dryness of PKS, especially in the rainy season, buildings such as large warehouses and concrete floors are needed. Even not a few PKS buyers from Japan require large warehouse buildings with concrete floors so that the quality of PKS can be maintained.

Typical Biomass CFB Powerplant in Japan

Fluidized bed combustion technology for electricity generation is widely used in Japan. With the circulating fluidized bed combustion technology, PKS can be used as fuel, even biomass pellets from agricultural waste can also be used for this technology. Fluidized bed combustion technology with lower operating temperatures than pulverized combustion makes it more tolerant of various types of fuel. It also means EFB pellets (empty fruit bunch pellets), and wood pellets from energy plantations can be used for fluidized bed combustion fuels.

Biomass power plants that rely on PKS for a period of 20 years certainly pay close attention to the continuity of PKS supply in that range. Anything that can interfere with the supply of PKS both in the short and long term will seriously concern them. As an example of the use of domestic PKS there is also an increasing tendency which could be an increase in the use of biomass as fuel or other sectors such as the production of activated carbon from PKS. In these conditions, of course they will make calculations regarding PKS supply and PKS exporter. The palm oil plantation extensification program will also increasingly supply PKS on the other hand because the palm oil mill will process FFB  (fresh fruit bunch) from the plantation and produce PKS as waste or by-products.

PKS Loading into Mother Vessel for Export Market

PKS players or exporters now generally have contracts with Japanese buyers both for spot trading and even for longer contracts. And not a few of the exporters have run out of PKS quota / supply for new buyers. In such conditions a new buyer must be able to find another PKS supplier / exporter. New suppliers may not have export experience and do not even have a number of facilities to process PKS, but only have a network with a number of palm oil mills as PKS sources or producers. This condition makes the PKS export unable to be carried out directly, but requires a number of preparations from both parties. Considering there are still more than 1-3 years from now on, both parties can prepare the business from now on, so that the long-term business can be carried out and as expected.

Food Energy Water: A Perspective

The high environmental damage is mainly due to industrial activities that produce wastes that pollute the environment both solid, liquid and gas waste. In addition to damaging the environment, these wastes also pollute water, a substance that is needed by humans. While environmental damage leads to reduce the supply of clean water, industrial wastes cause a decrease in water quality. At the global level environmental damage, the high concentration of CO2 or greenhouse gases in the atmosphere has caused climate change and global warming that could threaten human life itself. The high concentration of CO2 is mainly due to the activities of the coal power plant industries. In addition to the exhaust emissions of coal power plants also contain mercury, heavy metals that are very dangerous for health. At least the impact due to low water and air quality has reduced the quality of human life. And now these conditions are common in various major cities in the world.

Here again biomass is the solution. When improving water and air quality is an important concern, activated carbon is the choice. Although currently most or about 80% activated carbon still comes from coal, but with increasing environmental awareness, renewable raw materials are increasingly increasing. Coconut shell is a very popular raw material for the production of activated carbon and Indonesia is also the owner of the largest coconut plantation in the world. Palm kernel shells and various other biomass are also potential for activated carbon. To reduce mercury emissions and polluted air from coal power plants, for example the US EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) has made regulations for mercury and polluted air thresholds for these plants. In vehicles, canister (catalytic converter) it will also increase the quality of exhaust emissions. As for the quality of drinking water for example Disinfectants and Disinfection Byproducts in America have also regulated the concentration of a number of chemicals that are allowed in drinking water. The things above encourage the use of activated carbon as a solution.

Meanwhile, to reduce the concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere and to absorb CO2 from the atmosphere back to biomass as a solution. Biomass is a carbon neutral fuel so it will not increase the concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere because of the production of biomass through photosynthesis. Wood pellet and PKS are biomass fuels which are very popular nowadays because they can reduce and even replace the use of coal in power plants and boilers in the industry. CO2 absorption from the atmosphere is carried out by plants which are also a source of biomass. Biochar or charcoal from plants used for agriculture can also absorb CO2 from the atmosphere. Production of wood pellets from energy plantations will also improve soil quality. Even arid and barren lands will flourish and can store water and avoid erosion due to the management of the energy plantation. Integration with sheep, goat and cattle farms with the energy plantation will optimize the results of the energy plantation. Large plantations for large farms should be integrated, for more details to read here. With this integration the food sector and land conservation are also an integral part.

