OIL PALM BIOMASS UTILISATION - SIME DARBY S EXPERIENCE
Contents Introduction Oil palm biomass Biomass availability Selection of feedstock Feedstock value Biomass utilisation Composting Sugar extraction Energy production (Bio-ethanol) Biomas for Biogas Conclusions 2
Introduction Increasing interest in sustainability: High energy price (petroleum based liquid fuel) Environmental impact Energy demands Transportation fuel keep increasing Programmes and policies to increase uses of RE fuel to substitute fossil based fuel Environmental impact Increasing demand for Green Chemicals from biobased products Consumer awareness and preference for environmentally friendly products Huge opportunity for Waste to Wealth utilising non-food by-products from oil palm biomas, potentially 10 times the CPO quantity produced. 3
Sime Darby Plantations Total landbank at 873,222 hectares : Malaysia 359,869 hectares Indonesia 285,571 hectares Liberia 227,782 hectares Malaysia Indonesia Total Number of Mills 37 24 64 Total Land bank Area (ha) 359,869 285,571 645,440 Total Oil Palm Planted Area (ha) 314,035 207,889 521,924 FFB Produced (mil mt in 2012) 6.30 3.50 9.80 Total Rubber Planted Area (ha) 8,086-8,086 4
Oil Palm Biomass Availability Oil Palm Biomass Malaysia (Mil mt/yr) Indonesia (Mil mt/yr) Total (Mil mt/yr) Empty Fruit Bunches (EFB) 1.39 0.77 2.16 Palm Trunk (5% replanting/yr) 1.18 0.78 1.96 Fronds 7.85 5.20 13.05 POME 4.73 2.63 7.35 Palm Shell 0.32 0.18 0.49 Palm Mesocarp 0.79 0.44 1.23 % of FFB processed * mt/ha.yr 5
Nutrient Availability of Oil Palm Biomass Oil Palm biomass Dry matter (mt/ha) Nutrient (kg /ha) N P K Mg Trunks 75.5 368.2 35.5 527.4 88.3 Fronds (from replanting) Fronds (from pruning) 14.4 150.1 13.9 193.9 24.0 10.4 5.4 10.0 139.4 17.2 Empty fruit bunches 1.6 107.9 0.4 35.3 2.7 Source : MPOB Publication 6
Selection of Feedstock EFB always the first choice for OP biomass Abundant, all year round availability, strategically collected at palm oil mills Ideal feedstock to replace conventional raw material that are meant for food Biomass for 2nd generation biofuel/green chemicals Food vs. Fuel issue 7
Selection of Feedstock Other type of biomass suitability: Nutrient value; trunk = EFB Sap from trunk; high sugar Trunk Issue on handling, logistic and storage Availability during replanting Fronds Nutrient supplier in plantation, moisture retainment Available all year round Logistic and storage Palm Shell Scattered depending to mill location Small quantity 8
Feedstock Value What is a fair value of EFB? Based on nutrient composition of EFB Element % on Fresh EFB Mean Range N 0.37 0.32 0.43 P 0.04 0.03 0.04 K 0.91 0.89 0.94 Mg 0.08 0.07 0.10 Fertilizer value of 1 mt EFB = RM 45 to 60 Agronomy study on EFB mulching indicated higher yield app 5 10% against inorganic fertiliser Sustainability Other OP biomass value : Trunk Fronds Effluent 9
Oil Palm Biomass Utilisation Biomass Mesocarp Fiber 1. Compost 2. Boiler Fuel 3. Dry fibre Empty Fruit Bunch 1. Compost 2. Industrial Fiber 3. Bio-ethanol 4. Industrial sugar 5. Lignin 6. Boiler Fuel 7. Solid fuel 8. MDF 9. Pulp & Paper 10.Bio-oil & Charcoal 11.Green Chemicals Shell 1. Activated Carbon 2. Boiler Fuel 3. Solid Fuel 4. Cement additive 5. CMS, CNT Fronds 1. Animal Feed 2. Particle Board 3. Furniture 4. Sugar 5. Green chemicals Palm Trunk 1. Plywood 2. Lumber 3. Furniture 4. Compost 5. Biofuel 6. Industrial sugar 7. Bio-oil 8. Fertilizer replacement
