Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
The above estimation represents the total obtainable energy from all of the 410 palm oil mills
distributed all over the country. Thus, it can be said that the energy generated from a single palm
oil mill will not be significant in volume, and it may not be viable for commercial consideration or
for supplying electricity to the national grid. However, the EFB, unlike fiber, can be easily collected
and transported. The possibility of producing electricity at a central power generating plant could
be a viable proposition. The central power plants can be sited at locations where there is a high
concentration of palm oil mills so that the EFB and the surplus fiber and shell from the mills can be
transported at a reasonable distance and cost to the respective central power plants. Also, because
the power plants would be independent entities, they could be operated year-round. The energy data
are analyzed and presented for the various palm biomasses in Table 17.3.
17.9 Palm BIomass BrIquette
Palm biomass briquette is a green fuel that can be used either as household fuel or for large thermo-
chemical energy conversion such as in biomass-fired boilers. Briquetting is a process of converting
low bulk density biomass into uniform and higher density solid fuels. Treated EFB, either in
fibrous or pulverized form, is compressed and exposed to high pressures and temperatures to form
compressed and high density solid biomass fuel (Nasrin et al.
2008). Currently, local briquette
plants use sawdust as the raw material for briquette production. The technology used for briquette
production involves a commercial-scale screw extruder. Future development includes promotion of
briquette production in the integrated plants in palm oil mills as household fuel or potential boiler
fuel for electricity generation for rural electrification and for the overseas market.
The surface of the briquette is partially carbonized for easy ignition and to minimize the
absorption of water. The product is designed with a hole through the center for better air circulation
during combustion. The briquette can be made of 100% EFB or a mixture of EFB and sawdust. The
properties of these briquettes are given in Table 17.4.
Palm briquettes offered two times more combustion stability and heat output compared with the
raw material. An average combustion rate of 0.43 g/m
3
, capable of generating 0.13 kW of thermal
output, was recorded at normal environmental conditions.
taBle 17.3
energy database for Palm Biomass
calorific
value (kJ/kg)
volatile
matter (%)
hexane
extractable (%)
sample
ash (%)
moisture (%)
18,795
4.60
87.04
67.00
EFB
11.25
19,055
6.10
84.91
37.00
Fibers
7.60
20,093
3.00
83.45
12.00
Shell
3.26
18,884
3.94
88.54
0.28
Palm kernel Cake
9.35
24,545
4.05
84.03
15.46
Nut
4.43
39,360
0.91
1.07
1.07
CPO
95.84
38,025
0.79
0.02
0.02
Kernel oil
95.06
20,748
11.63
78.50
88.75
Liquor from EFB
3.85
16,992
15.20
77.09
93.00
Palm oil mill effluent
12.55
17,471
3.39
86.73
76.00
Trunk
0.80
15,719
3.37
85.10
71.00
Petiole
0.62
15,548
5.92
86.30
36.00
Root
0.20
Source:
Chow, M.C., Subramaniam, V., and Ma, A.N.,
Proceedings of 2003 MPOB International Palm Oil
Congress
, Hotel Marriott, Putrajaya, Malaysia, August 24-28, 2003.