World wood pellet needs are predicted to reach 50 million tons in 2024 while PKS also reaches 10 million tons in 2022. The largest market for biomass fuels, especially Europe, refers to the Renewable Energy Directive (RED) program with a composition of 30 percent renewable energy use by 2030 and biomass gets the majority portion of 80% of renewable energy. Two countries namely Japan and Korea are the largest users of biomass fuels in Asia. PKS which has many similarities to wood pellets and is only produced in palm oil producing regions, especially Indonesia and Malaysia are the main competitors of wood pellets and are widely used in Japan and Korea. Some time ago a number of countries in Europe have also used PKS from Indonesia and the potential is also very large for Indonesia in the tropics for the production of wood pellets from energy plantations. As for the market activated carbon or the largest user is the Asia Pacific region with China as its biggest exporter. The projection of activated carbon production reaches almost 3 million tons in 2020 with a value of 4.46 million US dollars. Japan and Korea are also the biggest users of activated carbon. The second order of the market or the use of activated carbon is the North American region, mainly driven by regulations to reduce mercury and increase the quality of drinking water. The growth of industrialization in Indonesia and the abundance of biomass raw materials should also increase the production of activated carbon even with the target of meeting the export market, especially in the Asia Pacific region.

POME Sludge Pellet

Processing palm oil mill effluent (POME) is one of the mandatory requirements for palm oil mills. This requirement becomes a criterion whether the palm oil mill in question has a good environmental concern, especially its waste processing sector. The liquid waste of oil palm mills is one of the large quantities of palm oil mill waste. Almost all palm oil mills always have wastewater treatment ponds. Every ton of FFB (Fresh Fruit Bunch) produces 700 liters (0.7 m3) of liquid waste so that if the plant has a capacity of 60 tons / hour FFB and operates 20 hours per day, the volume of liquid waste produced reaches 42,000 liters / hour (42 m3 / hour) or 800,000 liters / day (800 m3 / day). The method of processing wastewater can be like the diagram below.

Biosolid in the form of accumulated sludge can be processed further for biogas production, with by-products in the form of treated sludge, which is usually an organic fertilizer, can also be directly used as fuel. Instead of just being thrown away, the biosolid can be biomass densified into pellets. By becoming a pellet besides facilitating handling, storage, transportation and utilization. The pellet production process from POME sludge is also almost the same as the production of wood pellets. The production of POME sludge pellets is also a solution to overcome organic waste effectively and cheaper than processed further into biogas. Biogas production from POME with both the covered lagoon and CSTR (stirred tank continuous reactor) still requires expensive investment, so there are still very few oil mills in Indonesia that do it. And if the POME sludge is left alone in the waste pond so that there is aerobic fermentation it will produce methane gas which damages the ozone layer in the atmosphere.

If every month from a palm oil mill is produced 2,000 tons of POME sludge and an area such as Riau which has around 300 palm oil mills, then the potential of POME sludge reaches 600,000 tons and this is equivalent to 300,000 tons of POME sludge pellet. Whereas if calculated nationally with the number of oil mills reaching 1,000 units, the potential of POME sludge will reach 2,000,000 tons or equivalent to 1,000,000 tons of POME sludge pellet. Interestingly, POME sludge pellets also have a fairly high calorific value, which is about 4000 kcal / kg. This can happen because POME sludge still contains palm oil. With such a high calorie content, the POME sludge pellets are attractive. Besides being able to be used by various industries as fuel, the selling price of POME sludge should also be quite attractive because of its high energy content. The hope is POME sludge pellet will become a new and renewable energy amount that is very abundant in Indonesia. And if it is used as industrial fuel which means substituting fossil fuels, then it also reduces the use of fossil fuels, is environmentally friendly and carbon neutral.