Biomass Composting EFB is widely used for compost production High fertiliser cost Carbon cycle/sustainability 21 composting plant, 70% of total EFB produced Issues with compost Inconsistent product quality Application method Continuous research: Increase & consistent nutrient value Simplified product application 11
Pelletisation and Granulation of Compost Pelletising and granulating of the compost simplify the infield compost application. High power for drying and grinding. Granulator requires much lower power requirement. Spreader could be used to apply the compost in granule form 12
Proximate Analysis of Oil Palm Biomass Oil palm trunks (%) Oil palm fronds (%) Empty fruit bunches (%) Lignin 18.1 18.3 21.2 Hemicellulose 25.3 33.9 24.0 α-cellulose 45.9 46.6 41.0 Holocellulose 71.2 80.5 65.0 Ash 1.1 2.5 3.5 Source : Astimar et al., 2009 13
Biomass Sugar Extraction EFB Trunks Fronds Fiber Glucose (g/g of DM) C6 0.43 0.65 0.47 0.23 Xylose (g/g of DM) C5 0.26 0.12 0.24 0.18 Total fermentable sugar (g/g of DM) 0.69 0.77 0.71 0.41 Source: Malaysia-Danish Environment Corporation Programme Report 2008 High potential feedstock Trials (pilot scale) must be carried out in Malaysia to ensure reliable data and information Pre-treatment of feedstock is very important to ensure high yield and high efficiency process Selection of pre-treatment by-products management Ready for post process production of bio-chemical products, biopolymer 14
Biomass Energy Production A Raw material Process Product Final Use Vegetable Oil Transesterification Biodiesel Green Chemicals Sugar & Starch Hydrolysis- Fermentation Bioethanol Biofuels for Transport Pyrolysis- hydrogenation Hydrocarbon/bio-oil Upgrading process Fisher-tropsch Ligno-cellulosic Biomass Gasification Pelletisation Producer gas Pellets Biofuels for power generation, heating and industrial applications Wet Biomass Anaerobic Digestion Biogas Adapted from European Biomass Industry Association (EUBIA) 2007 15
EFB for Bio-Ethanol Production Conducted pilot plant evaluation on EFB conversion to Bio-ethanol. Required feedstock conditioning to reduce oil content, homogenity for pre-treatment High ethanol conversion, but dependant to enzyme dosage Feasibility highly dependant to value of feedstock (EFB), by-product utilisation and enzyme cost 16
Palm Oil Mill Effluent (POME) POME Direct Conventional Application Compost product Fertiliser Animal Feed Biogas (Methane) Organic Acids Electricity Heat Vehicle fuel (CNGV) Cooking fuel Acetic Propionic Butyric Biodegradable plastics 17
POM Effluent for Biogas Production Substantial improvement of Carbon footprint 60-65% CH 4, 35-40% CO 2, H 2 S Potential usage Electricity gas engine, co-generation, boiler fuel Energy/fuel compressed bio-methane (CNGV) Committed for biogas capturing before year 2020 Issues : POME for composting less POME for biogas POME quality Inconsistency on biogas production Front-end improvement less POME production Process efficiency mixing, mesophilic vs thermophilic 18
Conclusion & Way Forward Sime Darby focused on sustainability recyling of biomass, minimise emission Potential to maximise value of OP biomass Sugar extraction End products not fully explored Niche Green Chemical industry Significant reduction in GHG emission by utilising the biomass Challenges Biomas utilisation vs return to soil Financial viability of the projects logistic, storage, market Expensive compared to fossil fuel product value 19
Thank You 20